Dan Bradbury and David Watkins are brothers-in-law and together with their teenage sons, Jack and Benjamin, they completed a tandem cycling challenge that took them 1,455 miles from Harpenden to Bordeaux and back, raising over £1,000 for Crisis. David tells us more.
"Dan bought the tandem bike a few years ago and at the height of the Covid lockdown in 2020, a plan was hatched over a family zoom call to do a father and son tandem bike ride between Bordeaux in France and Harpenden in the UK once the cousins turned 14.
"We are keen cyclists but this is by far the most ambitious trip we have done. The boys are very sporty so have a good level of fitness already. Jack plays a lot of rugby and Benjamin plays basketball to a high level.
"We've been training for a few months to prepare for the ride. Jack and Dan have been training on the tandem around Harpenden and Benjamin and I have done a few long rides on our road bikes in Bordeaux. Our maximum effort was 100km in a day and the week before we left we were breaking our daily distance records most days!
"The challenge was a relay ride. Dan and Jack left Harpenden on Friday 12 July arriving in Bordeaux a week later. After a day's turnaround and getting the bike serviced, Benjamin and I left early Sunday 21 July and retraced the same route, staying in mostly the same guesthouses along the way. We arrived in Harpenden on Sunday 28 July."
Dan adds, "Each father and son team rode over 700 miles in 8 days - and it didn't go without incident! On Bastille Day, Jack and I were riding through France, in temperatures of 28-30°C. We were miles from any town when suddenly, without warning, the chain flew off the bike with a crack.
"We realised the drive chain had slipped off, not a serious problem, but when we looked closer we found a major issue in the gearing. Close to a catastrophic failure! We almost had to abandon the bike and get help. Fortunately, with my trustee Alan key in hand, we made a temporary fix and crawled into the next village at low speed.
"Unfortunately, with it being Bastille Day everything was closed, and the village population were all in the streets playing bongos! Eventually, with the help of David who was back at base in Bordeaux calling around repair shops, we located a bearded old man who I could only describe as a cycling artisan, as he approached baguette in hand. He opened up his shop whipped our bike onto his rack and made some serious fixes.
"Within a couple of hours, we were back on the road, fully-operational with only a €10 charge as a reminder of the great luck we’d had.
"We would like to take the opportunity to raise some money for a good cause and so we have decided to cycle in support of one of the UK's leading homelessness charities, Crisis. Homelessness should not exist in any society and with your support we hope to make a little bit of difference to the lives of those living in temporary accommodation or sleeping rough on the streets."
We'd like to say a huge thank you to Dan, Jack, David and Benjamin for their incredible efforts in raising money for Crisis and helping to end homelessness for good.
Find out more about fundraising for Crisis
A tandem cycling family are this week's supporter stars!⭐