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CycleInstead - The Challenge (Thailand to Edinburgh)

Posted: 25 February 2011

In April Abi Wingate and Jaye Marolla will cycle from Thailand to Edinburgh! The goal is to raise £20,000 for the Scottish Association for Mental Health, (SAMH). Through this 15,000km bicycle journey, Abi and Jaye aim to spread a simple message;

"no matter how difficult our life situation is, there are always other options to explore." 

On April 15th of this year, Cyclelnstead project founder Abi Wingate and Jaye Marolla (Support Team) will embark on a 15,000 km journey across 19 countries. From Chiang Mai, Thailand, cycling across two continents over six months until reaching the final destination of Edinburgh, Scotland in October. The aim of this journey is to raise awareness of suicide prevention and mental health issues. The goal is to raise £20,000 for the partner charity the Scottish Association for Mental Health, (SAMH).

For the past year Abi has intensively researched the route, trip logistics, the equipment necessary to complete the tour, and the level of physical fitness required to endure 6 months of loaded bicycle touring. Initially, the proposed route was through Thailand, Laos, China, Mongolia, Russia, and then on to Europe. After careful examination of the roads, and difficult visa restrictions entering Russia, it was decided to revise the route to cycling the well-traveled Silk Road - a popular road for bike tourists - has been far easier to research on-line and will be much simpler to navigate.

Additionally, we have detailed information regarding visas, terrain, cultural expectations for female cyclists, safety, and accommodation for each of the following 19 countries we will cycle through;

Thailand, Laos, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, England, and Scotland.

On December 14th Abi launched the Cyc1eInstead website which has already received over 14,000 hits. 'We have had a tremendously positive response from the Edinburgh community and those abroad', said Abi. 'The Edinburgh Evening News has featured CycleInstead in a recent issue and they will continue following the ride throughout our journey to Scotland.'

please check out www.cycleinstead.com for more information

Click here to download the proposal booklet (4MB .pdf)