Solio sponsors the Alabamboo Make and Ride tour to advance Alabama’s bamboo industry

June 6, 2011 - PRLog -- OAKLAND, Calif. and GREENSBORO, Al. – Solio, leading developer of hand-held solar chargers and lighting products, announces their sponsorship of the Alabamboo Make and Ride, a cycling tour across America on hand-built bamboo bikes to share the story of the Alabamboo initiative. The ride began over the weekend in Greensboro, AL and the team of young cyclists will pedal west for two months making stops along the way in cities like Tulsa, Boulder, Carson City, Yosemite, and finishing up in San Francisco.  

The team will use the world’s most proven hybrid solar charger, the Solio Classic to power their two-month journey. Compatible with more than 3200 devices, the Solio Classic can hold a charge for up to a year, so it’s ready anytime, day or night. Alabamboo Make and Ride will use the Classic to power devices to keep them connected, on-course, and able to document their travels via cellphones, a GPS unit, and digital cameras, respectively.

“The Alabamboo Make and Ride mission is simple yet extremely important,” said Marc O’Brien, one of the four cyclists. “We will spread the story of Alabamboo and the individuals and organizations working hard to improve the social and economic fabric of the rural south through sustainable, domestic bamboo and its related production industries.”

“Solio’s contribution is vital because their products are durable and will provide on-demand, sustainable power during our trip,” O’Brien added.

The U.S. is the largest importer of bamboo in the world, with no domestic, commercially available supply of its own. Alabamboo hopes to one day represent the largest domestically available source. Bamboo is a sustainable alternative for many products including textiles, wood floors, furniture, and paper products. It is also one the most efficient carbon-sequestering plants in the world.

With burgeoning interest around Alabama’s bamboo, bicycles, health, and sustainability issues, several organizations associated with the Alabamboo Make and Ride have come forth with critical assistance including COMMON cycles, the Bamboo Bike Studio, Greensboro’s HERO Housing, and Alex Bogusky’s Fearless Cottage web-TV show.

Solio and the Alabamboo Make and Ride will update fans with details of their journey across the country on http://www.facebook.com/RideAlabamboo and http://www.twitter.com/RideAlabamboo.

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About Solio
Solio is a developer and manufacturer of portable solar chargers and lighting systems, helping power work and play with renewable energy. Solio products are compatible with an enormous range of devices from GPS units to mp3 players, smartphones, and cameras. A nearly ten-year-old brand, the Oakland, CA-based company also enables communities in undeveloped parts of the world to have access to clean energy and lighting systems. Solio products are available for purchase through specialty retailers like REI, Sprint, RadioShack, and Apple. For more information, visit http://www.solio.com.