Blackpool to Brighton on bike: Day 2

Hello All, We havw just finsihed our second day of cycling and it has been one of the single hardest things I have ever done. We covered 80 miles today and roughly 40 of that has been over very hilly terrain. The problem is that the hills are so steep that once you get to the top you go so fast down to the bottom that you barely have chance to recover before you are climbing the other side. There was one particular hill today which proved to be increadably hard, it started off gently but slowly the incline increased and by the time we reached the top it was the steepest hill I have ever encountered (on a bike or otherwise). On the bright side we have been able to see some beautiful parts of the country which we would not have otherwise seen.

But by far the best part about today has been seeing the text donations coming in. Thank you so much for everyone who has donated and if you have not then I would really urge you to do so because the money really is going to change lives! It is easy to think that sponsoring a child helps that person in an incredible way but the impact stops there. This is so far from reality, it changes the lives of the family of the child along with so many other people. The family benefits as the financial burdon of educating a child is removed. This means that other siblings may be able to start school or the parents may be able to start working again putting food on the table as their child is no longer at home for large portions of the day. Local business people benefit from recieving a fair price for their products or services. And finally the community as a whole benefits from education. It is very common for children to follow in the foot steps of their parents and as time goes on this is not always the best choice. For example if the parent is a mango farmer and their children follow them into this career they will find that the price of mangos has dropped significantly over the past few years as large farms undercut the prices of small producers. Clearly it is not a good idea to become a mango farmer in the current climate but if you have no education your options are limited. Education helps young people to see and reach oppertunities that they may have otherwise overlooked. They may even start their own business where they can employ people from their community.

I really must go as I need to get some sleep before it all starts again tomorrow. Please donate if you can.

Text FUND22 followed by £1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10 to 70070. e.g. 'FUND22 £5' to 70070

Check cycle our progress at www.twitter.com/milelecharity

Thank you!

Rich