Richard Littledale

Richard Littledale's
Views on the News: August 2015

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Ride London graphic   28001   Ride London graphic

The day after this is published I shall join some 25,000 other cyclists to cycle the 100-mile Ride London course. Early in the morning we shall leave the Olympic Park behind and make our way out through London to cross the River Thames at Kingston Bridge. After that the course heads out into Surrey for some serious hill climbs before turning again to cross the River and come in through Raynes Park and Wimbledon before finishing on The Mall. This is an Olympic Legacy event, and the numbers participating are growing year on year.

Just last month I was talking to a school assembly about the London 2012 Olympic motto 'inspire a generation', and was able to tell them that I had been inspired by the 2012 Olympics to undertake this feat 3 years later. To that extent, however long I may take to complete the course I am a successful 'convert'.

Richard Littledale on a bike
Ride London graphic            Ride London graphic

At a conservative estimate it will take me at least 28,000 pedal revolutions to complete the course. 700 or so miles in training have increased that figure several fold. Along the way I have been blessed by others who have helped. They have drawn cartoons, designed leaflets, serviced my bike, accompanied me on training rides, given training advice and generally supported. Not only that, but the baby charity for whom I undertook the ride have inspired me with their stories of courage and determination when the joy of childbirth becomes something else all together. It has been a privilege to do this.

So why 28001 then? I have added the extra turn because truly good things usually demand more of us than we expect. 'Going the extra mile' is one of those Bible phrases which has snuck out of the Bible's back door and into common parlance. Jesus used it to say that in doing good we should never do the least we can get away with, but the most we can manage.

How about going an extra mile today?

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