Hi Everyone,

On behalf of Blue Marine Foundation, I am going to be cycling over 1500 kilometres in the London to Monaco Cycle Ride 2016 to support our oceans. 

We will be setting off from London on Sunday 18th September, arriving 10 days later at Prince's Palace of Monaco on Tuesday 27th September.
Anyone is welcome to join us either end, whether on your bike or simply to show your support.

I’ll be cycling on average 150 kilometres a day.  For ten consecutive days. Why I hear you ask?! Well at times, I ask myself the same thing, especially when faced with a series of never ending hill climbs, when your legs are spent and everything in your mind is saying STOP! But the answer is simple, because I care so much about the cause. 

My first big training ride was from London to Folkstone, covering 118km with a 1,053m elevation. I had no idea how much preparation needs to go into these long rides (hard saddle, chamois cream, padded shorts) however I made it, even after moments where I thought I was going to die.  At the end I felt really exhilarated. It gave me the boost I needed, to believe I can do this. Since then I have taken on the Ditchling Beacon, familiarised myself with cycle routes in and around London and clocking up the laps of Richmond park. I am actually starting to really love cycling!

For those who don't know BLUE, it's a charity which exists to solve the crisis in the oceans through providing innovative solutions to over-fishing and enabling the creation of marine reserves.

We are a charity that really shakes things up and gets stuff done.  We’ve already contributed to nearly 1.5m square kilometres of ocean being protected from the ravages of overfishing.

Funds raised from the cycle ride will go towards two of BLUE's projects that will contribute significantly to ocean protection:

The beautiful Aeolian Islands to the north of Sicily are being threatened by overfishing and irresponsible tourism.

Funds raised from the cycle ride will go towards projects which will:

- Build eco-moorings for sailing vessels so they don’t
damage the sea - grass beds when they anchor;

- Monitor and protect endangered marine species such as
sperm whales and dolphins;

- Enhance fish reproduction through site-specific
protection/zoning;

- Reduce the number of ‘ghost’ nets (discarded nets which
trap species such as loggerhead turtles)

The remote island of Ascension in the tropical Atlantic is home to some of the biggest fish in the world, sharks, turtles and rare sea birds, but was being plundered by long-line fishing. The UK government has just
declared half Ascension’s waters protected from fishing, but the Ascension islanders rely on income from fishing licences.

Funds raised from the cycle ride will support BLUE’s work to open up other sources of income on the island, particularly science and eco-tourism so that 100% of the island’s waters (nearly twice the size of the UK) can become a marine protected area.

Thank you SO much for your support. 

The thing that will keep me going is that each kilometre I cycle will represent 1000 square kilometres of ocean that BLUE has helped protect.  With your support we can do so much more.

SJ x