Behind the scenes of Latest TV with Joseph Gunn
Get on your bike
Ben Sherratt, aka ‘Bike It Ben’, is a popular figure amongst school children in Brighton and Hove. His role as biking officer for Sustrans has allowed him to work with many schools in the region to encourage kids to get riding.
Last year Ben was successful in his attempt at a 24-hour bike ride around Stanmer Park, and this time he has decided to go further and cycle for 48 hours. In the process Ben will be going for a new world record of number of miles completed on a bicycle in that time. The current record stands at 354 miles.
Moments before Ben set off on this huge challenge, I managed to grab a few words from him. It was clear that the task at hand wasn’t fazing him; he seemed very relaxed and composed for what was going to be both a battle of the body and the mind. Ben had a target; “I would like to ride a mile for every day of the year”.
Ben was confident that his work for Sustrans was having a positive impact on the city, saying that he has definitely seen a growth in numbers of people on bikes.
When I returned to Stanmer Park on Saturday afternoon, I heard that Ben had broken the world record earlier that morning. What was impressive was that he was still riding, determined to do a full 48 hours to take him up to 3pm.
Bikestock was full of children and adults supporting Ben by riding around with him trying to do as many laps as possible. One of Ben’s young cyclists, Finlay, was proud to say that he had already done 15 laps. It was clear to see that Ben had made an impact on many of the people at the event and was an inspiration to the children.
Money was being raised for Sustrans and the East Sussex Association of Blind and Partially Sighted People.
Daniel Brookbank said that events like Bikestock are “Absolutely brilliant” for ESAB as they rely on donations from the general public.
A huge group joined Ben as he began his 619th and final lap. A few minutes later, an army of cyclists appeared from the distance with Ben at the front, as he led them down to the finish line to end his 48-hour ride.
After his record breaking 384.7 miles, Ben caught his breath to describe the mental challenges; “That’s been up and down, saw lots of bushes of nettles that turned into piles of bikes.
“There was The Iron Man coming over the top of the hill!”
When asked about Bikestock Ben told us: “It’s such a local thing, I know all of these kids, it’s been great”.
Let’s see what Ben has in store for us next year! Cycling for a week perhaps?
Follow me: LatestTVBtn
