Over the last six weeks, Andy Smith and Annie Glennie have been cycling around France, riding between the Euro2016 football stadiums and social enterprises – all whilst raising support through Do Nation. They raised 122 pledges, saving as much carbon as emitted by driving twice around the world!
Not only did they pick up the prestigious title of Doer of the Month, but they also won a year’s supply of Ben & Jerry’s for their efforts.
Here’s their story…
Your name: Andy Smith
What do you do? Social enterprise and sport for development
Where are you from? London (via Watford)
Tell us a bit about what you raising support for, and why you chose this challenge
“Bike Social – Le Tour des Stades” involved me and my girlfriend Annie cycling 1,750 miles across France exploring the stadiums, sustainability and social enterprises in each Euro2016 host city! I decided to do this challenge as a follow up to my 5,000 mile #SambaCycle in Brazil two years ago for the football World Cup.
And what made you decide to ask for support through Do Nation?
Annie and I both joined some of the Do Nation team to cycle London to Paris for COP21 last December, so we started collecting pledges for that, and I realised it’s a perfect match for #BikeSocialTdS too.
Too right! Love that you came back for more – and so much more. 🙂
So, what was the most surprising or exciting pledge someone made?
It’s amazing to see the big CO2 savings from the Clean Your Bills pledge and also great to see people’s comments about how easy it is to do!
That’s what we like to hear (yes – you can switch to Good Energy right now!). So, the ride itself – how did that go?
Magnifique! We really loved discovering so many new insights about France (and ourselves!) by pedal power, and people can check out the full story here: https://m.facebook.com/LeTourDesStades/
Keeping going requires grit and stamina – what motivated you to keep pushing on?
We had a day-by-day route planned out in advance and knew we had to keep on schedule in order to complete the tour before my mate’s wedding in early June, so that kept us focused, and the support from people making Do Action pledges really boosted us along too!
Good good! Once done, how did you celebrate?
On our last night in Lyon we walked up Fourvière Hill and listened to Radiohead playing a gig in the Roman theatre that overlooks the city – awesome!
Finally – any top tips you’d share with someone else raising support on Do Nation?
Set a good example by sharing your own pledges and remind people how simple, thought-provoking and impactful it is thanks to the excellent Do Nation website!
You can still support Andy and Annie here.
