The first ever Rickshaw Run stars on December 27 for a 2,000 mile trip across the subcontinent of India from the south, in Kerala, to the north, in Darjeeling.

While the vehicle isn’t what I would normally classify as a rickshaw (a pedal-powered bicycle that can accommodate passengers), it IS a single stroke vehicle than can top out at about 30 something miles an hour. To quote the Run’s website, “Uncomfortable, loud, smelly and in every imaginable way crap, they are the perfect vehicle to tackle a 2,000 mile rally. These buggers will break down on you at every possible and inconvenient point, think of them as a motorized mule.”

The Run is more than an adventure for its participants. It’s a charity event. In India, and many other developing nations, the drivers of public transportation often get caught in a cycle of having to borrow money in order to rent their vehicle to use as a taxi. Because of high lending rates, they often cannot make enough money in one day to pay for the rental, therefore putting them in a cycle of loss. This Run is an opportunity to raise funds to help these local drivers out of their situations and, at the end of the Run, rickshaws will be distributed to a town near Darjeeling where these are used regularly as taxis.

Up for the challenge and have two weeks of vacation to burn?

Simply sign up via the Internet, pay the approximately $180 U.S. entrance fee and get yourself to Kerala for the start of the race. Your rickshaw will be waiting for you.

Mercy Corps will be the beneficiary of the funds raised through the Rickshaw Run and will be responsible for the distribution of both funds and rickshaws.

Even if you don’t make it to India to participate, the next time you take public transportation in a developing country, think about who is benefiting from your actions and remember to tip the driver something a little extra to help feed his family.

Happy Travels!