The owner of a Barnsbury pub has raised £12,500 for charity by cycling 400km in blistering heat across India.
Drapers Arms owner Nick Gibson, 47, along with a team of world-renowned chefs, completed the five-day cycle challenge from Agra to Jaipur from 10th October until 15th October.
The proceeds from the India Cycle Challenge ride went to Action Against Hunger, a charity providing safe water to malnourished children and sustainable solutions to hunger.
Nick said: “The first day we got there, we had the privilege of seeing The Taj Mahal, which was deeply impressive.”
Without wanting to suggest I am not capable of appreciating culture, I was itching to get on my bike, because I thought that’s all I’d been thinking about for the last 6 months!”
Over the course of this year, Nick hosted a number of fundraising events at the pub, which have included charity quizzes and a sold-out event with author Meera Sodha, where 100 per cent of the money went to the charity.
He continued: “It was pretty chaotic on the roads in Agra, so we were taken just outside the town by coach. From there, we cycled to Jaipur over five days.”
“At some points, it was reaching up to 40°C in the middle of the day. But our support team made sure we would stop every 20km to find some shade and refill our water bottles.”
The cycle challenge has already raised £97,000 and donations are still flooding in.
Nick said: “I feel anger, guilt, shame, that there’s malnutrition anywhere in the world when we have so much.”
“I feel I’ve learnt more about the problems and I’ve become better informed about the charity’s solutions.”
“We’re committed to the charity. We now will always have at least one snack at the bar where for each snack sold, we’ll give 50p to Action Against Hunger.”
