Sam Barton, one quarter of Teeth Of The Sea, who you can see giving us a look of him on his bike above, will undertake a charity bike ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats this June, all in the name of raising money for UNICEF.
"For all of my 20s and much of my 30s I’ve been your typical London-dwelling struggling punk/noise rock/jazz musician, getting by on low-paid work by day whilst making a racket in bands of varying quality/ambition by night," Barton says. "And whilst I’ve never totally fallen for the ‘road of excess’ myth it’s fair to say that for most of that time my lifestyle and diet have not been those of an ascetic or athlete.
"Yet somehow the seemingly innocuous gateway drug of purchasing a bicycle years ago (to save money on public transport no less) has led me here, to the brink of undertaking a frankly insane physical challenge: 1000 miles self-propelled from end-to-end across Britain in 12 days. How will I manage it? What will the views be like? What are people talking about in The Shires? And, most importantly of all, why the fuck am I doing it in the first place? The good folk at The Quietus have, perhaps foolishly, expressed an interest in hearing my spurious ramblings en route, so stay tuned to hear quite how much pain I’m in once the trip is underway."
UNICEF work to protect vulnerable children worldwide from war and famine, and, as Barton explains on his campaign page, their work has never been more vital. You can donate via Justgiving here to help Barton reach his £2800 target. He will undertake the ride from June 13-25 and the deadline for fundraising is April 4, so get donating if you can.
