Puncture Watch

A sudden bumping, a thwack thwack sound, a sinking heart. I shout ahead to Tim to wait while I dismount and check. Yep, another puncture.

Punctures are a pain at any time, but especially when your bike is loaded up with panniers. They mean dismantling the careful pile of drying clothes tied to the back of the bike, unhooking the panniers, wrestling with the tyre and, if you’re Laura, getting covered in oil. It will be even more of a pain in colder climates, where bike pump malfunctions and freezing hands will work against us.

To lessen the misery of each puncture, we are inviting our supporters to make a donation of £1 for each puncture we get. It couldn’t be easier to donate, simply text NXTC56 £1 to 70070 or visit www.justgiving.com/averylongbikeride.

You can of course choose to donate more than this, just alter the figure in the text message to reflect your desired sum.

We will keep a Puncture Watch log on this website and there will be updates in every newsletter (sign up). It would make us feel a lot happier if we knew some good was coming from it.

About the charity…

During our cycle trip, we are raising money for JDRF, a charity which funds research to find a cure for Type 1 diabetes. This is a cause close to our hearts as a very good friend – who joined us for the first leg of the trip – has the condition. It means she has to constantly test her blood sugar and adjust her diet accordingly, not an easy feat when one is cycling across a country and those around you are wolfing down sweet pastries to keep energy levels up.

We would be really grateful for your donations to this charity, it’s about time a cure was found.