When we first heard about the Hula Rama team’s plans to swim across the Solent to Bestival a couple of years ago, our first thought was “they must be bonkers”, but it was all in a good cause and they achieved their goal.
The latest attempt to cross the Solent for charity could be viewed as being even more whacky.
Picture this …. two fat, middle-aged blokes (their words) sitting in a pedalo attempting to navigate their way through the busy shipping lane of the Solent.
It’s no joke, we’ve just come off the phone with Mike Boss the man behind the idea who confirmed that weather permitting, this Saturday he and friend, Mark, will attempt to pedal their way across the Solent all in the aid of charity.
The Wessex Rehabilitation Centre at Salisbury District Hospital will be the recipients of what the lads are hoping, will be at least £5,000.
Mike told us about how after being involved in a serious accident, the team at the rehab centre helped him regain use of his arm that he thought he’d never be able to use again.
It was an intensive six months programme, from 9am to 5pm five days a week, but with the help and care of the nurses, he has regained use of his arm and is now looking for ways to support the rehab centre.
This is not the first time that Mike has done something a bit whacky to raise funds for charity. He told us that he’s also posed nude for a hospice calender as well as dressing as a Victorian lady in front of 25,000 football fans!
The guys will be using a pedalo that currently resides in Southsea for the attempt. They’ve been lucky enough to use it on sea trials (videos below) and are hoping that the 3.5 – 4 mile journey will take around 3-4 hours to complete.
For the benefit of people watching online, the guys will be GPS marking the route, so you can follow their progress online – check their Website for more details.
The team who are planning to set off at 8.30am on Saturday are hoping for a welcoming party on Ryde beach, but let’s not forget the reason for the event. To raise much needed cash for the Wessex Rehabilitation Centre. Donating is simple and easy through the Great Solent Pedal Website.
Listen to what else Mike had to say [apologies for the sound quality of the phone call – although it sounds as though it was recorded underwater, we can assure you we were both on dry land at the time]. [audio:http://otw-audio.s3.amazonaws.com/mike-boss-solent-pedalo.mp3]
You can also follow Mike and Mark on Twitter @solentpedal as they tweet on-route.
