LEJOG 2021: Wylam Sprockets Riding For FareShare North East
On the 1st August 2021, six amazing people set off from Land’s End for the 13-day challenge to cycle the length of Britain. Find out more why Steve Barlow, Mike Dibb-Fuller, David Grainger, John Hanley from Wylam as well as John and Ollie from London, dedicated their time, effort, energy and money into raising money for FareShare North East.
Raising Money For A Good Cause
Both David and Mike volunteer for FareShare North East, working in the warehouse and on the delivery vans. They dedicated their time during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure food gets to the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people in the North East. David and Mike saw first-hand the need that is around them, and how the vital work of FareShare North East continues to be. David and Mike wanted to promote the work of FareShare North East and help raise money so we can continue in our mission to fight hunger and tackle food waste in the region.
Taking On A Challenge
At 8:45 on the 1st August, from a cloudy Penzance, Steve, Mike, David, John, John and Ollie set off on their ultimate cycling journey starting at Land’s End with the aim to travel 1,000 miles in 13 days until they get to John O’Groats (LEJOG). This is an average of 77 miles each day, climbing approximately 64,455ft…equivalent to over two times the size of Mount Everest! They didn’t take the ‘easy’ route either – climbing 6 of the ‘Greatest Climbs in the UK’ including up to Dartmoor, Cheddar Gorge, Fleet Moss, Hartside, The Spittal of Glenshee and the iconic the Lecht (10/10 for difficulty in the climbing guide).
They rode through the beauty of Cornwall and Devon, Golden Valleys of Wales, the rolling hills of Shropshire, through the Midlands, and up to the rugged hills of the Borders, to the magnificent Scotland. They crossed the Severn Bridge, the Clifton Bridge and the Forth Bridge on their ride. What an amazing journey!
Reflecting On Hunger And Food Waste
Following their blog LEJOG – Cycling To Fight Hunger And Tackle Food Waste it seemed they had an amazing time on their journey. All six members bonded with one another and had a lot of time to think whilst on the saddle! After hearing from Lara about how much they had raised on their 13th day, they said:
“We’ve had a great time on the trip but the fundraising side of things has really kept us going. It’s really staggering that there is such food hunger in our country in 2021. As we’ve travelled through from Cornwall to Caithness, all the major towns and cities and many of the smaller places, had active food banks…I wonder what would it take for there not be a need for food banks? We all hope we can get to that situation, but in the meantime, the need is self-evident and hopefully our efforts on LEJOG have raised both awareness and funds to contribute to the national effort to deal with food hunger and food waste.”
To date they have raised over £7500 for FareShare North East, which will go straight towards helping to pay for a new refrigerated van. This will help us ensure that food can be delivered safely across the region to over 200 community groups and charities who support vulnerable people in some way.
We want to say a massive thank you to Steve, Mike, David, John, John and Ollie for their fundraising efforts by taking on such a challenge to raise money for FareShare North East.
