Musanze , Rwanda ( CNN ) -- For Rwanda 's national cycling team , survivors of its genocide , cycling is proving to have an unlikely healing power . Eighteen years after the genocide of Tutsis that claimed an estimated 800,000 lives in all , Team Rwanda is now gaining international recognition , and one member will compete at this year 's summer Olympics . With a population of more than 11 million and a land size roughly half the size of Scotland , the east African nation of Rwanda is Africa 's most densely populated country . In Musanze , 96 kilometers outside the capital of Kigali , on one of the few paved roads in northwestern Rwanda , many get around on bicycles , some made entirely of wood . These wooden bicycles , typically made from acacia trees , evolved as a solution for wheel-barrowing crops from farm to farm . They are heavy , used by farmers to transport loads of up to 300 kg , and with only a thin piece of rubber for a tire , they are difficult to maneuver and brake suddenly . Because of this , they are banned from the main roads . `` If you hit something or somebody , that person would be dangerously hurt , '' explains Francois Bizimana , one of the village 's bike makers , who has previously been hospitalized with injuries from an accident on one of his bikes . `` You do a lot of damage when you get in an accident with them . Some of us are not used to road safety and rules , so that caused a lot of trouble for us . '' Learn more : 100 days that changed history ... In 2006 , when Rwanda 's first annual cycling festival was created by Jonathan `` Jock '' Boyer , the first American to finish the Tour de France , and mountain bike pioneer Tom Ritchey , it was named the Wooden Bike Classic in honor of these traditional contraptions . The event showcased so much talent that the next year , Boyer returned to establish and coach the country 's first national team , Team Rwanda . One of its five founding members , and winner of the first Wooden Bike Classic , Adrien Niyonshuti , will represent Rwanda at the 2012 summer Olympics . Niyonshuti was seven years old in 1994 , when conflict between two ethnic groups , the Hutu majority and the Tutsi minority , spiraled into a genocide that claimed an estimated 800,000 lives over 100 days . His grandmother and six of his brothers were killed . Another founding team member , Jean de Dieu `` Rafiki '' Uwimana contracted malaria while sleeping outdoors , after escaping with his grandmother . He was separated from his parents and brother , and thought they were dead for five years after the genocide . Read more : Rwandan rugby team 's trip to Hong Kong ... Team Rwanda is a valuable means of bringing men from different backgrounds together . Some team members travel as much as 230 kilometers -- by bicycle -- to get to training sessions at the team 's base in northwestern Ruhengeri . Besides cycling three times a week , they do yoga and in the evenings , take English classes . `` Then they get three great meals , '' says Kimberly Coats , director of marketing and logistics . `` Nutrition is important . Our food choices are limited , '' she continues . `` They 're used to eating for bulk , not nutritional value . Now , they 've started to see the benefits of nutrition , stretching , training program and they 're doing well . '' For some , the rigorous training regimen is a welcome distraction from painful memories . `` You never forget it , in your life , '' says Uwimana . `` But ... I 'm busy . My future is looking good now . Many people know me , and I 'm changing life for my country and my family also . '' Their success is helping to change lingering perceptions of Rwanda as a broken , dangerous and impoverished place . It 's also helping to change how Rwandans view themselves . Having toured America , South Africa and Gabon with his team , Uwimana has concrete aspirations for his homeland . `` So my future is to help my friends and to be an ambassador for my country . ''
Rwanda 's cycling team are survivors of its 1994 genocide . One member will compete at the 2012 Olympics . Many started riding on heavy wooden bikes , used for farm transport .