In February 2019 Stephen will be joining the RedR team for a 5 day cycle through India's largest state all to raise money for skills in disaster relief. The trip will mean enduring long days in the saddle, in hot conditions and will be a test for the keen cyclist.
In addition to this challenge, Stephen has decided to push himself even further. This October he brought together the 5 (mainland) UK offices within his company, Cundall, by cycling between them in 4 days. The route went from London to Birmingham, Birmingham to Manchester, Manchester to Newcastle, and Newcastle to Edinburgh; taking Stephen through 2 countries, 3 national parks, 15 counties, dozens of bananas and many hours of saddle sores.
Day 1 on Saturday 20th October saw Stephen and three friends the London office towards Birmingham. Alex, Max Ikin, and Tom Hayward arrived 126 miles later in Birmingham.
Day 2 on Sunday 21st October, the shortest day at 90 miles proved to be difficult as some unexpectedly steep climbs and wet weather hit close to Manchester. A pot hole slowed the team down but they made it and were warmly greeted the a representative of the Portland Street office who was pretending to work on a Sunday.
Day 3 was the longest of the 4 days and saw Stephen ride his first sole miles. In total it is 143 miles from Manchester to Newcastle, going through West Yorkshire and the Yorkshire Dales. The weather held out and arrival to the Newcastle office was around 6, unfortunately the arrival cake was missed and there was a very early start the next day!
Day 4 turned out to be the biggest challenge and although not the longest at 110 miles it managed to pass over high ground and had Stephen battling against a 40 mph headwind for almost the entire route. Progress was slow and frustrating but the route went through some beautiful countryside with the highest point being the border just south of Jedburgh. Arriving a tad later than expected, Stephen managed to say “Hello” to the Edinburgh office the following day to say hello with a cake, a yellow jersey and a podium lion – so special thanks to Audrey Sims and the team in Edinburgh!
So in total the 4 days consisted of 28 hours and 19 minutes of riding, 469 miles (755 km), 31,144 ft (9493m) of elevation (which is approximately 1.07 times the vertical height of Everest).