Cycling to raise money for Transition and Sustrans
By Ed Mitchell 31st August 2011
This is impressive, fun to watch, and raises money for Transition – what more could you want?
Anna Hughes is bicycling around the coast of the UK to raise money for Transition Network and our friends Sustrans. It’s a 4,500 mile bicycle ride, and by the sounds of the reports from her blog, full of hills, and massive rain storms. Please consider donating some money for her efforts, and/or if you like bicycling, follow her blog, it’s great.
Some of us Bristol folks hope to join her around Bristol (24/25 September), and there’s a Totnes bicyclist or two who’s bound to want to rally round when she reaches there (3rd October). You can see her map here.
Here’s a piece from her latest blog post:
The road took us over a bleak mountain pass, straight into the driving rain, the wind now impossibly strong and the road going higher and higher. It was relentless.
After an hour I was frozen. I couldn’t feel my hands or my feet and my legs were starting to shake. With every turn of the road I thought, there’ll be somewhere just round the corner where we can stop and warm up. Many corners came and went without anywhere to shelter.
We passed a derelict house that I was almost tempted to hide in but we kept going, at last seeing a sign for a craft shop and gallery. Finally! They would surely have tea. But it’s a Sunday and the sorry, closed sign was blowing in the wind. My heart sank. I wasn’t sure how long I could hold out in this. My teeth had started chattering violently as we carried on along the road. It was bleak. The wind and the rain were brutal and there was no letup.
Did her heart sink? Did she pine for the comforts of home? A hot bath? Heck no…
All sorts of thoughts go through your mind on a day like this – mostly, please please please don’t let me get a puncture.
I could not imagine anything worse than trying to wrench that tyre off with numb hands in the pouring rain.
Second, am I going to get hyperthermia, and what would I do if I did? I was too cold by this point to stop and put trousers on – I was holding out for somewhere warm to stop.
Third, what happens if we don’t pass a town soon? Could we stop that passing campervan and ask them if we can come in? Could we shelter in that old dilapidated house? Could we knock on a door of a house and ask them for a cup of tea?
Fourth, a happy picture of us all talking and laughing over a steaming cup of tea. This scenario was getting fainter with every pedal.
Pretty impressive stuff, we think you’ll agree. So please consider donating some money for her efforts, and/or if you like bicycling, follow her blog, it’s great.