Quad bike for a day - without stopping (From This Is Local London)

Quad bike for a day - without stopping

8:00am Thursday 11th March 2010 in

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HOW long would it take to cycle to Edinburgh from Waltham Forest? Days? Weeks?

Four pupils from Forest school would have managed the feat in just 24 hours, after they pedalled non-stop for an entire day to raise money for a once-in-a-lifetime expedition to Mongolia.

The biking quad covered 440 miles during their quirky fundraiser, although they did it all without moving a metre.

Twin brothers Sam and Will Holyman, Youssef Ibrahim and Matt Lewis mounted the sophisticated Wattbikes, which are used by members of the Great British Cycling Team and measure everything from power output to heart rate, to complete the incredible tour de force and raise in excess of £1,000 towards their Mongolian adventure next year.

The trip will see the four friends undertake humanitarian work in the Asian country, which borders Russia and China.

While they all have a long way to go to meet their £3,195 target to fund the trip, the boys were all delighted with their achievement, which saw them take turns for one-hour stints on the bikes.

Sam, 16, said: “We each did six hours and set out to do 350 miles, but we did 440 miles, so we absolutely smashed it. It’s fair to say we were pretty tired by the end of it.

“It took a lot of will power to get up for the sessions in the early hours of the morning. But it went tremendously well and we’re all very pleased.”

The event was masterminded by Will, a keen cyclist and member of local club East London Velo. He invested in the help of British Cycling coach Bill Wright, after the Wattbikes were brought to the club for a demonstration.

“At our club we had a fun night where British Cycling brought these Wattbikes in to do some races on,” said Will. “I spoke to the man who brought them in and asked if there was any chance we could do a fundraiser through this. I didn’t think much of it until he called me back and asked if we still wanted to do it.

“I started organising it with one of our teachers, Mr Nick Dey, and it went from there.

“I came up with the 24-hour idea. Bill (Wright) advised that we only did it for 12 hours because of the physical strains but we wanted to go the distance.”

The event took place at the school, with the boys erecting blow-up beds for some power-naps and a projector to entertain themselves with DVDs.

Matt, 15, admitted the experience really took it out of him. “I pushed myself to the limit. It was pretty tough and towards the end I was lagging.” Sixteen-year-old Youssef added: “I didn’t realise how hard it would be.”

Headmaster of the boys school, Marcus Cliff Hodges, was full of praise for the pupils’ efforts.

“What impressed me was that when the going got tough they were supporting and encouraging each other,” he said.

“I know it was really difficult at some points but they would have got a huge amount out of it. And I think for the ambitious trip they’re going to do those moments will stand them in good stead for whatever they come across.”