Help Harry cycle challenge gets the West Midlands back in the saddle
AN epic cycling challenge designed to get people in the West Midlands back on their bikes is proving a major success.
The 7-in-Seven Big Bike initiative aims to remind people across the West Midlands how much fun cycling is as a sport, a pastime, a means of transport, and to promote it as part of a healthy lifestyle suitable for all ages and fitness levels. It aims to inspire 7,000 people to collectively ride 77,777 miles (equivalent to three times round the world) by recording the miles they’ve pedalled on the 7-in-Seven website – www.7inseven.co.uk – while raising more than £100,000 for the Help Harry Help Others charity.
The campaign encompasses several elements. There is a schools challenge which will see 50 schools across Birmingham compete on seven exercise bikes in relay format to cycle as many miles as possible.
The business community has also been challenged to participate and the aim is to get 20 companies to take part, each challenging the other.
Training days are taking place at high footfall public areas such as football stadiums and the new Library of Birmingham. At each venue people are being encouraged to donate a mile.
There are also a series of Harry Training Hubs – single static bikes placed in random areas for the community to jump on and donate.
The core event is a 700-mile cycle ride in seven days which will see participants travel from Zurich to Birmingham. It starts on September 23.
The ambitious initiative is the brainchild of Tim Andrews, managing director of signs and graphics specialists Hollywood Monster, Gus Lunt, business manager at GlaxoSmithKline, and radio broadcaster Phil Upton, of BBC Coventry and Warwickshire.
On the last day, September 29, the public in Birmingham will be encouraged to cycle the last 30 miles of the route from Coventry. There will be a special celebration in Centenary Square to mark the completion of the event.
Organisers of the challenge said cyclists taking part in the 7-in-Seven challenge had already notched up more than 24,000 miles – the equivalent of more than once around the world.
Recent participants have included former Warwickshire and England opening batsman Dennis Amiss who pedalled his mile at Edgbaston Cricket Ground, while Birmingham City manager Lee Clarke completed a mile on an exercise bike at St Andrew’s.
Other supporters include Hollywood Monster, Westfield, Eze Group, Chiltern Railways, The Bottom Line, Birmingham City Council, Kukri, Pertemps, USN, Barques PR, The NEC Group, The Cube, the Ricoh Arena, and football clubs Aston Villa, West Bromwich Albion and Birmingham City.
Tim Andrews, managing director of Hollywood Monster and event organiser, said: “It’s fantastic that we have already managed to cycle over 24,000 miles less than three weeks since the launch. We really want to see everyone getting on their bikes and finding out just how much fun they can have whilst raising money.”
