Our very own Marketing Manager, Mieke Stones, is taking active travel to the extreme. An entire year, only using her human power to travel to and from wherever she needs to go, including her work commitments. Can it be done? We find out more about her Powered by Me challenge here, why she decided to do it and how it is going so far.
What is Powered by Me?
It’s a year-long adventure that I created for myself, where I am only travelling using human power, wherever I need to go. I can use any form of human power, but I am mostly using my bike and my own two feet for walking and running. I started on 1 January and it will end on 31 December this year.
What motivated you to start it?
I was longing for a new fitness challenge. But one that didn’t mean I needed to save lots of money, or quit my job to cycle around the world. I was also trying to find something that just fitted into my current life. At the same time I had just finished blogging for the CIM’s professional marketer series. I enjoyed blogging, wanted to do more and was interested in blogging about active travel.
Powered by Me seemed like a great fit – not only would I test myself physically, I could also try out more blogging, as well as working on other things I enjoy, such as social media.
As well as this, I wanted to explore ways to motivate others to get into active travel. Active travel is such a great way to keep fit, save time and money and help the environment, plus you also get to spend time outdoors, exploring, instead of stuck underground! A lot of Londoners are able to cycle, walk or run into work, but choose to get public transport instead. Even though cycling has seen a huge boom in London, there are still too few female cyclists. I’d like to help change this, through my Powered by Me challenge.
How is it going so far?
It has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. Battling the elements has been tough, but thankfully the winter months are behind me. Mentally it has been challenging. To not have a rest day has meant my body has had to adjust quickly. After having completed a few big rides recently, with my most recent ride covering 500 kilometres from London to Nottingham return, I am feeling stronger and more able! To date, I have covered 1,890 kilometres Powered by Me and raised over £1,399 for different charitable causes.
How can others get involved?
By following my journey on my blog at www.powered-by-me.com and my social channels. I’ m also fundraising for a different charity each month, so if you’re interested in donating you can do so via my Powered by Me Just Giving page here or text PBME93 to 70070 to donate £5. As well as this, I am organising my first Powered by Me week, starting on 3 April, where I am asking other Londoners to try and do their own Powered by Me for one week, or as much as they can do during the week 3 to 9 April.
Powered by Me blog | @poweredby_me on Instagram | @poweredby_me on Twitter | @hellopoweredbyme on Facebook | Give to Powered by Me fundraising
