Three friends cycle across country with old map to raise money for asylum seeker bike charity
Three Sheffield students cycle across the country with a hand-me-down map to raise money for asylum seeker bike charity
Three friends from the University of Sheffield set out to cycle the entire length of Great Britain from the southern-most point at Lands End to the northern-most at John O Groats, to support ‘Roundabout’ and ‘The Bike Project’ charities.
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Harrison Martin, 20, Jack Bluck-Foster, 23 and Zack Tenquist, 23, are all second year university students and met very early on at university society sessions. They wheeled off on their epic journey on Monday July 6.
Harrison said: “Proving that you can go the entire country on a bike, it’s important to support that freedom being available to everyone”
This hunger for freedom is reflected in their support for the Bike Project, which refurbishes and donates bicycles to asylum seekers and refugees living in the UK
They are also donating to Roundabout, who Harrison represented in the 2025 Leeds marathon.
Harrison explained the idea was sparked by a beaten-up hand-me-down map.
“My mate Jack had the map in his family for years, with the route all mapped out. But no one had done the journey yet,” he explained.
The three friends decided they would be the ones to finally follow the route.
They set off on their journey and although it’s only in its infancy, they’ve already faced challenges.
Harrison’s bike broke down leaving them stranded on the side of the road, miles away from any towns.
They felt the community's kindness after they managed to flag a van just five minutes after breaking down.
They were then driven to the nearest town.
From there, they had to get another train to a separate town to find a bike shop that could fix Harrison's back wheel.
They called the repair shop the moment it opened, but were dismayed to hear they were fully booked for the day.
Harrison explained their journey to the shopkeeper and they eventually made an exception and fixed the wheels - putting the students back on the road.
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They spent the following 12 hours “playing catch-up” and attempting to get back on track.
Harrison said the people they have met so far have made their journey.
He said: “All the people have been so sweet, so nice. Everyone's been looking after us”
Travelling with tents and bivvy bags to sleep in each night, the men have been setting up camp wherever they can.
Whilst preparing for the ride, the students used cycling as their main form of travel to get to university, cycling round Sheffield every day.
Harrison said: “We all just cycled more than usual and called it training”
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Despite the well-known hills of Sheffield, Harrison said they pale in comparison to the rolling Cornish terrain.
Harrison said pushing through these challenges was worth it for the charities they are representing.
The group have raised £730 of their £2000 target so far.
To donate, follow this link: https://tinyurl.com/54jrfpkf