RideLondon: Amateur cyclists ride 100 miles on tandem

Luke Mitchell and Elliot Sauverin will ride the tandem bike 100miles in Sunday's RideLondon event

Two friends from Norfolk are to cycle 100 miles (160km) on a tandem inspired by a close friend's cancer diagnosis.

Luke Mitchell, 26, and Elliot Sauverin, 25, from Wymondham, are taking part in Sunday's RideLondon-Essex.

The amateur cyclists wanted to add an extra challenge to the event, to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

"There are 22,000 cyclists doing RideLondon and there's not many tandems. So we wanted to make the challenge a bit harder," Luke said.

"It's certainly more challenging going up hills, because you have to propel twice the weight. You definitely have to communicate a lot.

"I think the longest we've done on the tandem is maybe 50 miles (80.5km). So we've only ever done half."

Elliot said: "We don't really have a target time. Finishing is amazing, but based on some other stuff we've done, we're hoping for under seven hours.

"If we make it to the finish line..." he laughed. "No, we're going to smash it."

The pair say communication is really important when you're riding the same bike

The pair want to raise £10,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust after they supported their friend through her thyroid cancer diagnosis. She preferred not to be named in their fundraising campaign.

Luke said: "Obviously, it was a very hard time. It was during the lockdown that she had both of her surgeries and radioactive iodine treatment, so having Teenage Cancer Trust provide her with the same nurse throughout all her treatments, who could be by her side and support her... she was incredibly appreciative of her and so am I."

• Nearly £3m for county's walking and cycling routes

• Tour of Britain to return to East of England

• Town bike shop marks 100 years with celebration

The pair said they had already "smashed" their original fundraising target last year, and were just under the £10,000 "barrier" heading into this weekend.

"We needed to do something just to get past it," said Elliot.

"They've told us just £30 pays for an hour's worth of nursing."

Tandems

• Danish engineer Mikael Pedersen is widely credited with inventing the tandem in 1898

• One popular style of tandem was the "courting bicycle", where traditionally the gentleman would ride and steer from the back, while a lady could sit at the front with room for her skirts

• Tandems have had a resurgence in popularity since the 1960's, and are popular for sightseeing

It's the second time RideLondon is taking place in Essex. This is the race's 10th anniversary.

The main route begins in central London, heads out through Epping Forest and on to Braintree in north Essex, and finishes back at Tower Bridge in the capital.

In 2022 the pair, along with Luke's dad Simon and friends Ash and Rob, hiked the three peaks for Teenage Cancer Trust

There are also two shorter rides of 60 and 80 miles, and a Free Cycle event around a car-free street circuit in Westminster and the City of London.