I’ve not seen any mention of this here, so just flagging up an
opportunity to those in the UK who like to astound mtb’ers
There’s a charity mtb ride coming up to raise funds for the air
ambulance. It’s as a result of Russ Pinder’s accident - Russ is a
well respected mountain biker who came off at speed in the welsh
mountains earlier in the year and as a consequence is now permanently
paralysed from the chest down.
Anyhow, from the event website:
Event profile in brief.
Date : August 17th 2003
Time : Proposed time span at the moment is 8.00am - 4.00pm If demand
is high we may extend this period with the possibility of including
some night laps in the very early hours.
Venue : The Ratz cycle club race site at Checkenden, North West of
Reading.
The event : Cyclist of all abilities will be encouraged to complete at
least one lap of the proposed 5 mile loop of the Off-Road race
circuit.
The FAQ says “You can ride it on whatever bike you choose and wearing
any combination of clothing (helmets compulsory), makeup or
accessories as you see fit.” I haven’t checked with the organisers,
but I reckon a unicycle probably meets that description, and is more
sensible than the organisers suggestion that you ride it in wellington
boots with custard in your pants. I don’t know the course, but
there’s a proposal for a ‘kids hour’ when only those aged 14 and under
are on the course, so if they expect an under-14 year old can ride it,
I reckon it’s rideable on a unicycle.
The point of it is that you must pay to ride laps - at least 10 pounds
per lap. All the organisers are doing it for free, so every penny
paid for laps goes to the air ambulance (who helicoptered Russ from
the mountain). Sadly, I’m not currently riding unicycle or mtb due
to a (minor) knee injury, but those that are, may like to look at
http://www.russ-appeal.org.uk/ and look for ‘Ride for a Flight’.
regards, Ian SMith
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