He’s made his living on two wheels, but it was only a trip to the impoverished African state of Malawi that Sir Chris Hoy realised the importance of the bicycle to many around the world.
Sir Chris, now a Unicef UK Ambassador, told the Daily Star he was humbled to see the lives of the people living there.
He said: “My trip was an incredible experience that will stay with me forever, especially meeting all the young kids whose lives have been saved by Unicef.
“All the things we take for granted in the UK, like basic medicine, are not always available in Malawi.
“They often get one meal of porridge a day and have nowhere to play or be kids.”
Sir Chris got to know a young man, Daniel who delivers lifesaving medicines to children living in the remotest parts of the country by bicycle.
He said: “Daniel has to cycle to his remote clinic twice a week and is a lifeline for the local community.
“There’s no proper roads, the bikes often break down, they don’t have gears.”
These bikes, he said, were far harder work than his usual performance machines.
“As we cycled round the corner and saw all the mums and babies queuing up, it dawned on me the responsibility on Daniel’s shoulders – the whole community relies on him to treat their young children.
“I need bikes for work but Daniel’s need for his bike is at a whole other level.
“Daniel’s bike allows him to have a life-changing impact on his community. I found this really humbling.”
The trip came ahead of a text-based fund-raising appeal for Unicef at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this Wednesday.
Click here for more info.
I think you'll find that you'll only go to jail if rich people are losing money from it.
He's not there to fill air-time (that's Kirby and the other one), he's there to use his expertise to give good insight into the racing. And he's...
Since when was 'split public opinion' any concern of the police? Unless it is the public's opinion of the police themselves.
Maybe a bit of PPE?
Thanks for the review. I like that Orbea have included aero extras and wish more manufacturers would stick two fingers up at the UCI - at least in...
Excellent - I think I'll replace my emergency tube that is a real squeeze to get into the little Topeak bottle cage bag thingy....
I enjoyed this guy I captured with his hound on New Oxford Street a few years ago.
I know this is a bit late but one thing that hasn't been mentioned yet is the extra wear and possible damage to the cycle lane surface due to being...
*bursts back into the room hours after the conversation has moved on*...
Damn, that sucks. I generally feel pretty relaxed with my bike on Avanti trains because the compartment is locked and I don't have to worry about...