Woman whose bike was stolen in Banbury during a charity ride to Africa has thanked the town from France

Becky Sherwood’s specially reinforced bike was stolen from a train while it had stopped at Banbury station on one of the legs of the journey from Sheffield to the coast, as reported in the Banbury Guardian last month.

An appeal went out to try to find the bike which was last seen on CCTV at Leamington Spa station. A fund was set up in a bid to help pay for a replacement cycle so Becky could continue the journey with her partner Monty.

“We've really appreciated the donations to our fundraiser – it has definitely been a silver lining,” she said from Normandy in France.

"I wanted to let everyone in Banbury know that all is well; we're back on the road and cycling through France, having a lovely time.

“We used donations, savings and our travel fund to buy my new bike which was delivered to me while we were at a Quaker camp near Thame. Monty ordered all the bits (racks, bottle holders etc) and fitted them so we were able to ride away as planned on August 4.

“We then took three days to cycle to the coast, stopping in Tyler's Green, Ashtead and Brighton then on to Newhaven.”

Becky sent the Banbury Guardian some of the first photos taken during their adventure including one on the beach is Dieppe the morning after they arrived in France.

The loss of the custom-built mountain bike was a real setback for the couple and threw their trip into jeopardy. The cycle, which the pair had been working on for months, has a distinctive orange Carrera frame, hand-built wheels, extra storage racks and new gears and handlebars.

Along the way to Africa, the couple intend to stop and do conservation volunteer work and teaching.

And as well as the voluntary work the couple plans to do, they have also set up two online charity fundraisers.

One charity the couple will support is World Bicycle Relief, an organisation that makes bikes and donates them to people in poor communities to be used as an essential means of transport for doctors or children getting to school.

"We figured that we've probably had 30 bikes between us over the course of our lives and that it would be amazing to be able to fund 30 bikes going to help transform the lives of people lives in poorer communities around the world.

“Not everyone has had the privilege of enjoying the joyful and horizon-opening opportunities of owning a bike. If we can help bring that to some other people, that would be amazing,” said Becky.

The other charity Monty and Becky will raise money for is the LGBT+ rights charity named All Out, which campaigns for the rights and welfare of LGBT+ citizens around the globe.

To donate to Monty and Becky’s online fundraisers, visit: https://worldbicyclereliefuk.enthuse.com/pf/beckynmontybigbikeride or https://campaigns.allout.org/donate/