Retired academic from Monks Risborough cycling 500 km across Kenya

Angie Lench, a 62-year-old newly retired Senior Lecturer at London College of Fashion, is leaving for Kenya on 11 November 2023 to take part in a 500 km bike ride through the national parks of Kenya to raise money for Child.org.

The Ride Africa challenge is giving her the chance to focus on what she loves – cycling, travelling, and raising money for fantastic causes.

The ride goes from Amboseli to Mombasa through amazing parks and wildlife habitats, in the heat and challenging terrain. There is a group of 30 riders completing this challenge. Angie will have something with her to help – a thick gel seat cover that belonged to her sister to save her from saddle soreness.

Sadly, her sister, Susan, was killed in July in a freak accident near her home in Gilroy, California when she was out on her mountain bike and a huge tree branch broke off and fell on her. This ride is being done in her memory and Angie’s training is now ramping up to include 70km+ rides in the Buckinghamshire countryside.

“This has been such a shock to all the family, but being able to do this ride in her memory has helped a lot, as she loved her mountain bike too,” says Angie. “I am using the seat cover as a way of having her near me in training and whilst on the ride itself.”

More can be read about Angie and the ride, training, and fundraising efforts at: https://www.justgiving.com/page/angie-lench-ride-africa-2023.

Child.org is a charity based in Bristol who work to support mums and babies in Kenya with life-saving healthcare and information.