Matthew Halstead

My Activity Tracking

289
mi

My target 100 mi

Cycle for Smart Works 2024

For many women, getting a job is a lifeline. It is a chance to escape poverty, gain financial stability and restore confidence. In the shadow of the cost of living crisis, there is an intensified need for the Smart Works service.

Smart Works is a UK charity that dresses and coaches unemployed women for their job interview. They give women the confidence they need to reach their full potential, secure employment and transform their lives. In the last year, 72% got a job within a month of their appointment.

Between 23rd February and 8th March 2024, I will be cycling to raise vital funds for Smart Works. I will be pedalling for a purpose and would appreciate every pound you are able to give to support this brilliant charity.

I'm supporting
Smart Works Leeds,
help me reach my goal

Raised

£429 + £62.23 GiftAid

My Goal

£100

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Gift Aid Yes, I am a UK taxpayer. Please treat all donations as Gift Aid donations. I understand that if I pay less Income Tax and/or Capital Gains tax than the amount of Gift Aid claimed on all my donations in that tax year, it is my responsibility to pay any difference.

My Achievements

Has Fundraising Page

Shared Fundraising Page

Updated Profile Pic

Added a Blog Post

Received 5 Donations

£30 Raised

Reached 50% of Fundraising Target

Reached Fundraising Goal

Increased Target

3 Fitness Activities logged

30 Miles Travelled

50% of Distance Target Travelled

Reached Distance Goal

My Updates

Foggy vistas

Friday 8th Mar

Super singletrack

Friday 8th Mar

Trailside treats

Friday 8th Mar

That's a wrap

Friday 8th Mar

I woke up on Monday feeling awful. Not a promising start. Thankfully I knew that with only 15 or so miles to go to hit my 100 mile target and a ride planned for Thursday, all I had to do was hunker down and get myself well enough to hit the trails on Thursday.

Thursday dawned clear and bright (I wish. It was grey, overcast and a bit soggy. Not cold though, huzzah!). A couple of hours in the car saw me at the Dalby Forest trail centre in North Yorkshire, home to the longest red graded trail in the country. This is the sort of riding I love and after about 4 hours playing on my bike in the woods I'd managed to clock up just enough miles to push me over my target.

Thank you to my wonderful wife and family for allowing me the time for me to crack on with those miles over the weekend, and thanks too to everyone who's sponsored me, your generosity is hugely appreciated.

The halfway point

Friday 8th Mar

That shot pretty much sums up this first week while I've been trying to rack up miles for Cycle for Smart Works. Back tyre flat as a pancake and leaking sealant.

A puncture on the way home on Tuesday that wouldn't seal meant than rather than me sticking the first 30 miles on the board my wife had to put the kids in the car and come to rescue me.

After spending Wednesday night trying to sort things out it only took about a mile on Thursday morning before the back tyre punctured again. Apologies to anyone in my vicinity who will have experienced some choice language, and also seen me very nearly launch my bike into the canal.

Thankfully Tredz has an overnight delivery service and there were no plans for Friday night, so short a few quid and with a new back tyre installed my family made some time for me to clock up some rather soggy miles over the weekend.

Here's hoping for a slightly smoother week next week!

Here we go!

Friday 23rd Feb

Well, the 'warm-up' miles are done with and now it's very definitely on with the show. Some of the warm-up miles have been a slog to be fair, plodding along in the cold / dark / rain / wind (and I wish it was a case of pick one, but usually it was at least three out of four), but I guess that's February in Yorkshire for you.

Then yesterday evening as I was heading home from the office in Leeds I had to stop and grab a photo of the evening sunset by the canal. If I'd have been on the train I'm sure I'd have missed it, but as I was cycling home I took the opportunity to stop for a moment and enjoy the view. I had a think on how lucky I am to live in such a great place that serves up views like this by the handful, and on how maybe, just maybe, the miles I now want to cover in support of the awesome people at SmartWorks might be slightly less cold / dark / wet / windy (or even just two out of four).

Then I set off for home, and 20 minutes later I was riding along in the dark, into a mental headwind that came out of nowhere. And it was sleeting. Sideways.

The plan

Friday 26th Jan

The Plan? Pretty simple really; ride at least 100 miles in 2 weeks (not a lot for many of you I suspect, but rather a lot for me) while raising as much money as possible for a great charity. You may know I'm somewhat averse to riding on the road. They're hard when you fall off and I don't like sharing them with the cars and lorries, so I'll only be counting the miles I cover outside and off-road. Trails to towpaths, hardpack to singletrack. Fingers crossed for a dry(ish) couple of weeks...