Stuart Knight FARM Africa bike ride

Tunbridge Wells charity cyclist to cover 90 miles a day

A 23-year-old from Tunbridge Wells has embarked on a 90 miles a day bike ride through Europe to raise money to tackle poverty in Africa.

Trainee solicitor Stuart Knight began his adventure to Barcelona on Sunday and is joined by his friend from college, Adam Cusworth.

Money raised from the trip will go to FARM Africa, an international non-governmental organisation that works with rural smallholder, forest and nomadic communities in eastern Africa to help families tackle rural poverty.

He said: “The worsening drought in eastern Africa is threatening to develop into a humanitarian catastrophe and widespread starvation. I felt raising money for FARM Africa’s work in eastern Africa was the best way I could contribute in my own small way to addressing this potential crisis for some of the world’s most vulnerable people. What I like about FARM Africa is their long-term approach to finding solutions to food poverty in Africa.”

Mr Knight has been training three to four hours a day by cycling through Kent and neighbouring counties. However, he admitted that cycling from Tunbridge Wells to East Grinstead over the South Downs is nothing compared to the gruelling climp through the Pyrenees he faces before arriving in Barcelona.

On Sunday, the cyclists travelled from Basingstoke to Portsmouth where they caught a ferry across the Channel to Le Havre. They will then travel through France to Bordeaux before heading down to Perpignan where they will start their climb through the Pyrenees into Spain.

Mr Knight is aiming to raise £500 in the challenge and the international law firm, Herbert Smith LLP, where he starts work on his return, has agreed to donate an extra £250. FARM Africa invests in sustainable wealth creation for the 80 per cent of Africans who rely on their crops and animals to survive. The charity helps remote communities to grow more food by sharing skills, knowledge and tools. The charity also helps farmers access local markets so that the produce they sell gets the best possible price and can help meet needs like education and medical costs.

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/stuartsthunderthighs.