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With over £1,800 of sponsorship under her belt a local cyclist is today ‘gearing up’ for a 980-mile charity bike ride across the length of the Britain.
Anna Hafsteinsson is setting off this morning to embark on what she has described as “the trip of a lifetime” – pedalling almost 1,000 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise money for charity.
Taking part in the organised cycle trip ‘Ride Across Britain’ started off as a dare between Anna and her friend Hamish, but she told Express that what began as a joke is now becoming “very real” in the days leading up to the challenge.
Anna said that it was taking part in previous charity rides – including one to Belgium for the Love Hearts Appeal – which gave her her “first taste of big cycling adventures” and it was then that she “got the bug at that point.”
Pictured: Anna and her friends on their charity cycle to Brussels for the Love Hearts Appeal.
Continuing cycling whilst she was living in London and also when she moved back to the island, Anna said it was actually “a bit of a game of chicken” between her and a friend which resulted in them both taking part in the Land’s End to John O’Groats ride.
Laughing, she recalls saying to her friend “I’ll do it if you do it” and they both ended up signing up together.
Speaking more about the ride itself: “It’s basically a big organised ride… so there’ll be about 800 cyclists altogether doing the cycle all raising money for different charities.
“They’ll set up big camps every night where everyone will sleep in tents. So, it should be a good bonding experience and hopefully we’ll meet lots of interesting, like-minded people who are up for similarly crazy challenges!”
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Anna’s sponsorship is all going to the Prince’s Trust which is the official sponsor of the ride, but each cyclist is tackling the challenge for lots of different causes.
So far, Anna has managed to raise over £1,800 in donations on her crowdfunding page and she praised her supporters as “really generous people.”
Anna is off this morning to Exeter before travelling down to Penzance for a night’s stay and then beginning the cycle ride from Land’s End on the weekend.
“It’s all become very real now!”
Despite the varying climes and conditions across the 980-mile route, Anna thinks that Jersey’s varied terrain has provided her with a good training ground for the challenge.
Pictured: The organised ride will see around 800 cyclists travelling 980 miles by bike.
“I think we’re fairly lucky in Jersey in that there is quite a varied terrain in quite a small space so it means that I feel like I’ve had some reasonable training on hills, but I’ve heard that Devon and Cornwall are particularly hilly so I think those two days are particularly challenging. So, I’m just hoping my legs hold out!”
Speaking a few days ahead of the cycle, Anna said: “[I’m] a little bit nervous, but mostly just looking forward to being on my bike and enjoying some of the beautiful scenery along the way.”
You can keep up to date with Anna’s progress on her Instagram and view her crowdfunding page here.
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