The Background

Saffron provides free therapy for women in Sheffield who've lived through trauma and abuse.  We are overwhelmed with demand for the service, and the impact of therapy for our clients is profound.

We have kept a reduced service going through social isolation (via telephone), but we know that as we are needed at the present time we will be needed even more when some sense of normality resumes.

Our fundraising has been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.  We fund a substantial part of our service by hiring out therapy rooms, which we are no longer able to do.  Similarly, all of our face-to-face fundraising activity has stopped. 

The Challenge

Anyone that knows me knows that I love cycling, and I am not afraid of a challenge. So I needed to make this one something difficult that I would dread if I am going to ask for your sponsorship! In keeping with the 26/2.6 theme I decided that 26 repetitions of an iconic local hill climb seemed crazy enough to attempt. 

Jackson Bridge is a somewhat infamous climb, having been used in the 1994 and 2015 National Hill Climb Championship, and there is also a yearly open event raced up the hill. The climb itself is just under a mile, with an average gradient of 10.6%, although this does include some steeper ramps that I am concerned about with tired legs!

My plan is to complete this in a single ride, going up and down until the 26 repetitions are complete, this should total over 13,000ft of climb in around 46 miles. I don't know exactly how long it will take, I am hopeful I can complete it in under 8 hours but I am really not sure. I am not setting a date as I will keep an eye on the weather and pick a day that is fine and dry and not windy. I will aim to have done this by the end of June at the latest.

It is important to note that I will be following current guidelines relating to social distancing and exercise outdoors. I will complete the ride solo, but I will have my car parked on the hill with everything I might need to be fully self sufficient and safe. In light of this I will not be encouraging anyone to ride out there to support me on the same day.