Volunteering: Volunteers' Stories

Paul's Sponsored Bike Ride & Leg Wax! (May 2005)

Paul and Amy, who are going to be assisting at the Primary School for Term 3 this year (2005), decided to raise funds for RIPPLE Africa by doing a sponsored cycle ride from Sheffield to Land's End. Paul was the cyclist, and Amy acted as his support driver carrying all the camping equipment and supplies.

Paul started the ride on 27 May and cycled to Land's End (a distance of 408 miles) in four days. The story of his ride is on the internet at www.cyclewax.co.uk, but we have included a summary of his feat below.

Day 1

Start: Sheffield
Finish: Evesham
Distance: 117 miles
Journey Time: 7h 53min
Max speed: 46mph

The first day was 117 miles, and I got a bit dehydrated after 90 miles so the last couple of hours were quite tough. Pretty much flat or downhill from Sheffield to Evesham, so it was quite an easy ride, and I did it in under 8 hours.

Day 2

Start: Evesham
Finish: Rodney Stoke
Distance: 90 miles
Journey Time: 7h 15min
Max speed: 41mph

On the second day, Evesham to Cheddar took around 8 hours (90 miles) with tough hills into Cheddar to finish.

Day 3

Start: Rodney Stoke
Finish: Pancrasweek
Distance: 106 miles
Journey Time: 8h 15min
Max Speed: 44mph

The third day took me through North Devon, and it was the best part of the ride. There's a B road from Taunton to Great Torrington with nice views and villages which had hardly any traffic. Not too hilly compared with the Peak District, so it was easier than I imagined. There are some fun really steep dipping up and down sections on this road.

Day 4

Start: Pancrasweek
Finish: Land's End
Distance: 95 miles
Journey Time: 8h
Max speed: 37mph

The last day was 95 miles down to Land's End and took around 8 hours, reaching Land's End around 5:30pm. This was down the coastal A road, then finishing off down the A30 which was quite busy. Given the time, it would probably be better to take a longer, more scenic route through Cornwall.

Leg Waxing

Paul said that the leg waxing was less painful than he imagined — but it's not something he'd like to do again. To see all the photos, go to www.cyclewax.co.uk and click on 'The Wax'.

Thanks and Acknowledgements

We'd like to thank Paul, Amy and all their sponsors for raising the incredible sum of just under £2000. Paul and Amy would particularly like us to acknowledge the following sponsors for their support:

Veet (www.veet.co.uk) for donating £400 and for providing the wax products;
Easygates (www.easygates.co.uk) for providing Paul with cycling clothes and for donating £75 to RIPPLE Africa;
Tony Butterworth Cycles for providing a free cycle service;
King's Ford Infant School, Colchester, and Gillingstool Junior School, Thornbury, who raised £80.29 and £87, respectively, by holding non-uniform days; and
Thornbury Baptist Church for their donation of £100.

Congratulations, Paul and Amy!

			Company Registration No. 04823686 • UK Registered Charity No. 1103256	Contact RIPPLE Africa