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A ‘ridiculous’ ride from London to Bristol
A pair of unicyclists will be riding from London to Bristol while raising funds for two national charities.
Ben Kirby and Bertie Bilsdon, circus artists from Bristol, will be unicycling 35 to 40 miles every day from Thursday to Sunday.
Starting from Big Ben in the capital, they are aiming to travel through Reading, Trowbridge, Marlborough and Swindon before concluding their journey at Circomedia in St Paul’s.
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Planning ahead for their journey, Kirby told Bristol24/7: “We’re staying at Bertie’s family home on the last night before Bristol, but the very first two nights we’re camping. We’re bringing all our camping gear, cooking stuff, sleeping bags – everything we need.
“We’ve also got two slightly different approaches about how we’re carrying our gear. So I’ve made bags, these panniers for my unicycle. One goes on the front, one goes on the back.
“I’m putting all the weight pretty much on my unicycle, whereas Bertie is putting it all in the bag on his back! He’s just built differently.”
Ben Kirby is a graduate and Bertie Bilsdon is still training at Circomedia
Bilsdon has prepared for their upcoming journey by doing a practice ride with bricks in his bag.
Their upcoming “ridiculous” ride is in support of two charities – Meningitis Now and Palestine Trauma Centre.
On the first night of their ride, Ben and Bertie plan to stay near Reading
They expect the journey to be difficult.
Bilsdon said: “If one of us falls off which is, let’s be real, a possibility then we’ve got the issue of we’re in the middle of the road, there’s live traffic and we’ve got to get back on the unicycle – which is quite difficult when you’re tired.”
Still, both are confident they’re up for the challenge.
Kirby said: “We’ve definitely got the mentality to keep going for the full four nights and five days. It is just whether or not our bodies are physically fit to do it.”
The duo will be sharing live updates from the ride on their Instagram pages.
All photos: Ben Kirby and Bertie Blisdon
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