St Mary’s Junior School girls saw months of hard work come to fruition as World Wide Bike Ride cyclist Matthew Blake completed their Olympic Bike Challenge.
In February, the School set themselves the challenge of cycling the 8,000 mile route of the London 2012 Olympic torch – without leaving Cambridge. Since then students, staff and even visitors have been helping the School cover the route on a static bike whilst the girls track their progress on a large map of the UK.
Their impressive journey came to an end on Tuesday 3 July, as Matthew Blake completed the last mile of the challenge on his bicycle, arriving at the School to talk at the Annual Prize Giving ceremony. Matthew regaled the girls with tales of his four-year cycle ride that covered nearly 46,000 miles through 61 countries across five different continents.
Deirdre O’Sullivan, Headmistress at St Mary’s Junior School, commented: “The girls had no idea that Matthew was going to complete our challenge for us. They were so surprised when he arrived at School on his bicycle! This challenge has required tremendous commitment from both our students and staff. They have all risen to the challenge and we have even exceeded our target, covering more than 9,000 miles!”
“This challenge has really helped to build the atmosphere in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympics and we are all so excited for the arrival of the torch in Cambridge in a few days’ time.” Mrs O’Sullivan added.