Starting the year off on a note straying a little from our normal roofing posts, this may not come as fresh news to the beady-eyed of you out there. For those that have perhaps favoured devouring their Christmas chocolate over closely watching our posts, we have a little news. Three words; Cycling, Amsterdam, Charity.
Indeed, on the 26thMarch 2020 Dan, Lawrence, Louis, Jack, Page and Jordi are embarking on perhaps our biggest challenge to date, cycling from London to Amsterdam all in aid of the mental health charity, Mind. Yes, you heard that right, London to Amsterdam, 300 miles, with some rather in-experienced and novice cyclists on board, certainly a challenge. I mean, there are apparently more bikes than people in Amsterdam so at least we’ll blend in a little…
So why are we doing it exactly? Well aside from pushing our bodies and ourselves to new limits, the excursion is taking place all in aid of a hugely worthwhile and notable charity, Mind.
A little more about Mind…
Although a vastly complex and broad topic, statistics show that around one in four individuals suffer from mental health issues annually, equating to around 676 million worldwide, meaning that the concept of mental health is far more pressing than we once thought. Indeed, in England alone, nearly 16% are experiencing common mental health issues such as anxiety and depression every week. In fact, mental health is responsible for around 72 million missed working days per year*, a worrying statistic that even makes our rainy days off look pretty measly. Worries over money and work are continuing to rise, and with only one in eight of those suffering actually receiving adequate help, it’s time to talk.
Mind works particularly hard to tackle the stigma surrounding mental health for men, gaining great levels of awareness through campaigns such as Movember, tackling suicide prevention among men. Indeed, depression, schizophrenia and other associated mental health disorders are no easier to challenge with a Y chromosome, meaning its time to raise more awareness for those battling society’s misinformed expectations of them to simply ‘man up’.
With this in mind, it makes sense for us to embark on a challenge such as this to push our mental capacities beyond our limits along the scenic but challenging journey across the channel. In pairs, we will be taking shifts cycling for 3 hours at a time, ensuring that we do actually get a little sleep. Page and Jordi will be driving the support van, meeting us at each checkpoint. Our support van has been kindly donated with full insurance cover and a tank of fuel by JSR Autos of Ledbury.
Mental health issues affect all of us at some point or other in our lives, regardless of age or gender and charities such as Mind help to break down this barrier through the use of each and every donation. No matter how big or small, every little donation helps and we ask you to please make our adventure even more worth it by donating via our Just Giving link.
All that’s left to say is thank you for taking your time to get this far in our post, why not make it a little more worth that minute of reading by making a small donation… Stay tuned for more updates on training and routes over the next few months via our Facebook and Instagram!
🚴🏼♂️Donate here!
To read more about our other charity endeavours, check out what happened when we embarked on the Three Peaks Challenge!
*Data retrieved from the Mind website.