THIGHS OF STEEL
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Calling all wizards and witches! Stonehenge 'E' is your magical mystery tour, especially if you ride on 20 June - both World Refugee Day AND the Summer Solstice!

As well as Stonehenge, this ride boasts the wondrous sites of Woodhenge, Avebury stone circle AND the Pewsey white horse.

The question is: with 16 hours and 39 minutes of daylight on the longest day of the year, can you do the whole thing in one go??!
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DATES

You decide! 12 June - 26 September

START

Pewsey Station

FINISH

Whitchurch Station

DISTANCE

166km with 1,380m of climbing

SWEAT SCORE

⛰️⛰️

NOT SURE? COMPARE LETTERS

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Ready to take the plunge? Hit the blue button of fun! 👇👇👇
SIGN UP NOW!
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Spell It Out is an unsupported ride, so this is very much YOUR adventure. Apart from the wiggly route you'll be riding, everything else is up to you - how far and how fast you ride, but also who you ride with, where you stay and even what snacks you munch (chocolate raisins FTW).

Yeh, you're in! You need an adventure and you want to make some noise to welcome refugees. But how how how does it work?
  1. Sign up to ride with a team of friends or yolo solo
  2. Set up your Choose Love fundraising page and start fundraising
  3. Decide your dates, sort out your travel and accommodation (if needed) and get yourself a free Komoot account to access the route
  4. RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDE! Cycle loads, eat snacks, gasp at views, acquire decorative bike oil tattoos and share the story #spellitout #refugeeswelcome
  5. Send us your finished tour. We'll put everyone's rides onto a giant map so you can see how you've - quite literally - helped make Refugees Welcome
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The government are making it near impossible for people to claim asylum in the UK, so we want to do two things:
  1. Send a message, loud and clear, that refugees ARE welcome
  2. Raise £100,000 for Choose Love. 100% of funds raised will go to two kinds of organisation, both of which work hard to offer refugees the welcome that our government withholds:
  • legal support organisations that guide people through the complicated asylum system so that they can escape 'squalid' refugee camps around the world
  • UK-based organisations that offer refugees the tools they might need as they start to rebuild their lives in this country, including vocational training, language lessons and psychological support

By joining Spell It Out, you’re committing to fundraising for these awesome grassroots refugee organisations. There's no minimum fundraising target, but last year average Thighs fundraising was £518 per person.

We're confident you won't find it too tough to fundraise, but to give you a head start here's a load of ideas and tips from Thighs cyclists who've fundraised gazillions in the past. We're always around to help you come up with new ideas as well - drop us a line if you’re worried.

Read more about your incredible impact as a Thighs cyclists on The Reason​ page
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SIGN UP NOW!
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One letter is NOT ENOUGH / too much!
Each letter is between 115-260km, but you are completely free to build a route that satisfies your body and soul - and your donors! You know best whether that means cycling 1km or 2,000km so we'll leave it up to you.

If you're really into the DIY thang, you can also take part by drawing a heart of any size, anywhere in the world! Learn more about the heart fun here.
What days & How long do i ride?
The challenge runs from 12 June to 26 September - it's completely up to you what days you ride and how long you ride on those days.

Each letter is designed to be ridden over a long weekend (2-3 days), but you'll know what's best for you so feel free to take your time. Exactly how long it takes you to ride the 100-237km of your chosen letter will depend on your experience, fitness and (most importantly) how many times you stop for swims, snacks and selfies!

As a guide, 4-5 hours of what Komoot calls 'time in motion' (i.e. actual cycling excluding breaks) is a solid day's ride.
  • Keen cyclist (+ luggage) riding for 4-5 hours at 18-22km/h (11-14mph) could do a 150km letter in 1.5-2 days
  • Party cyclist (+ luggage) riding for 4-5 hours at 11-16km/h (7-10mph) could do a 150km letter in 2-3 days
We particularly want to welcome people new to cycle touring and are planning a couple of online workshops to help you prepare. Stay tuned!
WHAT WILL I NEED TO BRING?!
What you need for your Spell It Out adventure really depends on how you're doing it. Your kit list will look very different if you're camping compared to staying with friends or in a swanky hotel.

One thing you'll definitely need is either a smartphone (and a battery power pack!) or a bike GPS like a Wahoo or a Garmin so that you can follow the route and record your part of our amazing collaborative artwork.

We're fans of doing things as cheaply and greenly as possible, so there's not much on our 'essentials' list. ​We really recommend asking buddies and pals to borrow bits and bobs to save on buying new!


What about accommodation and travel?
Spell It Out is an unsupported adventure, so it's completely up to you to sort out your own accommodation and travel to and from the start and finish points.

Many of the letters start and finish at train stations, but this wasn't possible for some of the letters. Please check the map closely and make sure you have a plan for getting back home.

Accommodation wise, you can search the Komoot map for places to stay along the way - but also check out Warmshowers: a wonderful network of generous people around the world who are up for hosting touring cyclists.

Who am i cycling with?
Spell It Out is totally unsupported so you can either cycle solo, or - better - invite your mates!

According to the government road map, there will hopefully be no limit on the size of your cycling crew, but it'll still be the rule of six or two households for indoor accommodation.
what if i can't get down to the south of england?
If you can't get down to the south coast, don't panic - we'd love for you to get involved wherever you live!

You can still take part in Spell It Out by riding a heart-shaped route of your own devising anywhere in the world. Besides the fact that you'll need to work out your own route, it's exactly the same process to join the challenge: signup, fundraise, ride and finally upload your gorgeous GPS artwork.

Let's fill the map with love! 💚
Find out more about the hearts
How much does it cost to take part?
Spell It Out is an unsupported adventure so we're suggesting you 'Pay As You Feel'.

Our main aim is to raise loads of money to help make refugees feel welcome in the UK so we won't be offended if you want to focus your resources elsewhere. But, as you can imagine, organising such an epic adventure has taken a lot of our time so if you feel that's worth some of your hard-earned moolah, we'd be thrilled with any contribution. Cheers!
more questions?
Email Adventure Inventor Georgie on [email protected] and she'll do her best to help!
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Click on one of the letters of our interactive map to find out more. Works best in landscape mode on mobiles.
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COMPARE ALL THE LETTERS
BACK TO THE MAIN PAGE
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Fancy a cycle ride?

Join our monthly London not-so-serious cycle club
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Get fundraising! 

Tips 'n' tricks for your fundraising adventure
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Past Rides & Testimonials

First-hand experiences, anecdotes and accolades from past riders
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Fancy A Bike Ride?
Join our monthly not-so-serious London cycle club. Beginners and thighs-curious welcome!
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Why Do We Ride?
Since 2016, Thighs cyclists have raised over £760,000 for grassroots refugee projects

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Past Rides & Testimonials
First-hand experiences, anecdotes and accolades from past riders

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Thighs Life
​Thighs who ride together, vibe together. Here's how we do it

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[email protected]
READ OUR RIDE TERMS AND CONDITIONS (INC. REFUNDS)
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We won't share your email address with anyone else
Thighs of Steel is a Community Interest Company no. 10690498. We fundraise for MASS Action UK charity no. 1177804
  • The Reason
  • DONATE 🥰
  • London Cycle Club
  • PAST ADVENTURES
  • INSTA 🚴