J’AIME NOVEMBER 2021

“The journey to London started around 4am, we got
prepared, put our lights on, checked tire pressure,
topped up on protein and energy drinks,” says
Cycloholic Dal Singh.
“Another group member Dal Gillar put on a religious
prayer before we all set off which was a really nice
touch. We broke down the ride in segments, so it was
relatively easier on the mind, knowing that we have a
stop coming up to refuel definitely helped.
“At around 60 miles we were in Buckingham, our
friend Yatmit turned up with some Indian flat breads
which was really nice of him to do; then when we go
to around the 90 miles mark, I think it became really
testing that we had been on our bikes for so long at
that point.
“When the ride was almost coming to an end and I
think for about 10 miles nobody said a word to each
other. My brother Amarpreet and Taran turned up
with a van and they took our bags off us which were
weighing us down. At one point one of the riders
said he couldn’t continue, and I said think about
your girls, think about the story you’re going to tell
them, mentally be strong for them and I think that
helped him plough through the ride. It was a really
good team bonding exercise; we spoke about our
lives which I don’t think would have happened in any
other environment,” Dal adds.
The Cycloholics wanted their chance to give back
to the community. Mental health has been a huge
talking point over the last few years, and the group
came to realise the impact that ill mental health has
on men. As well drawing upon personal experiences,
they wanted to help spread more awareness around
the topic.
“I came across a charity called CALM (Campaign
THE CYCLOHOLICS ARRIVED IN
LONDON FOLLOWING THEIR 126-MILE
JOURNEY FROM BIRMINGHAM
THE CYCLOHOLICS HAVE RAISED MORE
THAT £7,000 FOR CALM
Against Living Miserably); their focus is to lead a
movement against suicide which is the single biggest
killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK and that
really hit home to me,” says group member Amit
Ram.
“It came to fruition during the Covid-19 pandemic;
everyone was locked inside which could have easily
led into anxiety, depression, stress and the whole
change in lifestyle. The only way for people to meet
up was some form of exercise, so during covid we
got into cycling and we thought that it was a great
way to meet up and get through the
lockdown together. CALM was a
fitting charity to support with our
ride to London because our love for
cycling happened because of the
pandemic and it was all in aid of
CALM.”
The group of enthusiastic cyclists
decided to set up a fundraising
page for their charity and have so
far raised an impressive £7,000 and
counting.
Something that has touched the
group is how people have reached
out to them to talk about their own
struggles with ill mental health, and
how they’ve been affected by loved
ones who have taken their own
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