Two Tired: Saddle Sores and Smiles
Chris Rose & Meg Williams ride for Palestine

For the last 16 years at Amos Trust, May has meant getting on our bikes and hitting the road.

In 2008, we had our first Road Club ride when 30 of us cycled the Coast-to-Coast route from Whitehaven to Tynemouth to raise funds for our first street child partner, Umthombo, in South Africa. 

We got the bug! That led to cycling the length of Wales, our first London-to-Paris ride, rides in Holland, Scotland, Belgium, the Way of the Roses and back to Paris. Now, we are doing the Coast-to-Coast ride again, with 55 of us setting off from Whitehaven on Saturday the 25th of May and finishing in Tynemouth around lunchtime on Monday the 27th. 

The route will take us across 130 miles of spectacular scenery with 3,000 metres of climbing and of course great company, lots of diversions (getting lost), laughter, and sharing memories of friends no longer with us. It’ll be a fantastic weekend!

Sixteen years ago, most of us had no idea what we were doing — we may not have that much more of an idea now — but we have done a lot more miles. 

So, to make this an even harder challenge, 15 of us have decided to cycle back again from Whitley Bay to Whitehaven between sunrise and sunset on Tuesday the 28th to raise funds for Amos’ work. This is a challenging ride with Meg Williams and Chris Rose representing the Amos team.

Chris Rose 

“This is going to be really hard.” Amos Trust Director, Chris Rose  
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“This is by far the hardest cycling challenge I have undertaken. It’s the furthest I have cycled in a day and there is an awful lot of climbing.

The only ride I’ve done that came close to this length was the Dunwich Dynamo, from London to the Suffolk coast, but that only had about 200m of elevation, not 3,000m! So this is going to be really hard. I just hope there won’t be a headwind!  

Why am I doing it? A bit of stupidity and a bit because I love challenges like this. But the real reason and the motivation is to raise money for our Gaza Emergency Appeal. 

I have visited Amos’ partners in Gaza many times and have friends and colleagues there. What is happening is a genocide in real time before our eyes. 

This is by far the hardest cycling challenge I have undertaken. It’s the furthest I have cycled in a day and there is an awful lot of climbing. Chris Rose

Over 35,000 people have been killed, 15,000 of them are children and over 78,000 have been injured. 1.7 million people have been displaced and are being  systematically denied access to food, water, fuel and medical care.

Since 7th October 2023, we have sent over £620,000 of support to Palestine, but we need to do so much more. 

So, if I get a sore bum, an even sorer shoulder, collapse into a bed and walk like a cowboy for a few days — I’m more than happy to take that to raise more life-saving funds. I know lots of you have given so much already, but if you are able, please do make a donation. Thank you.”

Meg Williams

Amos Trust’s Meg Williams in training
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“Although I enjoy getting on my bike in my free time (and for various Amos events), the furthest I have ridden in a day is 130km (80 miles), so riding 130 miles will undoubtedly be the hardest endurance challenge I have ever attempted. 

I am driven by a determination to be one of the only females on the team to give it a go, though I must admit I have drafted in my brother and dad to be my ‘domestiques’ for the ride.

For me, the Sunbirds provide a glimmer of hope during a time that could leave you feeling pretty hopeless. Meg Williams

But really, my motivation for taking part is to raise as much money as possible for our Amos partners, the Gaza Sunbirds. The Sunbirds are a para-cycling team based in the Gaza Strip. Since the catastrophic bombardment that followed the Hamas attack on 7th October, I have been completely inspired by their videos and social media Reels of them delivering aid to their communities. 

This winter I have been cycling around the streets of London with Gaza Sunbirds co-founder Karim, and hundreds of others, as part of the Big Ride for Palestine’s emergency rides for Gaza. 

Whilst we’ve been riding, with our bikes adorned with Palestine flags, Karim has been telling us how the Sunbirds have been baking fresh bread for their communities and delivering it to them on their bikes, providing sanitary packs to women who have been displaced and providing support to families who face life-long disabilities as a result of the bombardment. 

For me, the Sunbirds provide a glimmer of hope during a time that could leave you feeling hopeless. 

So when the going gets tough on the Sunrise-to-Sunset challenge (and it will, because I haven’t done nearly enough training), I will be thinking of the Sunbirds and just getting my head down. A few donations along the way will help too, so if you are able to support me, please do. Thank you.”