Rinpo Lama from Minnesota began a “Bike Ride for Tibet” on April 20 from Washington, DC. He is riding by himself to the United Nations in New York City. Rinpo plans to arrive there on The Panchen Lama’s Birthday, April 25. He is riding to deliver a letter he wrote to the Honorable Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations.
In this letter, Rinpo requests that Secretary Annan personally encourage the Chinese government to grant His Holiness The Dalai Lama a visa to reenter Tibet, with the expectation that such a visit may lead to further extensive, constructive interaction between China and the Tibetan community both within and outside of Tibet. Second, Rinpo requests that Secretary Annan do everything in his power to ascertain where the The Panchen Lama is being held, and under what conditions.
On his first day of riding, Rinpo arrived in Baltimore covering more then 60 miles.
Day Two
Rinpo Lama rode about 80 miles on Friday. He left from Baltimore where he had stayed with a Geshe and arrived in Philadelphia where he is staying with some other Tibetans. During the day, a number of motorists flashed him the “peace” sign. Perhaps this was because one side of his shirt has a big “peace” sign. The other side of his shirt states, “Release The Panchen Lama.”
Rinpo is making great progress toward his goal of arriving at the United Nations in New York on April 25, The Panchen Lama’s Birthday. For your information, Rinpo is taking US 1 to New York City.
Day Three
Rinpo rode over 80 miles on Saturday. The entire day it rained very hard and it was cold and windy. Most of the time, Rinpo rode on the interstate between Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He finished the day in Newark, New Jersey. Rinpo is way ahead of schedule as Newark is about 15 miles from New York City.
