Sixty-nine cyclists aged 18 – 58 pushed themselves to their limits in late December 2008. Travelling from as far away as Canada, France, Holland, India, the United Kingdom and the United States, they gathered to participate in Bike4Life – a rigorous six-day, seven-night adventure, in which they cycled 550 kilometres from Mumbai to Goa along the Konkan Coast. Their journey was motivated by a desire to help communities around the world benefit from the work of Focus Humanitarian Assistance (FOCUS).

In preparation for the event, participants spent months raising funds and spreading awareness of FOCUS' work in their home countries. They organised gatherings and activities for friends, family and colleagues that highlighted the humanitarian and disaster management achievements of the agency.

Bike4Life is part of a series of annual FOCUS Challenge events that have taken the form of bike rides and hikes through some of the most challenging trails and beautiful environments in the world, including Egypt, India, Kenya, Madagascar and Tanzania.

Funds raised through Challenge events go towards empowering communities living in disaster-prone regions. Through local training, education, disaster awareness and preparedness programmes, FOCUS provides humanitarian responses when disasters occur, and helps communities prepare by training them to become first responders.

The Bike4Life journey from Mumbai to Goa is documented in the photographs that follow. To learn more about FOCUS Challenge events, visit FOCUSchallenge.org or contact your local FOCUS office.