On the 18th of April I was signed up to race a long-distance gravel event, The Dirty Reiver, but for obvious reasons this is no longer happening.

I thought about what I could do instead, and how I could help raise money for charity in this time of increased need.

From this, the idea for Dirty Weaver was born.

I will now be riding the distance of the event around my garden on the 18th of April. Each lap is approximately 100m long, so this means over 1000 laps. It will take in a combination of grass, gravel, and tarmac, and I estimate that it will take me around 12 hours to complete.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be doing work on the 'course' to make the laps a bit faster, but I am currently intending to ride the Dirty One Thirty (130km). This is achievable in daylight hours, which is important for safety.

This will be a mental and physical challenge unlike anything I've done before, but every donation will motivate me to keep pedalling for an important cause. 

Let's help support those going through something unimaginable during this lockdown.

Why Women's Aid?

Under 'normal' circumstances the statistics around domestic abuse are already shocking enough, and charities helping survivors are often not given the support they need:

- Almost one in three women aged 16-59 will experience domestic abuse in her lifetime.

- Two women a week are killed by a current or former partner in England and Wales alone.

- In the year ending March 2019, 1.6 million women experienced domestic abuse.

It is likely that home confinement during Covid-19 will lead to further abuse by perpetrators, and figures are already rapidly increasing during the lockdown.

Your donation could be a survivor's lifeline during this dangerous time!