It’s just like riding a bike…

I’VE ALWAYS wondered whether it is true when told “it’s like riding a bike – you’ll never forget” because, quite frankly, I’m not sure whether I can remember how to ride my bike it’s been so long.

This can, I suppose, only be resolved if I got on my bike, as it were, and re-lived the movements.

I would, however, be in a far better position than one of my colleagues, Nikki Cobb, who last rode her bike back in primary school and then not well.

She was reminded by a colleague that she was the only one who pushed her bike to and from her cycling proficiency course because she wasn’t proficient enough to go on the road!

Nikki, along with five other colleagues from Bond Pearce solicitors, will soon be getting on her bike and cycling across the Sahara desert to raise money for the Prince’s Trust (the Bond Pearce team will, more specifically, be running, biking, trekking and orienteering themselves across a 140km ancient trade route over five days).

The Prince’s Trust is probably one of those charities you’ve heard of but not because they have a charity shop on your high street.

The charity, established by the Prince of Wales, takes a slightly different approach to raising money with business challenges and Sahara treks, for example.

The work they do, however, is more traditional and aims to give practical and financial support to 14 to 30 year olds who have struggled at school, been in care, been in trouble with the law or been long-term unemployed.

This list alone will no doubt make you understand the increasing workload that the good people at the Prince’s Trust face with nearly one million young people now unemployed and the prospect of work being a thin one with our non-growth economy at the moment.

This is why it’s great to see people like Nikki and the team at Bond Pearce putting the effort in to help out this important charity.

The trek, which takes place from November 19 to 26, will be perhaps one of the biggest challenges faced by the volunteers heading out to the Sahara and so you might expect the team to be equipped with those super sleek bicycles, supported by professional trainers and filled with the athletic sprite that one no doubt requires to agree to trek across a desert.

You would, however, be wrong. Nikki had never done any formal exercise until last year and none, in preparation, have been provided with any special equipment.

Enthusiasm has been paramount however, which is just as well with the entry fundraising target being at least £3,300 per participant – which is a staggering amount of money.

The team have been supported by local outdoors equipment shop Blacks who have been helping the team with kit advice along the way.

Sadly they don’t provide cycling lessons because, when I asked Nikki how it was going, she informed me that she still had trouble turning left or right without falling off her bike.

I have every faith this small problem will be resolved before the trek takes place.

As frequent readers will no doubt know, I like to be helpful where I can for a good cause and I’ve tried to play my part in this one too.

As part of their fundraising Nikki created Cobb’s Kitchen and has been baking cakes like a full time bakery and leaving an array of delectable treats on the filing cabinet as I walk to my office every morning.

You will no doubt be surprised that I’ve contributed a fair amount each week in pursuance of charity by eating a probably socially unacceptable amount of cake.

I should probably get on my bike after all.

Whilst you can’t get to the cake you can donate to support the team raise their £20,000 target for the Prince’s Trust by calling the Challenge hotline on 020 7543 1370 or visiting www.princes-trust.org.uk/challenge and sponsoring the ‘Bond Pearce Trail Blazers’.

As always, if you have any community news you’d like me to write about then get in touch on darren@darren-jones.co.uk.