Globalbike won the prestigious "Beyond Sport" award for best project by a professional sports team at the Beyond Sport Summit in London. Read the press release here.

Read the full article on cyclingnews.com

Greenville, SC (July 13th, 2009) An American cycling team - globalbike
(presented by Catoma Outdoor Adventure Shelters) - was awarded the
"Best Project by a Professional Sports Team" at the Beyond Sport
Summit held in London, England July 7-9, 2009, celebrating the world's
best sport-led social innovation projects. The team was selected for
their role in promoting the non-profit organization - globalbike,
which supplies bicycles in developing countries to enable care workers
to address some of the world's most challenging problems like
inadequate health care, poverty, poor sanitation, and lack of
education

Among three finalists present at the summit, the internationally
prestigious award was presented to globalbike by Doug Ullman, Chair of
Lance Armstrong Foundation. The summit included leadership development
training for individuals and organizations, as well as opportunities
to meet high-profile people involved in sports and government. Panel
discussions with Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Sir Richard Branson and Tony
Blair took place at the summit.

"This is very exciting for globalbike. We are delighted to win the
award considering the competition we were up against. The other
projects were excellent and I commend them for their work," said Kelly
Lowry, globalbike board member, who accepted the award.

The award recognizes the team's contribution to connecting cycling
enthusiasts in the United States to people and places in the
developing world where bicycles are a sustainable and reliable form of
transportation that can vastly improve quality of life. Prior to
collaborating with the cycling team, globalbike was a small grassroots
organization that primarily relied on word of mouth marketing.

"The impact of the team on our organization has been huge. What better
way to connect with people that have a passion for bicycles than
through a cycling team?" says Curt McPhail, globalbike bike board
chair.

Financial contributions generated from the team have helped globalbike
expand from working in two countries - Zambia and Ethiopia, to now
providing globalbikes in four countries with Tanzania and Bolivia
added this year.

"The connection to globalbike the organization has really been a key
to our success as a team this year," according to Josh Whitmore,
Co-Manager of the team. "If we achieve a high level of success in
races, we are also able to achieve a high profile for globalbike among
the cycling and active-lifestyle community. Our missions go hand in
hand and provide the riders with a little extra motivation knowing
that their success can also benefit others."

In addition to carrying the title "globalbike" as it competes in
national level road events, the team also travels with an expo-style
booth dedicated to educating people about the globalbike project and
raising money directly through sales of donated items such as coffee,
water bottles, and t-shirts.

Overall, the team and the organization hope to continue to grow in the future.

"I think we're really ready to go big with this project," says
McPhail. "Its really a win-win for all involved. Globalbike gets to
increase our impact in helping solve some of the worlds most
challenging issues with a simple solution - the bicycle. The team gets
to race and help educate people about our mission, and the sponsors
get to support a worthwhile project while receiving the marketing
benefits of the team."