World-First Eco Adventure - “Pedal 4 Parks”
What WAS the Challenge?
A team I have assembled cycled from the northernmost tip of the Orkney Islands (Birsay) to the southwestern islands of England (Isles of Scilly). We bike packed through many of the 15 UK national parks (Cairngorms, Loch Lomond & The Trossachs, Lake District, Brecon Beacons, Exmoor and Dartmoor.
This journey will take 1440km of cycling to complete in a time frame of 2 days which is equivalent to cycling 120 km (80-100miles) a day.
When did it take place?
18th June 2021 - 1st July 2021
Key Metrics / Stats
Start: Birsay, Orkney Islands
Finish: Hugh Town, Isles of Scilly
Duration: 14 days — 87 hrs of cycling
World's First Water Bike Sea Crossings: 2 waterbike sea crossings of Orkney Islands to John O’Groats, Scotland and Sennen Cove, Cornwall, to Hugh Town Beach, Isles of Scilly (65 km/40 miles ferry distance saved by cycling, avg. speed = 6.7 km/hr (4.2mph))
Distance: 1805 km/1121 miles
Elevation: 20,105 m = climbing the height of Everest x 2
Calories burned: 5000 kcal
National Park visits: 6
Climate Solutions Visited and Volunteered at: 25
Carbon emissions avoided / offset: 19,464.85 kg CO2e
Environmental contributions: tree planting, litter picks, removing invasive species, charitable donations to climate adaptation implementation within UK National Parks, carbon-neutral film production, eco
No. Trees planted through offsetting: 1557
No. litter items collected: 770
No. plastic litter items avoided by litter collection: 577.5
Amount of CO2e avoided via Low Carbon sustainable transportation and sustainable local produce food: 6987.45 kgCO2e
Total of 79 sponsoring partners, with 51% representing ethical brands and 29% local partners. 13 out of the 79 partners were B Corporations, constituting 17% of our sponsoring partners.
Wildlife: Killer whales, puffins, rabbits, birds of prey, grey seals, dolphins, foxes, farm animals, jellyfish
24 film festival selections for "14 Days South: Over Sea and Land," including 4 awards and many 5-star reviews.
+35,000 views of our media (film + film trailers) from over 30 different countries, sharing awareness of key messages and climate solutions to inspire sustainable behaviour change and action.
Film Documentary
Our mission is film a short documentary with SkyRise Productions our media partner to question the human interference within the UK’s national parks to highlight the need for their conservation and explore the impact on our physical and mental health.
We cycle to clear our heads and be one with nature. For some reason as time goes on nature is becoming less and less available in and around cities like London. Green spaces are disappearing at an alarming rate. We now travel further and further out of cities in search of locations to clear our heads and be one with nature. What happens when all of these spaces disappear? Where will we go? These are just some of the questions that we hope to solve.
The team decided to take a stand and try and prevent these national parks from being damaged or lost by human interference. We are creating this film to highlight the importance of green spaces for human well being and natural habitats.
