Charity cycling
- Thread starter downfader
- Start date
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Over The Hill
Guru
- Location
- Ridden off into the sunset
I did London-Brighton a few years ago when I first started cycling and 54 miles seemed like to the moon and back at the time with the tales of "some of them are cycling back to London this afternoon" as superhuman.
It is quite good that we have a hobby/sport where on a sunday morning we can do something with almost no thought that many would see as out of this world.
The "charidee" ride got me into cycling and must be a good thing to draw more people in or at least get them off there arse for one day of the year.
It is quite good that we have a hobby/sport where on a sunday morning we can do something with almost no thought that many would see as out of this world.
The "charidee" ride got me into cycling and must be a good thing to draw more people in or at least get them off there arse for one day of the year.
Cush
Veteran
- Location
- North Cumbria but still a Geordie
If all those that cycle and walk for charity donated the cost of the trip and the kit they use they would end up given a lot more and not cause embaresment to those who dont want to give to that cause what ever it is but of course in a lot of cases it is pure self publicity. When I finished the End to End I made a donation to a charity that I belive in and will do the same thing when I complete next years trip, the only people who knew and will know are the family and some close mates (but I did rub it in to my younger siblings that the pensioner of the family could still see them all off and will do so again 
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Lands End to John O'Groats is one of the things that defines Great Britain. It measures the extent of the island. It reminds people that we live on an island, and that the island is sort of long and thin.
The same thing with London to Brighton - it reminds Londoners of their connection to the sea, and the pleasure to be found at the seaside. It reminds Brightonians that they're connected to the Capital.
I suppose there's space for more 'imaginative' routes, but oftentimes 'imaginative' means completely obscure. Coastal rides just about make it, and the three peaks has a certain charm, but, for the most part, nobody cares about a collection of bridges or all the towns in Scotland beginning with N or whatever.
The same thing with London to Brighton - it reminds Londoners of their connection to the sea, and the pleasure to be found at the seaside. It reminds Brightonians that they're connected to the Capital.
I suppose there's space for more 'imaginative' routes, but oftentimes 'imaginative' means completely obscure. Coastal rides just about make it, and the three peaks has a certain charm, but, for the most part, nobody cares about a collection of bridges or all the towns in Scotland beginning with N or whatever.
HJ
Cycling in Scotland
- Location
- Auld Reekie
Well Lands End is in sailing terms a good description of where it is, if you are sailing out into the Atlantic to pick up the trade winds to the Americas then is the last point of land you will see for some time, but it is not the most southerly point of the British mainland, that is Lizard Point.
As for John O' Groats, that is a corruption of Jan de Groot, a Dutchman who ran a ferry to Orkney, personally I prefer the Gaelic version Taigh Iain Ghròt (the place of Jan de Groot), but it not the most northerly point of the British mainland, that is Dunnet Head or Ceann Dùnaid in Gaelic. Ceann Dùnaid is a really dramatic and romantic place, a far grander place to finish a long distance ride, than Taigh Iain Ghròt which is a bit of a dump.
The biggest challenge so far for me was the Oxford to Cambridge last year, collected money on behalf of BHF. This year the Manchester 100 will give me the opportunity to complete my first century ride; Christies will benefit from this effort. And health permitting (you never can tell), I'll be up for more. My one problem is that these days everyone is collecting for a good cause; you can't get past the entrance to a supermarket without there being someone with a collection tin and I've lost count of the individuals who've approached me for sponsorship or who are about to take up one challenge or other in the name of a particular charity. I've no problem giving to a good cause - we all have our favourites - but as a fund raising initiative I think" sponsor me in this or that event" has reached saturation point. I know I can only ask the usual people once a year, if I'm lucky, and that's if someone has beaten me to it. Just a shame there isn't another way of achieving a new physical goal without having to put the hard sell on friends/family/work colleagues knowing I will have probably been one of many and that no one really likes refusing.
Thoughts anyone? Apologies by the way if I've taken the thread off topic slightly.
Thoughts anyone? Apologies by the way if I've taken the thread off topic slightly.
Arch
Married to Night Train
- Location
- Salford, UK
Um, there is. Just do it. You don't have to be sponsored or doing it for charity to do a long ride or run. You just have to self motivate.
Thank goodness that someone has had the courage to come out and say this. When I rode the Trossachs Ton this year I did so for my own enjoyment and not because I had any particular ambition to raise money for Action Medical Research- worthy cause though it must be. The entry was £25 + a further £25 in sponsorship which I donated myself as it didn't seem quite right to ask other people to sub my own cycling pleasure.
CopperBrompton
Bicycle: a means of transport between cake-stops
- Location
- London
Exactly - that's what I always do with charity rides.
I always feel like a little bit of a killjoy but I do feel that people should do something good when raising money for charity. I wouldn't say that LEJOG falls into the category of "not good" as I see it as big achievement. However, I do raise an eyebrow at the following:
5k runs that people then walk
Abseiling
Some kind of Zip line
These are all things that I actually use my own time and money to do. Not sure why I would sponsor someone to do a few things I could easily accommodate into an average Saturday!
5k runs that people then walk
Abseiling
Some kind of Zip line
These are all things that I actually use my own time and money to do. Not sure why I would sponsor someone to do a few things I could easily accommodate into an average Saturday!
Indeed and it's more fun with friends and CC colleagues (for want of a better word). The good thing about charity rides are they can provide the circumstances for a ride which you sometimes cannot replicate alone in relative safety. Take the Foulness Island ride which is two weeks away. The island has restricted access as it is mostly MOD property and you get a once a year opportunity to ride on it. It really is fascinating, with MOD buildings and various premises for weapons and munitions testing. It is very flat and a good starting point for youngsters (and adults) who want to do their first/second/only 20+ mile ride. It has a straight road which is 1-3 miles long which you can really stretch yourself on or race a friend as there are no cars. It's not a long ride (23 miles) but thoroughly enjoyable and open to cyclists of all abilities. With the best will in the world you cannot replicate those facilities on the open road.
Could it be that because of the sedantry lifestyle that many people lead, it is now seen as something extraordinary that someone might like to cycle long distances for the fun of it, or swim five miles, or run a marathon, jog around the block, that it is seen as a "challenge", so is worthy of getting sponsorship because of the supposed superhuman effort it takes. As many forummers on here know that cycling 50/100 miles is not that bigger deal, why are many charity events always flagged up as a challenge, when as we know, cycling should be a normal part of everyday life.
Alien8
Senior Moment
- Location
- (A little bit north of) Cambridge
It's the praise-all culture - everything has to be "bigged-up" so that what is in reality relatively mundane is made to appear the exception or a big achievement.
snorri
Legendary Member
- Location
- East coast, up a bit.
I must say that does sound like a charity event out of the ordinary, one I would participate in myself if closer to hand.
