World bike riders return today

Greenbank brothers Andrew and Randall Leese will complete a three-year, around-the-world bicycling trip in Langley tomorrow. The pedaling duo is expected to pull into town at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, at the Useless Bay Coffee Company in Langley. The official homecoming is open to the public and people are encouraged to attend.

June 26, 2012 6:53 pm
Greenbank brothers Andrew and Randall Leese cross the Washington-Canada border after riding their bikes on a round-the-world fundraising ride.
Greenbank brothers Andrew and Randall Leese cross the Washington-Canada border after riding their bikes on a round-the-world fundraising ride.

Greenbank brothers Andrew and Randall Leese will complete a three-year, around-the-world bicycling trip in Langley tomorrow.

The pedaling duo is expected to pull into town at about 3 p.m. Wednesday, June 27, at the Useless Bay Coffee Company in Langley. Their official homecoming is open to the public and people are encouraged to attend.

The brothers began Orphan Ride, a fundraiser for the Servi Domini Orphanage, a Catholic-based nonprofit organization in Palayamkottai India, when they rode out of Langley on April 4, 2009.

Some 24,000 thousand miles, 30 countries and about 110 flat tires later, the South Whidbey High School graduates are officially wrapping up their adventure and coming home.

“The official distance for cycling around the world is 18,000 miles,” Randal Leese said. “We’ve done well over that.”

The trip raised about $33,000, all of which went to helping orphans. Their personal expenditures, about $16,000 each, came from their own pockets.