Beyond the Bike has three main objectives:

1) To Cycle 10,000 miles between South Africa and the UK, arriving in London in time for the 2012 Games.

I do hope to cycle all the way but the volatility of some the countries that I'm currently planning on passing through may prevent this... see the route for more detail.

2) To raise £100,000 for Charity.

My main charity partner is Beyond Ourselves, working with community schools in the Copperbelt region of Zambia. In particular they are helping to build links between Zambian and British schools, including Cranleigh. I'm also raising money for 3 other exceptional organisations, all with a focus on helping young people in Africa. See Charities page for more detail.

3) To engage with students, both en route and in the UK, whilst understanding more about the role of Education in Economic Development.

By visiting schools in each country, speaking with students and teachers, I hope to understand more about what makes for successful education, as well as trying to enthuse them about the benefits of cycling. I intend to spend time in Zambia and Kenya looking at education in more detail, in particular what makes successful school links programmes between the UK and Africa. As an economics teacher myself, I'm particularly interested in economic development. I will be writing a regular blog - 'the economic cycle', in partnership with Tutor2U, with my thoughts from the road. I hope that this will help bring the 'dismal science' to life for students!