When
01 July 2023
Until
31 July 2023
About the event
Take on Mind’s virtual cycle challenge and complete 300 miles this July – that’s the same as London to Paris!
Get on your bikes, raise money and make a difference alongside thousands of others across England and Wales. Because no one should have to face a mental health problem alone.
Sign up now to get a free Mind t-shirt. And if you raise £150, we’ll also send you an exclusive Mind cycle jersey!
Your virtual journey
We’ve created 6 virtual tour stages to complete wherever you are! Or cycle 300 miles your way – it’s your challenge to shape. Can you reach Paris before the Tour de France on July 23? The 6 stages are:
Stage 1: 67 miles – the same as London Tower Bridge to Ashford
Stage 2: 27 miles – the same as Ashford to Calais (no cycling on the ferry!)
Stage 3: 54 miles – the same as Calais to Hesdin
Stage 4: 51 miles – the same as Hesdin to Amiens
Stage 5: 65 miles – the same as Amiens to Chantilly
Stage 6: 36 miles – the same as Chantilly to Paris Champs-Élysées
You’ll receive a mile marker to tick off each stage. Plus a digital medal once you’ve completed the challenge.
How do I sign up?
Registration is free and easy. Just follow the steps below.
- Click on the register button. This will take you to our challenge Facebook group.
- At the top of the Facebook group, you'll find a pinned post linking to a registration form.
- Complete this form. You'll be asked to choose whether you want to fundraise through JustGiving or Facebook.
- If you don't have Facebook, you can complete this form instead.
- Set up your fundraising page. We'll then send you a free Mind t-shirt and mile marker in the post.
By joining the Facebook group, you’ll connect with fellow cyclists taking on the 300 mile challenge, share your achievements and cheer each other on.
Our friendly team will also be on hand to support you, share tips and answer your questions.
Your fundraising page will automatically set a £150 target. But there's no minimum target for this challenge! So you can choose to increase it, decrease it or keep it as it is.
Why fundraise for Mind?
1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem this year. The money you raise will help to make sure that information and support is available for anyone who needs it – on our website, through the helplines we run, and through our online community, Side by Side.
We know the cost of living crisis is hitting everyone hard. It’s also having a big impact on our mental health. Now more than ever, we need your support. We won’t give up until everyone with a mental health problem gets support and respect.
Digital resources
You can find loads of resources in this section to support you through your challenge.
Digital tracker
Use this tracker to record your daily rides. You’ll find distances for each stage of your tour on the back of the tracker.
Poster
Share this poster with friends and family asking them to sponsor your London to Paris virtual cycle challenge.
Top tips
Ahead of your challenge, we've created some top tips you can use to help you reach the 300 mile goal safely.
Digital certificate
This certificate celebrates the end of challenge. Download and add your name using your smartphone or computer.
Print certificate
This certificate celebrates you completing your challenge. You can print this and add your details by hand.
Finishers medal
Yours to keep! To save the medal on a computer, right click and press save. On your smartphone, hold down and choose save.
Stage 1 medal
Celebrate completing stage 1 with this digital medal! Share it with your friends, family and supporters.
Stage 2 medal
Celebrate completing stage 2 with this digital medal! Share it with your friends, family and supporters.
Stage 4 medal
Celebrate completing stage 4 with this digital medal! Share it with your friends, family and supporters.
Stage 6 medal
Celebrate completing stage 6 with this digital medal! Share it with your friends, family and supporters.
Frequently asked questions
No. This is a virtual challenge so you can take part wherever works for you. Just remember to use your mile marker to keep track of your progress.
Once you've signed up to the challenge, we'll send you a free mile marker in the post. You can use the mile marker to record the miles you cover on each day in July.
On the other side of the mile marker, there's a tour tracker. The challenge is split into 6 stages and the tour tracker lets you record the date you completed each stage.
This is a great way to mark your achievements. Every mile makes a big difference!
Absolutely! We suggest 300 miles because this is the distance from London to Paris. But the challenge is yours to complete in whatever way works for you.
The important thing is getting outdoors, raising money, and raising awareness, so everyone experiencing a mental health problem can get the support they need.
Absolutely! You can do the 300 miles on a static bike in the gym, at home, outdoors or a combination of all of these. The challenge is yours to complete wherever you are, in whatever way works for you.
It can take up to 14 days from the date you registered for your t-shirt and mile marker to arrive.
If you haven’t received anything after 14 days, please email [email protected] and our friendly team will be able to help.
When you join the Facebook group you will find the instructions on how to set up a Facebook fundraiser pinned to the top of the group.
Or, you can set up a JustGiving fundraising page instead. This is a great option if you're taking on the challenge as a team.
Yes! We have 2 amazing prizes this year.
Raise £100 and we'll send you a Mind cycling cap to wear during your challenge.
Raise £150 and we'll also send you a Mind cycling jersey!
We'll begin posting caps and jerseys every 2 weeks from the end of June. Once you reach each milestone we'll add your name to the delivery list. So you don't have to let us know you've reached the milestone.
Delivery can take up to 14 days.
Yes, you can set up your JustGiving page here. This is a good option if youre fundraising as part of a team.
JustGiving also lets you integrate your page with Strava.
No, use whichever platform you prefer.
If someone wants to donate to your challenge and doesn’t have Facebook, the best thing is to collect their donation offline.
You can then donate it directly to your fundraiser yourself. Or, you can set up a JustGiving page for them to donate to.
If someone wants to donate to your fundraiser with a cash or cheque, the best thing to do is to collect their donation and pay it into your online fundraising page yourself.
Just make sure to show the person that their donation has been added to your page. A paper sponsorship form is available on the Facebook group or you can email [email protected] and we'll send you one.
If you're fundraising on Facebook, Mind will receive all of the donations. If you're using JustGiving, the platform attaches a small processing fee, which we have no control over.
You can find out more about our work in the 2020/21 annual review
and more about our finances in our 2020/21 annual accounts