Bicycle owner takes on personal model of Tour de France for contemporary slavery victims
A
British biking Guinness World Records holder is to make his “dream” a actuality by taking up the primary three phases of the Tour de France 2023 to boost cash to purchase bikes for victims of recent slavery.
Gordon Miller, from London, will start the trip he calls the Ride For Freedom Basque Country Tour de France 2023 a couple of days earlier than the 21-stage skilled biking occasion begins in Bilbao, northern Spain, from July 1.
The first stage of Mr Miller’s 505km (314 mile) trip over three days takes place round Bilbao on June 26.
He will trip the second stage on June 28 from Vitoria Gastiez to Donostia-San Sebastian, and the third on June 30 alongside the Basque Country shoreline.
He desires to boost consciousness of human trafficking within the course of.
Mr Miller, 59, advised the PA news company: “For as long as I can remember it’s been a dream to cycle the Tour de France.
“It’s simply the most iconic bike race in the world. It’s also one of the toughest.
“So I figured if I took on the challenge it would help to raise awareness of human trafficking, a form of modern slavery which is the cause of all my bike rides.”
Money raised will go to Ride for Freedom, Mr Miller’s non-profit organisation which helps victims of recent slavery by way of biking.
The fundraising goal has been set at £1,440 to purchase 18 second-hand bikes to provide to survivors becoming a member of biking classes organised by the non-profit organisation.
As a part of the trip, which Mr Miller is taking up with fellow biking fanatic Simon Rofe, 49, a college lecturer from Leeds, he’ll go to soccer golf equipment alongside the path to “show a red card” to trafficking in soccer.
“The victims are trafficked, reportedly in the main from west Africa, by the false promise of trials with professional football clubs that do not exist,” he stated.
“Instead, they become enslaved and exploited, victims of modern slavery.
“So we engage with football clubs to bring it to their notice. On this ride we’ll visit the two main Basque teams, Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad.”
He added that the cycle may also be a “milestone” for him as he approaches his “seventh decade”, having achieved quite a few biking feats already, together with the Guinness World Record for “the greatest distance covered by an electric bicycle in one week” in 2021.
“I’m 60 in November, so it’s a bit of a milestone to ride three stages of the Tour de France just before I enter my seventh decade,” he stated.
Mr Miller stated coaching has been “mixed” as he needed to cope with sickness.
“I did a training camp in January and I was off the pace. So from February to May I really upped my game and improved my performance by 10-15%,” he stated.
“But then I had a setback in early June when I was ill for one week which kept me off the bike for 10 days.
“To be honest, I’ve been easing myself back in because I don’t want a setback. So it’s a bit of an unknown how I’ll perform but I’ll give it my best shot that’s for sure.”
He is wanting ahead to using all three phases within the “beautiful green hills of the Basque Country” and feeling the “greatest sense of achievement when you reach the finish line”.
More details about the cycle and the donations web page may be accessed right here: https://donorbox.org/ride-for-freedom-basque-country-tour-de-france-2023