Freewheel-Central London

This was our third or fourth run out on our recently purchased mountain bikes. We've so far been up & down the Lea Valley through Hackney, up the Roman Rd., Grand Union Canal etc, this time we wanted to get ito the city and what better time to do it than when there's no cars around.

We met at The Emirates Stadium, Arsenal North London & proceeded at a leisurely pace into town. We all agreed that the busy meeting spots along the West End, were good fun but we enjoyed ourselves much more letting rip back east through the city on the embankment, going through all the tunnels you usually wouldn't cycle through. One of the more enjoyable aspects of London cycling imparticular seems to be exploring the City & thames to the east as you can really feel the spirit of the place along the wharfs and canals, especially at weekends.
Anyway it's good to support these projects, and it's good training for next weekend, the 1000k event in finsbury Park.

Build up to 1000K in a day.

“Wheels of Recovery” is a sports project run from within Haringey Advisory Group on Alcohol” (reg. Charity no.1054656) an alcohol treatment agency in Haringey-North London. We've been concentrating all our efforts on a 1000K combined cycle relay in Finsbury Park. It is happening, Saturday 27th September. Logistics have been a nightmare, but thats a positive because we now number 10-20 committed recovering people who have taken endurance sports on as a way of expressing ourselves and being of service to others. It's a fundraiser, all proceeds go to providing more sports and outdoor pursuits for people with addiction issues in our borough.
About 2 months ago we were awarded £5000 by the London Cycling Campaign, and since then we haven't looked back, organising this event as a way of publicising our philosophy of physical lifestyle as a way of focusing your life post drugs/alcohol.
All the local cycle shops have sponsored us, the supermarkets and cafes have helped us out with food, and the local press and drug/alcohol therapy trade press will be in attendance.
We've been training hard in the parks and along the canals of North & East London, along the Thames, through the City & West End. if we raise enough money we'll go out to the Chilterns this Autumn for some serious mountain biking (and trail running).
People in recovery often find they are suffering from a feeling of emptiness and a lack of direction. We believe that many people can discover a new power within themselves through the challenge of physical pursuits. Expanding personal limitations & service to the community underpin our philosophy of recovery from addiction. The event will be filmed in order to document these stories of mental and physical transformation.

We are hoping that this endurance event will become a fixture, as it relies on teamwork, and the emphasis is on personal bests rather than racing, but we can race as well if we want to. there should be some great athletes there including ironmen and ultramarathoners as well as people who can't ride but who nevertheless will complete circuits on foot.

Email us for details or a sponsor form.