Mike Hall is quite an individual. Not only did he break the record for cycling round the world earlier this year but he supports our Cycle Officer campaign. 91 days to cycle round the world unsupported, some 18,000 and something miles that is pretty extraordinary. Oh and Mike is a Harrogate chap so he is a local legend to boot.
Somebody tipped me off that Mike had signed our petition and I got in touch in a hurry. Mike was good enough to answer a few questions and also publicly give his support to our campaign. Wow we have a celebrity endorsement, better keep going hard at it then then Mike would.
Here is what Mike had to say
Cycle Harrogate Mike you Broke the world record for cycling round the world which is an incredible achievement. Which person from your past or present influenced you the most whilst you were riding, or does all your strength come from within?
Mike Hall I suppose initially I was influenced by guys in mountain bike racing - particularly the guys that were racing 24 hour races solo, not stopping for any more than a couple of minutes at a time and lapping the circuit as fast as many of the relay teams. I'm now lucky enough to call most of those guys my friends and from there my horizons widened when I learned more about the big unsupported mountain bike races like the Tour Divide - a 2745 mile off-road race down the continental divide from Canada to Mexico and guys like Matthew Lee, 5 time winner would complete the journey in around 17 days with no outside support and carrying all their equipment. When I did the race in 2011 it taught me how to pack my bike superlight, do with out all but the essentials that I could ride long miles day after day over big mountain passes. It was those skills and knowledge I took to the World Cycle Race. When I was speculating on what could be achieved I thought of the achievements of Tommy Godwin. He showed that mileages of over 200 miles a day were humanly possible over a much longer period. I already knew I could do big distances for 2-3 weeks but it was what he and a few other pioneering others had done all those years ago, that gave me the confidence to keep it up for much longer. Another rider I often thought of on the ride was Tom Simpson who, despite the tragedy of his story, will always be an inspiration.
CH Mike you signed our petition for a cycle officer for North Yorkshire and thank you very much, but why do you think a North Yorkshire County Council Cycling officer is important for cyclists in Harrogate and the county?
MH The recent summer of sporting success, particularly in cycling, along with the general trend and incentives for people to adopt more sustainable transport methods nationally mean that more and more people are either picking up bikes these days or thinking about it. That's a great thing for peoples health, reducing congestion and meeting environmental targets. Without appropriate representation, planning and infrastructure for the increased number of cyclists on the road, however, we risk this being a short term thing and we also fail to protect their safety whilst they are attempting to use a road system which is designed predominantly around motor vehicles.
CH Elite cycling has been in the news a lot recently with the the Tour de France, the Olympics and your epic ride. What single thing could UK government do to improve the cycling experience for everyday cyclists?
MH I'm not sure I know what the biggest thing that would benefit the most cyclists is but I think the biggest thing the UK Government can do for me personally as a cyclist and probably many others is tackle the social issues of conflict among road users in an increasingly congested traffic system which is experiencing a surge in the population of cyclists. Cyclists are vulnerable road users yet there appears to be an increasing amount of animosity directed towards them in the media and on the roads, by motorists wishing harm to them. I fear that a 'them and us' culture is being fostered on the roads and in the press, between motorists and cyclists, rather than one of co-operation, mutual respect and sharing the road. As a cyclist it makes me worry that my safety could be willfully disregarded by other road users.
If you want to know more about Mike's ride this is a pretty nice article
or you can visit his website normallyaspiratedhuman.com
and this is another cycle based cause he supports Cycle a Difference
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