HAVE BIKE, WILL TRAVEL

Early next April I will begin to cycle around the coast again, but...  this time I am going in the opposite direction (i.e. anti clockwise) and I will be visiting, or at least taking a photo of, all 190 lifeboat stations on the coast of Britain. (That doesn't include the 43 that are in Ireland - I won't have time!)

This is because I will be raising money for the RNLI's Crew Training Appeal they launched recently. Although the RNLI is one of the most supported charities, they are in an extremely expensive field -marine and this not only applies to the equipment, but also to the training of the crews. For instance, it typically costs £1000 per year, to train and maintain the level of qualifications needed by each crew member.

I expect to cover around 5000 miles on this new ride (and hope to raise at least £1 a mile), that's a few more than the 3751 miles in 105 days I clocked up last time!

However, I will be taking longer to do it (nearly six months) and therefore the daily mileage will probably be slightly less - about 30 at a guess. The reason why I'm telling you this is because I'm asking anyone if they want to come with me .. it needn't be for all of it, but it will still be the trip of a lifetime!

As I did before, I will be carrying all my own gear, or rather towing it in the large trailer that a friend built specially for the last trip and, as before, there is no support vehicle! Overnight accommodation is 90% camping and you need to be used to cycling! Although, having said that, it is fairly easy to get used to ... there's plenty of time yet! I wasn't used to towing a trailer weighing 65kg until I started the last trip!

I'm in the process of asking for corporate sponsorship to offset the cost of the trip to me; the last trip was very expensive to do in terms of living expenses. In return I can offer publicity to those firms helping me. This will include stickers on my trailer, a good plug on this web site and mentions to media in interviews. I have a new website at www.spoke2soon.co.uk where there are details of the old 2004 trip and, of course, details are being added about the new 2006 trip.

If anyone would like to send donations to the Appeal in support of my ride, cheques need to be made payable to 'RNLI' and a note included saying it's for the' Crew Training Appeal' in support of Will Blight's Coastal 'Lifeboat Station' Cycle.

The address is:

Thanks

 Will Blight