Mental Health can affect anyone at any time and one of the main causes are the feelings of loneliness and becoming isolated from your friends, your family or a community.

I’m Chris Parr, BBC Environmental award winner and national award winning social entrepreneur from Burslem representing Stoke-on-Trent in North Staffordshire. The world capital of the ceramics industry and home to the ‘Man in Notion’ tour and #Pedal2Pallets initiative.

I’m a recycling artist, project manager of TheStoke2000 and the creator of my City's iconic bottle kiln shaped garden wall planters. The various versions are all handmade from recycled pallet wood and positioned in public and private spaces across the City and beyond; All celebrating Stoke-on-Trent's famous pottery industry and heritage.

Inspired by Port Vale’s Golden Valiants (a community group who tackles social isolation and loneliness in the elderly over the age of 55), I’ll be starting my physical and mental health challenge on 29th March 2023 for MIND charity, cycling 2000 miles across Great Britain. I’ll be helping more people to get creative and make other products from recycled pallet wood. Most importantly, showing that activity and creativity can help with feelings of mental health, isolation and loneliness. Workshops held in the South Wales Valleys, Dundee, Brighton and St Austell will focus on their local heritage too.

I’ll be carrying a small bag of woodwork tools, a puncture repair kit and a pocket full of pop songs and rock ballads to keep me company. Using the national cycle routes through villages, towns and Cites, the journey will take me to many destinations, discovering heritage and places of interest, learning about local legends and working with the communities making a difference to their own environment.

Make no mistake, this challenge will be very difficult with a few highs & many lows. The activity (after some much needed rest, recovery and create days), will benefit my own mental health and that of others who participate in the workshops.

So if I can endure 50 days working through the emotional and physical resilience pedaling 2000 miles to recycle pallets across England, Wales and Scotland while overcoming social isolation and loneliness, then my journey and story can inspire and motivate others to navigate through their own personal commute and challenges too.

*My website about the challenge can be viewed here: 

https://thestoke2000.co.uk/projects/britain-cycle-tour-recycling-pallets