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TAKING UP A NEW CHALLENGE<br />
DENISE VAN OUTEN<br />
SADDLES UP WITH CELEBRITY<br />
FRIENDS FOR AN EPIC BIKE RIDE<br />
ACROSS VIETNAM AND CAMBODIA<br />
2<br />
THANKS TO: EVANSCYCLES.COM & HIREFITNESS.CO.UK. (TOP LEFT) DENISE’S TRAINERS: ILSE JACOBSEN<br />
he has conquered Machu Picchu, Mount<br />
SKilimanjaro, the Great Wall of China and a<br />
charity cycle through India’s Rajasthan. Now<br />
hello! can announce that Denise Van Outen,<br />
with close pals Matt Johnson, Lydia Bright and<br />
Zoe Hardman, has set her sights on another<br />
challenge – a 370-mile charity bike ride<br />
through Vietnam and Cambodia.<br />
“The great thing about this trip is that it was<br />
all our idea,” says Denise, 40, sitting down to<br />
fill us in on the challenge during our exclusive<br />
shoot. “It’s not like somebody wanted to get a<br />
group of celebrities together to do it. You get<br />
bitten by the bug and, although these things<br />
are hard work, they’re a lot of fun.”<br />
“And we’re all great friends,” adds TV<br />
presenter Zoe, 32, who’ll keep us updated on<br />
every leg of their journey – which takes place<br />
in January – via the hellomagazine.com blog<br />
she writes with best friend Matt.<br />
830<br />
WORDS<br />
They will begin their journey in Vietnam’s<br />
Ho Chi Minh City and will see Khmer temples,<br />
markets and Buddhist monasteries before<br />
ending in Cambodia’s Siem Reap eight days<br />
later. And, says Matt, 32, it’s the thought of the<br />
charities they’re raising money for that will<br />
keep them going during the gruelling ride.<br />
Matt, who presents The Hub segment on<br />
This Morning, has been frank about his feelings<br />
of depression following his split from The One<br />
Show host Alex Jones and is now an ambassador<br />
for mental health charity Mind, one of the<br />
organisations that will benefit from the epic<br />
bike ride.<br />
“I’ve done a few marathons for them and<br />
evenings to raise money and awareness, but<br />
nothing on this scale. I want to put myself<br />
through something that will be a physical and<br />
mental challenge – and these girls talk a lot, so<br />
it’ll definitely be tiring,” he jokes. “Seriously, to<br />
do something like this, with hello!’s help too,<br />
is the biggest thing we’ve done.”<br />
ALL IN A GOOD CAUSE<br />
Funds will also go to the Vipingo Village Fund, a<br />
charity founded by Zoe’s parents Peter and<br />
Carol eight years ago. “They have a school for<br />
young orphans,” she says. “This will be the best<br />
thing I’ve ever done. My parents started this<br />
charity from a mud hut in Kenya and it’s grown<br />
and grown. I lost my dad<br />
last year and now Mum<br />
has to single-handedly<br />
find £89,000 a year to<br />
keep the school<br />
running for the 125<br />
kids they help. I’m so<br />
thrilled I can do this<br />
for her – I’ve been an<br />
Denise and Lydia<br />
teamed up in 2012<br />
for a charity bike<br />
ride through India<br />
(left). They’re back<br />
in the saddle for<br />
another epic trip,<br />
this time with Matt<br />
and Zoe (together,<br />
inset top)<br />
LYDIA’S DRESS: HALSTON. JACKET: FOREVER 21. TRAINERS: JIMMY CHOO. ZOE’S TOP: FINDERS KEEPERS. JACKET: SISTER JANE. SHOES: BEBO. MATT’S JACKET: ORIGINAL PENGUIN. TROUSERS: RIVER ISLAND. TRAINERS: KURT GEIGER.<br />
DENISE’S TOP: HIGH. SHORTS: PAINT IT RED. SHOES: CARVELA
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