Climate campaigner cycles from the Wirral to London to join historic march

|PIC1|Richard Avery, 48, will this Friday attempt the most ambitious cycling challenge of his life – a 200 mile ride from his Greasby home to London in just 24 hours.

His destination is central London, where he will join tens of thousands fellow climate campaigners for a historic climate change march The Wave on Saturday.

Richard will leave his Greasby home at 6am on Friday in a bid to arrive in Central London by 10am on Saturday.

He says, “I have ridden sponsored rides of over a hundred miles before but I have never done anything quite as ambitious as this. The first major stop is 150 miles in to the ride, in Milton Keynes, so it will be a massive endurance test.”

Richard, who attends St Mary’s Church in Upton, has been planning his route for the past six weeks and will be cycling on mostly A roads. He will be dropping in on Tearfund volunteers along the route for cups of tea and brief rest stops.

With less than 24 hours to go, Richard says, “I’m feeling anxious about keeping fit for the journey. I just hope I can keep going that long in what is likely to be tough weather conditions.”

The Wave, organised by the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition, comes ahead of the UN climate talks in Copenhagen, which start on Monday and finish on 18 December.

Speaking of his motivations for the cycle, he says, “I visited Bangladesh with Tearfund five years ago and I was struck by how the changing climate is already impacting people there. I met people living right on the water’s edge who are so vulnerable to the extreme weather and sea level rises.

He adds, “It was inspiring to see how the local church, supported by Tearfund, is building flood shelters for the most affected communities – helping people adapt to the realities of climate change.

“Its important for me to be part of The Wave because I want to add my voice to the call for a fair and ambitious deal in Copenhagen next week, for the sake of the people I met in Bangladesh.”

Richard, who works for development charity Tearfund, is no stranger to cycling challenges. In 2007 he cycled 1,200 miles around the UK in a month, raising over £2,000 for Tearfund’s work with climate affected communities in Honduras.

The Wave begins at 12 noon in Grosvenor Square in central London. A stunning finale will take place at 3pm as participants encircle the Houses of Parliament.