By Mark Blewitt, national sales manager at Eurostove.
A Raleigh Chopper bicycle for Christmas when I was young set me on a journey. Fifty years later, the Chopper is a distant memory, but a love of cycling remains. Last year, an invitation came my way to join the Ripples charity cycle ride around Mallorca.
I could give you chapter and verse on the descent to Sa Calobra, or the long, slow climb back up to Coll dels Reis. Our group of fifteen riders was mixed ability, but thankfully there were others at my pace — and no time cut offs. What made the trip truly special was the camaraderie. Helping a fellow rider up a climb, sharing food, fixing a puncture, sheltering in the mouth of a tunnel during a thunderstorm, and of course, the occasional coffee stop — it all turned the challenge into a team effort.
And while we were doing all that, the holiday was doing something important too: raising funds for The Cycle, a charity that builds toilet blocks in parts of the world where sanitation is desperately lacking. It’s something we take for granted, yet it transforms lives — allowing children to attend school and adults to work safely and with dignity. The charity is incredibly grateful for every donation; as an organisation working on sanitation projects far from the spotlight, it isn’t high profile, so every contribution matters.
The Mallorca cycling challenge is now complete, but the fundraising continues. The money raised will become a lasting legacy in the form of a new sanitation block in a village that urgently needs it.
If you would like to donate, please follow the link.
https://around-the-island-cycle-challenge-2026.raiselysite.com/mark-blewitt