About this campaign

Do Rose and Rowan have Thighs of Steel?? We intend to find out during the 11th-21st August when we join a bunch of cyclists to ride from Milan to Trieste in Italy. We will sweat up Italian Alps, cry, plunge into mountain lakes, laugh, get up at a ridiculously early hour and do it all again.

This is a formidable challenge. 810km (503 miles) in 8 days, with a total uphill distance of 17,700m. This is REALLY far! Fortunately, we get to freewheel down many mountains and hill too. There will be no showers, and many nights rough-camping. We have also been promised stops for coffee and gelato, very necessary fuel for our adventure. This ride is sure to stretch us to our limits of endurance!

The ride is supported by an organisation called Thighs of Steel, who were set up to raise money for grass-roots refugee projects. (for more info see https://www.thighsofsteel.com/the-reason.html )
"Projects often close because they can’t get funding for the boring stuff like rent, bills and maintenance so this is what we prioritise. You can’t take great pictures of it, and it doesn’t make for newsworthy impact statistics, but boy is it important. All of the money we fundraise goes to refugee projects and none of it goes on the cycle rides."

We aim to raise £500 as part of Thighs of Steels' big fundraiser for Help Refugees. They focus on the fundraising, then bring in the Help Refugees expertise to co-decide where the need is greatest, and which projects are the most effective on the ground.

For Rowan, this is also the start of his break from full-time mental health nursing and a chance to reflect on the highs and lows of the last 5 years. Who knows what's next for him, maybe he'll just keep on pedalling....

For Rose, this is a chance to help raise money for a cause she is passionate about and to travel back to the lovely North Italy and maybe visit a bee farm or two on the way.

We are thinking of sending out audio/video updates of each day as we ride, so watch this space!

We would love it if you could donate what you can!