BCB: But joining us now in the studio, we have Tim Devereux.

Tim: Hello everybody.

BCB: Hello and you came in to see us earlier I believe.

Tim: Yes.

BCB: It's all about your mission to do some fundraising to help the people of Palestine. And I understand that you have set yourself a little bit of a challenge. So do you want to tell us about that?

Tim: Yeah, I decided that I would ride the distance from my home in Pudsey to Gaza, which is 3,431 miles.

BCB: Wow.

Tim: Now, not all at once. I've just been doing 10, 12 miles a day. Originally I thought, well I'll finish it in December, but I thought, now I'll do a little bit more so I finish on my birthday. I'll be 77 on October 5th.

BCB: Wow, really? I'd never have thought that.

Tim: Thank you.

BCB: Never.

Tim: I'll come again! I've got 150 miles to do. I've done 3,281 as of this moment.

BCB: Wow!

Tim: And the reason I'm doing it is to get money for Medical Aid for Palestinians, which is a British charity that still manages to operate various medical facilities. And they do clean water and all sorts of stuff in Palestine, in Gaza as well. So far, this morning's total was £5,000 plus Gift Aid and it's £6,017.27, so far with the Gift Aid. That's really it.

BCB: Yeah, which is always lovely. It is amazing. And like you said, this is really needed as well. The situation is critical, really isn't it? We need to do as much as we come to help.

Tim: Exactly. And there's been ups and downs on the way. I don't always feel like riding. But when I see some of the nice things that people put when they put money on my JustGiving page and when I meet people, I often ride along the Leeds/Liverpool towpath because it's flat.

BCB: Yeah, because we don't need to add any hills into them. I'm just going to do a hill.

Tim: There's a hill that can be quite scary going down. Coal Hill lane, if anybody knows it. And it's bumpy going down and it's a pain going up. But I've got low gears, so I do it. So I sit and have a cup of tea and a biscuit or something. And I've got posters on my bikes. So people say, oh, what's that? And I give them one of my little cards. I've got business cards with QR code for the...

BCB: For people to donate and things.

Tim: Yeah, just to say what I'm doing. And that is really lovely.

BCB: It is. And I think words of encouragement really spur you on because like you say, you're not going to get up every single morning and think, right, I want to ride 12 miles today because that's how much it works out, reflect a day.

Tim: Yeah, it does.

BCB: I'm guessing 12 miles a day.

Tim: Yeah, it does.

BCB: Wow. And is it an electric bike or is it a push bike? Right.

Tim: I have... I've got eight bicycles that I've used.

BCB: Oh, right. So you are enthusiastic then.

Tim: I use four more than the others. One of them is an electric bike. And to stop myself from using the electric bike every day, I made a rule that I've got to use a different bike from the one I used the day before.

BCB: Right, I see.

Tim: So that means I can't... Every other day is a maximum, I can use it. And I've used it less than that. So, yeah. But the electric bike is... If anybody hasn't got an electric bike, just get one. They're wonderful.

BCB: Are they really... Yeah, my son's got one, but I've not been on it or anything. But they're pretty life changing.

Tim: Yes. The hills are just... There's a hill, but you just whiz up it.

BCB: Yeah.

Tim: Provided you've remembered to charge it!

BCB: Yeah. Well, that's... Yeah. Absolutely.

Tim: The electric bike was my worst mechanical. I got a puncture about six miles from home. And I hadn't remembered to bring the back wheel spanner, so I even though I had a tube, I couldn't change.

BCB: Oh, no! So... So did you have to walk?

Tim: I had to walk. Yeah. Just push it home.

BCB: Oh, right. Gosh. Well, I suppose, you know, with the amount of miles you're doing, it's going to be... You know, you're going to get a few punctures. You're going to get a few funny noises coming from the e-motor perhaps. And a few aches and pains yourself, because it's strenuous on the body.

Tim: Yeah. You expect, you know, contact with the saddle might be a problem, but that's not been a problem. I've got... That's okay. But what gets me is my hands.

BCB: Oh, right.

Tim: They get sort of a bit pins and needles, so you have to wiggle your fingers to stop that.

BCB: Yeah, because you are holding on quite tight, aren't you? And I suppose it's the pressure and you're doing it every day. Yeah. But, I mean, like, you must be fit as a fiddle, because I had to never go far. I had to put you in your 50s. I'm not, you know, I never would have said 77. So, you know, whatever you... I think I might have to join this cycling club.

Tim: If you look on the website, you'll see that she is fibbing and being nice to me.

BCB: No, no, no, no, no, I'm really, really not. You've got about 174 miles to go.

Tim: I've just 150 left. I love this incident.(???) You're counting my miles here.

BCB: I'm going to say, did you ride to the studio?

Tim: Of course.

BCB:Yeah, I'm going to say, because it's a good opportunity to get a couple of cheeky miles put on the clock. So, that's great. So, how can people, you know, obviously, if they see you, you know, they can... you whiz-pass them and they don't get a chance to see you back or... and things. How can people, you know, don't it and get involved in this?

Tim: Right. If you Google, Just Giving Tim, map, M-A-P, 20-25, you'll find me. Or you could, if you look up Pudsey Cyclist on West Leeds Dispatch website, you'll find quite a lot of me. I've done a few things before, but this is certainly...

BCB: So, it will lead them to it. Yeah, it will lead them to it quite easily. But yeah, it's a great cause. I mean, it's a great thing that you're doing for yourself, you know, obviously. But it's a great cause, because, like you say, you've raised a lot of money so far and there's still 150 miles to go. And this medical aid is really needed. It really is needed. It Yeah, definitely. So, for anyone who wants to donate, you know, you can find Tim on Google. Tim was it underscore MAP 2025.

Tim: It's too long - it's too long for anybody to get it but if you look up Tim MAP 2025.

BCB: Oh Tim MAP 2025.

Tim: On JustGiving

BCB: JustGiving website, Tim, MAP, 2025 will bring up the details and I'm sure you know every pound counts so you know even if you're not putting much two pounds even with the gift aid on top of that makes a massive difference.

Tim: Yeah don't forget the Gift Aid as, I mean, that's made more than a thousand pounds.

BCB: Yeah really really over these crucial. Well, well done on your efforts so far and we look forward to speaking to you once you've completed the next 150 miles.

Tim: Thanks very much.

BCB: Thank you. Just to finish that off we're going to pay a bit of Montel Jod, "And this is how we do it" because this is how Tim's done it and we're very inspired.