Ride for Climate started in the fall of 2005, when David Kroodsma left his climate research job at Stanford and bicycled solo to Tierra del Fuego. As he traveled, he gave presentations on climate change, appeared in media in 16 countries, and wrote about what climate change means for the places he biked through. This trip is the subject of a book, The Bicycle Diaries, published in March of 2014. The ride to Argentina was followed by a similar journey across the U.S., Ride for Climate USA, in which David was joined by Bill Bradlee and a team of volunteers (see below).
The idea of Ride for Climate has evolved over these and subsequent journeys. Such rides can be effective ways to raise awareness and promote action, but they are also ways to learn about the world. On a bike, traveling at 10 miles per hour, one inevitably sees every town, talks to or even stays with countless individuals who live along the route, and gains a unique understanding of a region.
Ride for Climate, and this website, is dedicated to sharing these journeys - sharing what we learn, the perspective that we gain, and promoting action when appropriate. Anyone can go on a Ride for Climate - this isn't an organization, but an idea.