27 November 2013 - As early as 4.30 am on Sunday, November 24, with the sun yet to rise, lone bikers or bikers in groups slowly came to the Patuxay Monument to register for the morning’s Bike for a Cause event.

Bikers from the local Lao, Filipino and other expatriate communities of Laos, young, old, children, male, female – they all came to show their solidarity with the Filipino people who continue to strive to rise from the massive destruction wrought by typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan) two weeks ago.

In a show of support and sympathy, officials of the Lao Government led by H.E. Noulin Sinbandith, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, and H.E. Xayakane Sisouvong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs joined Philippine Ambassador to Laos Maria Lumen B. Isleta at the starting line of the 10-kilometer biking route. And at the crack of dawn, the bikers, some 200 of them, started rolling off towards the Mekong and Chao Anouvong Avenue for a leisurely ride around town.

Ambassador Isleta, in her remarks noted that the activity calls attention to biking for health, biking for the environment and biking for the survivors of Haiyan. She thanked everyone who responded generously with their resources, time and efforts, to the needs of the victims and survivors of the typhoon. She made particular note of the overwhelming outpouring of support from all sectors of Laos including the Lao government, business sector, civil society groups and ordinary man on the street with their expressions of sympathy and condolences, as well as from the Filipino and international communities in Laos. END