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2000,2000,2000!

 

The year 2000, two thousand pounds and two thousand miles!

2000, 2000, 2000!

In 1991 I made myself a bike out of two half bikes. I learned how to use the gears, and started riding to work in Cambridge. I was introduced to 'Sunday bike rides' by a friend and practiced riding further than the five miles to work. 

I would cycle round the local villages after work, and get up early to cycle to work the long-way- round, that involved a hill or two. By the end of the summer I had done four 'rides' for national charities and raised £400 for Help the Aged, the World Wildlife Fund, British Heart and Oxfam.  Emboldened, and always up for a challenge, I entered the 1992 London to Cambridge 'event' - a properly organised affair, including going by train to the start in London, with marshals to point out the route at road junctions.  

  I pedalled along, conscious of being older than most riders. I was overtaken by hoards of lycra-clad young men, on bikes with skinny tyres.  I wondered if it would be possible for me to cyçle for more than oñe day.Perhaps I could raise funds for a charity? Where  could I go, where would I stay at night, and where would the weather be reasonable? 

 Somewhere abroad? I was interested in  ancient civilisations, and in nature. The Amazon  would be interesting, but had no roads. America was too expensive. The Nile valley was tempting, but tourists were being shot in Egypt.  I had recently been to China and Russia, as they were the cheapest holiday destinations. The insurance for getting food poisoning in Moscow  paid for my Chinese tour in 1990. 

I  began to feel hungry. Judging by the number of bikes parked outside pubs on our route, most people stopped at these country hostelries.  I decided to avoid them, fearing that I might not make it back to Cambridge! I would stick to my sandwiches, bananas, and water!
Dreamily turning the pedals, with the sun on my back, I returned to choosing a possible destination for 
my 'epic adventure'. I had recently learned about a charity called Lepra ! Leprosy was not just a biblical event; it still exists in many countries. India was reputed to have 70% of the world's leprosy! 

I had met a lot of Indian textile students at Leeds university. One of them, Ramesh, became a firm friend of mine, and my husband's, when they were both hospitalized with TB, itself a microbial cousin of leprosy. 
Ramesh was now a businessman, and I felt sure he would  rescue me if I got into trouble.

An Indian bike ride for Lepra became my pipe dream !

I made it back to Cambridge in a heavy downpour, scared that I might be electrocuted by the lightning flashes, and finding it difficult to see through the raindrops on my glasses. It was reported as being the hottest day of the year! A bit like India?

Lepra wanted to eliminate Leprosy from India by the year 2000! I could try to raise £2000 for Leprosy treatment in India, and the Ganges was about 2000 miles long.!

 2000,2000,2000!

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