Bathonian and Royal High School alumna Rebecca Waters (Class of 2014) set herself an enormous challenge this year to raise funds for Street Child, to cycle from London to Kathmandu in 100 days.
Street Child is a charity that provides universal basic education to children in some of the world’s toughest places. Rebecca is currently volunteering as a researcher for the charity in Kathmandu, Nepal having completed her journey to Kathmandu and raised a remarkable £2500.
Growing up as a cyclist in Bath Rebecca is no stranger to hills, she has cycled competitively since she was 16 and her sports teacher describes Rebecca as someone who ‘has an infectious zest for life and an enthusiasm for any challenge’, Rebecca was a regular representative in the Royal High’s sports teams.
This was a challenge like no other she had taken on however; Rebecca cycled an average of 100km each day for over three months and through 16 countries with the intention to be fully self-sufficient, wild camping wherever possible. Faced with the Austrian mountains, deserts of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan mountain passes, New Delhi chaos and the Taj Mahal the hills of Bath were a distant memory!
Despite a few dents to Rebecca’s beloved bike because of an overenthusiastic taxi driver in Georgia, a few bouts of food poisoning and a slight misjudgement of pace between bike and a motorbike (!) Rebecca was undeterred in her challenge.
Rebecca’s advice for intrepid explorers of the future –
1. Try out your camping stove and tent before your challenge. I had the wrong fuel for my stove, which meant a hungry night!
2. Pick up your bike more than a few days before so you are familiar with it!
3. Take more than one set of lights if you have friends and family coming to ride with you!
4. Look at warmshowers.org to find an overnight stay, it is similar to Air B&B but for cyclists!
The Royal High student has set the bar for future challenges perhaps.
Rebecca’s words are, “You could spend forever waiting for a good excuse not to do it but in reality if you want it bad enough you’ll find a way. I warn you though, once you start travelling, I do not think you’ll ever want to stop, the world is Pandora’s Box for adventure!”
To donate to Street Child via Rebecca’s fundraising page, please visit https://www.gofundme.com/london-to-kathmandu-in-100-days