When it comes to a sponsored cycle ride, the one which three women from Bournemouth are about to embark upon is more challenging than most.

Natalie Scotney, Harriet Mulcahy and Zoe Pollock are to cycle more than 450 kilometres over seven days from Saigon in Vietnam to Angkor Wat in Cambodia while raising vital funds for children’s hospice charity, Julia’s House.

The trio all work for the NHS – Natalie and Zoe as paramedics, Harriet as a nurse – so understand the devastation that caring for a seriously ill child can have on a family.

Natalie said: “We wanted to raise money for a local charity and we all believe the work that Julia’s House does is so important for these families.”

Cycling up to 90 kilometres each day through South East Asia’s Mekong Delta is a challenge that has required a lot of training, and, Natalie adds, it has not always gone to plan.

She said: “Due to our work schedules we have only completed one ride together, around the Isle of Wight. Harriet was hit by a car whilst cycling in 2020 and due to the Covid pandemic it took a long time for her to be able to get a new bike. She has had to overcome the injuries she sustained and gain her confidence with cycling again but she found training for the challenge good motivation to get back on her bike.  Throughout training I have been very unlucky with injuries so am not as prepared as I would like to be. We all have hectic work schedules, working 12-hour shifts, which makes training on working days nearly impossible. We have to squeeze it all in on our days off.”

All three women have taken part in physically demanding endurance challenges previously, including cycle rides, marathons, cross fit and kayaking, but this will be the longest challenge any of them has completed, both in terms of distance and number of days.

“Zoe and I were first inspired to complete this challenge three years ago and now it’s actually happening. We are most looking forward to the day off in the middle where we cross from Vietnam to Cambodia by boat up the Mekong River and watching the sunrise of Angkor Wat on the final morning,” says Natalie.

Natalie, Harriet and Zoe began their cycle challenge on 20 October and hope to raise £2,000 for Julia’s House. You can support them by donating to their JustGving page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/nat-harriet-zoe

https://www.justgiving.com/team/Team13JH