Calling all Cyclists

I'm loving the different ways people are coming up with to raise money for Project125 - the project to build a dormitory for 100 secondary school girls in Serenje in Zambia. So far this has included:

• the youth from LIFE raising over £14,000 with a number of events including a conga to Windsor, car washing, sponsored silences (much appreciated by the parents), selling unwanted items on eBay and a load of other events
• Garth Hill College and Sandy Lane School doing a sponsored walk to school day on Friday 17th June
• People giving directly to the project
• Ralph Allen giving his time for free to design the dormitory
• All the other things people have been doing I've forgotten about

Well this Saturday we have another event, when Matt Ranger and his cycling buddies are doing a sponsored 125 mile bike ride raising money for the project. Very cleverly the ride actually consists of a 31 mile loop. This means that there are three options for taking part (all starting from the Kerith Centre) so people not as fit or crazy as Matt can take part too. The options are:

• A group doing the full 125 miles (four loops) starting at 6am
• A group doing 62 miles (two loops) starting at 10am
• A group doing 31 miles (one loop) starting at 12

I've done precisely no training (other than my normal running) and am tossing up whether to do 31 or 62 miles. If you want to take part, see what the route is, be part of the support team, or just watch me die in the saddle please email Matt Ranger who can give you more details. If you'd like to sponsor someone (perhaps you'd like to dare me to do the 62, definitely not the 125!) then you can use the JustGiving page here.

It's important to remember that whilst we're having a lot of fun raising money for Project125, the final result of the project will be life transforming for all of the girls who get to complete their secondary education, and that's ultimately why we're doing all these crazy things.

Happy cycling!

Simon.