It’s a good point. We wanted to do something a little more different than the average bike ride or 10k run and ask for money, how is that really going to help the environment? Instead we opted for something that will make a more direct difference and get people actively taking notice, by getting them much more involved!

Sponsoring via The DoNation means that people can start to make an actual change to their lifestyle to make a difference; anyone can do it as there is something for anyone. Our pledges ranged from cycling to the shops instead of taking the car to even one person installing solar panels! We set an initial target of trying to save 3000 kgCO₂, a target we thought was way too ambitious…..with the help of our sponsors we raised closer to 4000 kgCO₂!

The ride itself was very eventful, thanks to the weather – it was -5⁰C and everything was covered in snow, but we had plenty of layers and had the dedication to get through it. We left Clapham after a visit from Hermione and Henry from The DoNation at about 10 am and it wasn’t long before we were out of London climbing up the hills of the North Downs.

Thanks to the snow that covered a crater like pothole, we had our first major problem of the cycle; my rear wheel inner tube had burst. It was 40 minutes later that we managed to get going again. Because of my haste in wanting to get the wheel back on as fast as I could due to the cold, I cleverly managed to nock my gears meaning that my bike only had gears 3 and 4 to work with. Believe me when I say this: steep hills do not like gears 3 and 4.

I know it sounds like we had a torrid time in the cold with my bike falling apart but, it was a great laugh. We sang songs out of tune, we got lost and best of all we made it. Seven and a half hours after we left, we made it.

We learnt a lot from our cycle:

1. You can cycle London to Brighton in sub-zero conditions with no training what so ever, just don’t do it.
2. Do something like this when it’s a bit warmer
3. Definatly do some training, we were aching almost a week later.

But most importantly always remember why you are doing it and think of all your sponsors. Even if your event raises 100 kgCO₂ of savings or 10,000 kg.

You are making a real difference.