My Story

As a World Bicycle Relief ambassador, each year I set myself a cycling challenge to raise money for WBR and remember our eldest son Jacob.

This year (2023), due to a cycling accident, I've had to put my on the bike fund raising on ice (not literally), but supporting WBR at volunteering events.

And 2024...well, I've some plans for a 24 hour challenge...

2022 - 3 Ascents of Mont Ventoux

After sucessfully completing Scotland's North Coast 500 in 5 days, in 2022 I completed a one day challenge...the 3 Ascents of Mont Ventoux! This involved all 3 ascents, the 137km and 4400m of elevation on the same day. I'm achieved this in under 8 hours! I was pleased!! 

Individually, those figures may not appear challenging, but Ventoux (as the name suggests) is notoriously windy with figures of over 300 km/h recorded at the top. The wind blows at around 100 km/h 240 days of the year!

1. Ascent 1 - Bedoin to Mont Ventoux; 21.5km, 1620m elevation, 12.5% max
2. Ascent 2 - Malaucene to Mont Ventoux; 21.2km, 1570m elevation, 14% max
3. Ascent 3 - Sault to Mont Ventoux; 25.8km, 1210m elevation, 12.5% max

More details of what I get up to can be found on Instagram @chazpilks

PLEASE NOTE, MY TARGET AND TOTAL FUNDS RAISED ARE ACCUMULATIVE

• 2018 - Marmotte Trophee, 4 day series in the French Alps (£4,000 raised)
• 2019 - Everesting The Daneway Climb near Cirencester (£3,500 raised)
• 2021 - Scotland's North Coast 500 in 5 days (£1,800 raised)
• 2022 - Club de Cingles (£1,200 raised)

Why I support World Bicycle Relief

I began to support the World Bicycle Relief charity following the tragic and untimely loss of our eldest son Jacob. A well loved and popular up-and-coming cyclist. I'm proud to have completed some amazing fundraising challenges, which has raised over £9,000 which has in turn funded around 90 bicycles.

World Bicycle Relief is a global organisation which has provided over 750,000 robust and sustainable bicycles to students, healthcare workers, and other individuals in developing countries. Their number-one goal is to see quality bicycle transportation as a legitimate economic empowerment tool. The target is to reach 1million by the end of 2025!

An estimated 57 million children don’t attend school, and more than half live in sub-Saharan Africa. The biggest barrier is the physical act of getting there. Tasked with many unpaid responsibilities, including collecting water and firewood, it is often girls who fall behind because of cultural obstacles. In rural regions of the world, girls also face challenging, long walks to get to school after their household duties.

I believe in the Power of Bicycles – do you?

Watch my North Coast 500 story from 2021

And how I completed the Everesting challenge in 2019;

Jacob is pictured in the insert at the top of this page, an iconic image to those who were fortunate enough to know him.