Why we're doing the "Wee Dram" Cycle Challenge

We are a group of friends and cyclists that takes on a cycling challenge every few years to raise money for charity. This year’s is the sixth expedition (since 2004), and between us, we have cycled thousands of miles across the UK and Europe, and raised 10s of thousands of pounds for a variety of causes. We started our efforts in 2004 with a Land’s End to John O’Groats, which is known as LEJOG, so all the challenges since have had names that started with “Le”, hence “Le Wee Dram”!

This year’s challenge may be the hardest yet, but only in terms of persuading you to part with your cash!

The title does suggest that this year's ride is not a serious affair, but we  are planning to cover nearly 1000 km (600 miles) during 13 days of cycling. Our route involves a serious amount of climbing (our estimate is 10,000 m, or 1 and a bit Everests, which seems to be the most commonly used unit of measurement for such things). 

We devised the route to visit as many of the mainland Regions of Scotland as possible in the time. The name for the challenge reflects the fact that the route has also ended up going through most of the Whisky making areas too, and also gave us the chance to have a fun name and logo! 

Behind the fun name there's a very serious intention, because we aim to raise money for a really worthy cause. The charity we are all raising money for is Mind, and this choice reflects the experiences that we have all had in our lives where members of our families, or close friends, have struggled with mental health. 

Mind is a charity that provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. They campaign to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding. We whole-heartedly support their efforts and hope that you will be inspired by our challenge to support them with your sponsorship. We will also be doing the ride in loving memory of Simon, who is always in our hearts.

Cycling is a particularly appropriate activity to raise money for this cause as it is well recognised that physical activity is good for the brain. Cycling can also give you the time, space and companionship your head sometimes needs, and that our often overly busy and rushed lives don’t allow.