Butterfly Conservation Trustee and Chair the Surrey & SW London Branch will set off on a gruelling 1,200 mile cycle from Land's End to John o'Groats tomorrow to help raise awareness of the threat butterflies and moths are facing. As he travels down to Cornwall on the train, he shares his feelings ahead of this major challenge.

Cold feet?

As I sit on the train to Penzance to start my Bike For Butterflies ride tomorrow, it’s more a case of butterflies in the stomach than anything else.

I find myself switching between mild complacency and blind panic. I’ve never cycled 30 consecutive days at 40 miles per day, laden with panniers, up steep and long hills, with 14,000m of ascent in total.

What if I can’t do this? What if I’m exhausted by day three? Or even day two??

Then I remind myself that thousands of people cycle the Land’s End to John o’Groats (LEJOG) every year, many of them less fit than me. Or that I’ve been cycling most days since lockdown started … 7,500 miles in total. And that I’m fitter, lighter and thinner than I was 18 months ago, even though my BMI says that I am still a couple of inches too short.  

My Achilles’ tendon injury from 2003 is playing up a bit. What if it flares up? My knees are hurting already: what if they don’t hold out?

Then I remind myself that it is “only” 40 miles per day, and I’ve been averaging over half that distance in training. And that 40 miles riding still leaves half a day free every day. Plus I’m travelling light, with only two 20-litre panniers and a handlebar bag.

Most of all, I remind myself that this Bike For Butterflies is all about the journey, not the destination. I will visit some beautiful sites and see lots of wildlife, not just butterflies. I will meet lots of interesting people, and no doubt help will be offered on the way if needed. I’m sure that I will learn a lot, and that I will be enriched by the experience.

And of course, I’m raising money for Butterfly Conservation, to help fund the great work they do for butterflies, moths and the habitats that they rely on. That’s worth some effort, right? 

Donate to Bike for Butterflies

Then there’s the elephant in the room - the biodiversity and climate crisis - which threatens not only our wildlife, but our very existence. I can’t give up on that.

I’m left reflecting that the fact that I don’t know whether I can do this is fundamental to my Bike For Butterflies. It wouldn’t be much of a challenge otherwise.

Wish me luck!

Simon Saville

Simon Saville is hoping to raise £15,000 for Butterfly Conservation. from his Bike for Butterflies challenge. To sponsor Simon, please click here.

Notes
●    The route and other details are on the website www.bikeforbutterflies.org 

About Simon

  • Simon Saville is a trustee of Butterfly Conservation and is Chair of the Surrey & SW London Branch. He lives in London, is a proud promoter of the Big City Butterflies project, and is a London National Park City Ranger.