Spinathon: pedalling to £2,000
- By Simpson Travel
- 07 Aug 2017
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June 21st is the longest day of the year, and this summer it was also one of the hottest. Afternoon temperatures peaked in the mid 30s in southern parts of the UK, making it warmer than Crete, Corfu and Corsica. But while most people sensibly headed for pools, parks or anywhere air conditioned that day, a determined, lycra-clad crowd gathered outside our offices at the Bank of England Sports Ground…
The aim was to join a charity Spinathon, a collective and gruelling fixed-bike challenge that would try to notch up 1,545km (the recognised cycling distance from Lands’ End to John O’Groats) of stationary spinning. The first riders began at 8am, and the numbers rose along with the mercury till we had dozens of sweaty cyclists spinning in sequence through their lunch break and on into the afternoon. Simpson Travel beach towels were requisitioned to keep heads and handlebars dry, and in typical British style, the harder it got, the more people decided that they wanted to have a go: after all, who wouldn’t want to pay a fiver to pedal nowhere for hours on baking hot afternoon?
Time was finally called 12 hours later at 8pm, by which time the collective distance ridden was an impressive 3,799km, and £2,021.64 had been raised for MacMillan Cancer Support and Haven House children’s hospice. We’d like to congratulate everyone who took part, in particular the 39 members of our own Simpson Travel team who pedalled 738km between them, and the organisers at the Bank of England Sports Centre on a job very well done.
