#PickItUp
So this Blog entry is one which might just do some good. So please please read on!
I have been staying with my Mum for the last few weeks due to having a bit of spare time between lodgings (thanks for that Mum)!... In this time I have been riding the “flat” lands of East Anglia. Within this time (around a month) I have done 5+ weeks of solo training rides. Some of you will know, when riding on your own, especially if you are on a long steady ride with no efforts to break up the time, your mind tends to drift quite a lot. I always find I have these great things pop into my head when I am on these solitary rides, but end up forgetting these “ideas” when I get home, (can’t have been that great I guess). Its almost like my brain works better out in the quiet country lanes, it needs the fresh air and silent humming of the tires on the tarmac to relax instead of TV’s and chatting in the background.
It was around a week ago and I was on one of these “mileage” rides and pushing into a rather harsh head wind. My mind was drifting into this hypnotic type of zone. I had randomly noted quite a lot of rubbish on a certain road I was on and it reminded me of when I read one of Mike Simpsons Blogs. He rode out to a Beach one evening, slept there (clearly mad), then rode back in the morning. What he did just before he left was buzzing about my head, and figuring a way I could do similar. No, he did not have a bacon roll, and no again, it was not have a coffee. He and the guys he was with filled a few bin bags with rubbish that was on the beach where they had spent the night. What an awesome thing to do.
So this was (for unknown reasons), bouncing about my head. As things take quite a while to bounce around my head and actually end up as an idea, I rolled into the second hour and had finally come up with a rough plan...!
My idea is to go out on a ride (a minimum of) once a month, take a rucksack/backpack with me and do similar to what Mike did. It only needs be a 1 mile ride out of your town, or even 500m round the corner, or if your brave, 50 miles from home, whatever/wherever you are thats your choice, but the “pledge” you could say, is to commit to coming back with a bag of litter. So tidy while we enjoy our countryside.
After a few chats with friends at Athlete Service we started bouncing a few names about “bike clean up” was my first thought, but then we thought why does it have to be just cyclists…. So we thought runners, walkers anyone out enjoying the countryside can and should be involved?! More hands make light work (or something like that). Our end result was #PickItUp or if you are on Twitter the page is @PigletsPickUp (that was the best name available).
I think there, as always, will be a bit of “red tape” in the UK, so can I ask people to take with them suitable “safety” gear. Gloves, a sturdy bin liner type bag to go in your backpack, find a safe place where you can stand your bike away from the road. I take with me one of those fabric bags which have string drawcords, this folds down very small and I simply do my ride and inside the final 20-30 mins stop when I see an especially large amount of litter. 3-4 minutes later I have a load of recycling and I then finish my ride. Job done.
So I am signed up to this idea (probably my first good one in a decade but partially stolen from Mike the Machine). Who else is in??? If you want to join in/show support, please use the #PickItUp on twitter and use our page @PigletsPickUp, post your own clean ups with pictures and I shall retweet them. On my own I will only scratch the surface, but with many we can make a difference I am sure.
Mikes Blog is below if you fancy reading his beach trip and watching his video.
http://www.mikesimpsonblog.co.uk/blog.php
