Two teachers take on Leeds to Lapland Christmas cycling challenge for children’s mental health charity

Ben Taylor, from Pudsey in Leeds, has teamed up with his childhood best friend who lives in Oxford to cycle 2660 miles between them which is the distance from Leeds to Lapland and back.

The pair, who are both teachers, want to raise money for the mental health for young people charity, Young Minds.

Ben is the Mental Health Champion at High Crags Primary Leadership Academy in Shipley, having been learning about mental health awareness for young people over the past year.

Ben said: “We wanted to do something good in light of what’s going on in the world so in September we started our challenge.

“I got a bike through the ride to work scheme but that didn’t come until October so I was riding a mountain bike for a month.

“Before this I’d only really ridden a bike when I was a kid.”

Ben contracted Coronavirus in October which halted his challenge whilst he isolated and recovered.

He added: “The longest cycle I’ve done so far has been 50 miles.

“It’s been a bit of a baptism of fire and has been a lot harder than I thought it would be, especially because I didn’t have a lot of the right gear and was riding the wrong bike for a month.

“I ride from Pudsey to Shipley for work, to Harrogate and back, to Bolton Abbey and back and the first ride I did was to Eccup Reservoir and back.

“There was a storm that day and when I came back I was so wet that my wife thought I had actually fallen in the reservoir.”

The pair have only got 542 miles left to cycle before they complete their challenge.