Two London cycle enthusiasts are taking on an ultimate cycle challenge by riding all the way from London to Sydney, Australia – to raise money for charity.
Matt McDonald and Andy Madeley will cycle more than 13,000 miles, through 22 countries
on three continents.
They are using their epic journey to raise awareness and money for War Child, a
small international charity that helps children living in war
zones.
Warchild's work includes getting children off the streets,
reintegrating former child soldiers back into society and where
possible back to their families and providing children affected by war
with the help they need to rebuild their lives.
Both men have given up their jobs in London and hope that through sponsorship they can raise £50,000 for War Child.
"I spent most of my 20s enjoying
the ‘good times’ and seem to have had an early mid-life crisis at
around 30 when I dusted off my ‘life to-do list’ and promptly went
about climbing mountains, running marathons and boasting to my friends
that I was going to cycle round the world – well most of it anyway," McDonald says.
"To put this expedition into context, my cycling expertise comes from
watching BMX bandits on beta-max aged 10, owning a Raleigh Grifter
XL aged 12 (with three gears: red, yellow and blue) and covering my
friends paper round for two weeks whilst he was on holiday aged 13.
"So armed with the same fearlessness
as Andy, that only comes from ignorance and a few too many
beers, suggested cycling to Australia after Andy suggested
driving. Clearly I expected him to politely decline meaning I could
ridicule and laugh at him for being soft! It came as a surprise when I
heard him say yes."
McDonald and Madeley will use a satellite tracker which will
plot their progress on a map so supporters can keep up to date with where they are. The pair say people are more than welcome to join them en route.
Follow their adventures at :
Watch a video of the route, below:
