Simón and Mark's cycling adventures
WE CYCLE CRAZY DISTANCES TO RAISE MONEY FOR REFUGEES
The money that we raise goes to MASS Action who redistribute it to grassroots refugee projects.
What is this?
In 2021 Simón and Mark, while having dinner with friends, decided they wanted to cycle to Paris in 48 hrs to challenge themselves. Given that Mark had an old rusty road bike on which he'd never cycled more than 60 kms and Simón, although an avid biker, was out of shape, cycling 550 km from Utrecht to Paris seemed like a good idea. In 2022, Simón and Mark cycled to Paris in a gruelling 34 hrs and raised €4,000 for MASS Action. This year, they wanted an easier challenge, just kidding. The challenge for 2023 is to cycle to Paris in 24hrs and to raise €6,000.
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Who are we?
Simón
Mark
Simón is Spanish and has been biking since he was four years old and has loved it ever since. So much so, that he did his first bike tour when he was only eight! He is currently working at BYCS where he is coordinating urban cycling advocates to get more people on two wheels. Personally, he loves exploring how moving by bicycle can transform the way communities relate to the natural world and each other. Mark on the other hand is Dutch. Coming from the country with the most bikes per capita in the world, it is only natural that Mark would come to enjoy cycling. Mark is currently working as a trainee at TenneT where he hopes to leave a positive impact on the energy transition. Although he is relatively new to bike touring and racing, he loves a good challenge. Together, we've been friends for over 5 years now! What brings us together is our love for cycling, our love for a good adventure and last but not least, to bring about positive change! That is why we are taking up this adventure again.
Who are we raising money for?
Simón and Mark are raising money with Thighs of Steel. Thighs of Steel is an organisation that cycles from Glasgow to Athens in segments each year to raise money and raise awareness for displaced people by distributing funds to grassroots refugee projects through the organisation MASS Action. Last year we raised €4,000. Together with the entire Thighs of Steel community we raised over €110,000. You can find out more about how this money was re-distributed here. This year our goal is to raise €6,000. To encourage your donation, we are doing many different cycling challenges.
What have we got planned for the coming year?
Our main challenge will be cycling from Utrecht to Paris in 24 hrs. However, we will be doing multiple other cycling trips to fundraise.
Gran Guanche Gravel Audax
Simon Races the ultra-endurance GranGuanche Gravel Audax in the Canary Islands in 4 days (700km – 16,000 elevation – hopefully 4 days)
Peak District Hardest Hundred Century Ride
Simon cycles the Peak District Hardest Hundred Century Ride (162km – 3500 elevation – 10 hours)
Utrecht -> Paris
For the main event of the year, we’ll ride together from Utrecht to Paris in under 24 hours - yes you read that right, and no, we’re also not sure it’s actually going to be fun. (510 km – 2,000 elevation – <24 hours)​
Basajaun
In July we’ll race the ultra-endurance Basajaun 2023 through the Basque country and try to put up a fight for the pairs’ podium. (780km – 15,000 elevation – who knows?)
Milan -> Trieste
And finally, we’ll cycle from Milan to Trieste across the dreamy Dolomites with the rest of the Thighs crew that have also been hard at work fundraising. (700 km – 12,000 elevation, 6 days)