In August of 2009 Helena Woodvine and Mike Snyder stood overlooking the windswept harbour of Brodick Bay on the rugged Isle of Arran, Scotland contemplating what the next several months of their lives would be like.  After all, it would be the first time that either one of them had sat on a bicycle seat for longer than 4 days, let alone for 12 weeks. 

After a final set of leg stretches and a last-minute check over their bicycles (heavily loaded with camping equipment, cooking gear, tools, clothes, food and everything else they would need on the upcoming ride), they shared a short moment of silence and then set off on the first mile of their journey with the sea wind at their backs and the sound of bagpipes in the air (which just so happened to be playing at the annual Brodick Highland Games).

Two and a half months later they reached their goal, arriving at last in Athens, Greece, 2,700 miles and a continent of adventure from where they had first began.

While neither Woodvine nor Snyder are newcomers travel, they wanted to do something a little bit different than they had in the past.  Said Snyder,

‘The two of us have done a few adventure trips... though cycle touring was completely new to us.  In the past we have asked people to ‘support’ us on our adventures by donating money to a particular charity.  But this time we wanted to do something a little bit more personal.’ 

Rather than asking people to pledge money during their ride, the cyclists were asking people to pledge a commitment to personal action within their own communities.  Pledgers were given a list of 10 such actions to choose from ranging from “Get Out Yer Green Thumb” (planting trees) to “Use Sustainable Transport”.

“The idea was that each action would contribute to building a more ‘resilient’ community... one that is more inclusive and collaborative, has a more viable local economy, and is environmentally friendly... in other words, creating a community that is both sustainable and capable of meeting the threats of Climate Change and Peak Oil.  We felt that it was really important for people to get involved directly rather than simply donating money.  This is because [although donating money is a valuable contribution] it may contribute to the sense that we don’t have to do anything about our own behaviors when it comes to tackling global issues.  But with climate change and peak oil, the root of the problem isn’t ‘out there’ somewhere, it is right here with us.  It is in how we behave, how we think, and how we live our daily lives... the change has to start within... beginning with our hearts, our lives, our communities and working outwards.”

To assist them with the aims of their project they collaborated with their friends Samantha Lyle and Rob Hutchison (founders of Grassgroups.com and Nearbuyme.com) to develop a new site:  Justpledging.com.

‘Justpledging.com is a website for people who want others to support their campaigns and projects with pledges rather than money. It is designed for all kinds of projects including long distance cycle rides, marathons and skydiving. We initially designed it for Mike and Helena's Ride for Resilience campaign, but want to make it freely available for others to use.’ said Lyle and Hutchison.

The cyclists generated publicity for their project through their website, their sponsor (the Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative), a network of non-profits in Scotland and several press releases (in the U.K. and the U.S.).  As well, the two handed out hundreds of flyers about their project during their ride throughout Belgium, France, Italy and Greece and frequently wrote blogs on their website about their thoughts and progress.

In the end the project generated a thousands of hits on their website and the support of 120 pledgers.  While the total number of pledgers was short of their goal, they were very pleased with the kind of groups that they reached and the kind of actions that people undertook.  Said Woodvine,

“We are really happy with the diversity of people and groups that supported us on our ride:  a school group in England, a college class in America, and people scattered all over the UK and the US, from the Highlands to Cornwall and New York to California, and even a few in Europe...”

The 120 pledgers committed themselves to a total of 650 individual actions.  The cyclists estimate that the actions saved a total of somewhere between 100,000 and 350,350 lbs of CO2 for the duration of the 3 month period.  That is the equivalent of removing somewhere between 75 and 260 cars from the roads in the UK each year (0.6 – 2.2 cars per pledger).  The exact figure will depend on the extent to which the pledgers followed through with their actions, and which actions were ones that the pledgers were not doing prior to the project.  The cyclists are planning to send out a short survey to get a clearer idea of the savings and to understand how the project could be improved.

‘The results are promising’ said Snyder. ‘We are very thankful for all of the time and effort that everybody put into their pledges and we hope that the actions were meaningful and enjoyable to do.  Our hope from here is that people continue to reach out and get more people involved... sharing what they learned and continuing to pursue new ways to create meaningful change... this is probably the most valuable action because of the ripple effect that it creates.’ 

The table at the end of the article gives a summary of the number of people who committed themselves to each pledge as well as an estimation of potential amounts of CO2 and money that the actions saved.

For now the two have returned to their lives in Edinburgh where they are working, studying and remaining involved in the local non-profit organisation, Transition Edinburgh South.  They are considering the possibility of doing another trip in the future with a similar project.   

‘Ultimately, we want the message to be positive... we want people to know that the issues we face are not just threats, but opportunities for each of us to look inwards and around us to discover ways to work together towards changes that are not only environmentally friendly, but also connection building, community beautifying, and cost saving for businesses and families.  If our project contributes to this, even if only in a small way, we will be very pleased.’     

 Stay tuned!

(To learn more about the cycle adventure including stories and photographs, click here).

* All of the figures given represent average savings over the 3 month project period only.  It should be noted that figures represent estimated potential savings, rather than actual savings.  Estimated potential savings are the maximum savings possible assume that all pledgers followed through with their pledge completely for the duration of the three-month project and that each action was new to the individual.  The figures given are based off of estimated average savings as reported from varying sources in the UK and US:  (www.actonco2.gov.uk, www.stopglobalwarming.org, www.energysavingstrust.org.uk, wwww.carbonfootprint.com, www.defra.gov.uk).  Where figures were different for the United States and the United Kingdom, averages were taken.  Some figures will remain unknown and vary widely for people.  Figures will be revisited to represent estimated actual savings when surveys are returned.