Did you know - flying might become 30% of UK's carbon footprint

If trends continue, flying may account for up to 30% of the UK's carbon footprint in the future.*

If everyone in England who takes three or more flights to Europe cut one return flight we would save enough carbon dioxide to take 200,000 cars off the road for a year.*

Take the train instead - the award winning  Man in Seat 61 website has a wealth of helpful advice on travelling by train in the UK and across Europe.  Get the details on how to take a sleeper to Edinburgh for example and learn how to get cheaper tickets.

* Source: Energy Saving Trust

Did you know - we could save £1.1 billion every year?

If everyone in the UK reduced their car mileage by just five miles a week it would collectively save around £1.1 billion and 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.* 

Look at how you travel for short trips - for example, walking to the paper shop or cycling to the post office.  You'll get fitter and benefit from some fresh air.  You're more likely to get chatting to yoru neighbours on your journeys.

Walking or cycling your children a mile to and from school each day would save around £120 and 250kg of carbon dioxide each year compared to doing these journeys in the average car.*

* Source: Energy Saving Trust

Did you know - it's easy to plan a bus commute

Take a look at Transport Direct's website - it has a great door-to-door journey planner that shows how to use public transport - complete with times and a comparison to driving.

Did you know - car commuting costs £1200 every year

According to the Energy Saving Trust, the average car commute takes 30 minutes and costs around £1200 every year in fuel alone - that's 5% of the average UK salary!

Give yourself a 2.5% payrise by sharing your commute with a colleague who lives locally. 

If every commuter in the UK shared a car with two others collectively it would save £5.4 billion and 11.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.*

Smarter driving can save you between £250 and £300 and between 500kg and 600kg of carbon dioxide a year if you’re a commuter*. That’s a 15% saving on your fuel bill, which is around two months’ worth of fuel a year.  Click here to check out the EST's tips. 

When you are choosing a new car, opt for the most fuel efficient model - this will take £515 off your fuel costs every year, £150 off the first year's road tax and £120 off subsequent years' road tax.*

* Source: Energy Saving Trust

Did you know - cyclists take less time off sick?

If you commute by bike you'll take less time off sick than non-cycling colleagues - they will take 18% more time off than you according to the CTC.

60% of men & 70% of women don't currently achieve the recommended minimum level of activity - 30 minutes 5 times a week - according to the CTC.  Cycling to work can really help to achieve this level, boosting our health.

Vicky gets the yellow jersey!

Vicky cycled 147 miles last week - so is the very deserving recipient of the yellow jersey.  She's been combining the gym (see her setup here for Friday eve!) with a turbo trainer, commuting and longer rides.  A turbo trainer BTW is a handy gizmo that enables you to cycle on your own bike in the comfort (and light!) of inside. 

Shaun did a very creditable 120 with a single ride of 70 - but he claims that his legs gave up at 60!

And Richard did 110 - very much back in the saddle after his injury.

You can see where we all are virtually on the map link.

George is leading the way though for total distance - he's now just outside Avignon and I think he'll get to Marseille this week virtually.

£1330 in sponsorship so far.

I turned a 4 mile commute into a 19.5 mile ride home by going via Winchester on Friday (evidence photo is to the right....). 

And on Saturday, on a rather good little off road ride near Ellisfield,  I managed to twist my knee as my bike got stuck in a very claggy muddy bit - the joys of a mountain bike.  Hobbled the rest of the weekend, but it seems to be healing well.  I'm applying the tried & tested technique of resting it for a few days - to be honest, if we weren't so close to the date of the challenge, I'd probably be cycling again by now, but I really don't want to be carrying an injury!

David on Drafting

Being a touring cyclist of old, I’ve had some experience of long distance riding and riding in groups.  Having started cycling again after a 15 year break I’ve been quietly please at how I’ve been able to get back into it and I can still remember many of the techniques that help keep you going on a long ride (i.e. past the shop at the end of the street).  Not saying it wasn’t hard work, but its coming together.  Julia is totally new to this and has had a steep learning curve, how to use toe clips, how to use the gears etc.  I think she has found our practice rides hard work.  She hasn’t been able to keep up if I lead, or ride hard for more than 15 to 20 minutes, meaning we’ve needed regular stops (not that I’m complaining about the stops!). 

Over the last few ride’s she’s just about mastered the toe clips and the gears so this week we a new trick, Slipstreaming (or Drafting).  Julia tried to stay within about a metre of my back wheel, thereby keeping in my slip stream and hopefully making it a little easier for her.  In return I kept an eye out to make sure I didn’t pull ahead and she could stay close.  I also made sure I didn’t do anything last minute, like swerve  to avoid potholes etc and off we went.  This time, a very different story.  On a 10 mile ride we didn’t need to stop and we were able to keep up a moving average or 14mph, with flat road speeds of 17mph to 20mph.  It also meant I didn’t get carried away kept my speed down so didn’t burn out early so win win. 

Its all about team work J

David Griffin