Yate churchwarden is pedalling away with his trip to Zambia (From Gazette Series)

St Mary's Church warden cycles 400 miles in Yate Leisure Centre to fund trip to Zambia

1:00pm Wednesday 13th March 2013 in News By Alexandra Womack

A CHURCHWARDEN from Yate is preparing to cycle the length and breadth of the county to pay for a charity trip to Zambia.

Despite the 400-mile two-wheel challenge, Terry Carter, 72, will not leave the town as he is planning to cycle the equivalent distance of Bristol to Land’s End and back again from the confines of Yate Leisure Centre.

Terry, a warden at St Mary’s Church for the past three years, will complete the ride over 24 hours from Saturday, March 22 and Sunday, March 23.

“I am to cycle from 7am to 8.30pm each day with breaks but one has to be realistic at my age,” he said.

“I do cycle quite often and have done half marathons in the past but the most recent was in 1993 so we will see.”

The grandfather-of-six, of Somerset Avenue, needs to raise £3,000 to fund a 14-day trip to Lusaka with charity Aid International.

There he will meet local children and families and help a group of volunteers build five new classrooms at an impoverished school.

“We will try to finish two of the classrooms while we are there,” he said. “It will be quite physically demanding work but I decided I probably only had one more opportunity to do this something like at my age.”

For Terry, the trip is particularly poignant as he is returning to the country he first visited in 2002.

“I first heard about the Aid International project in Lusaka on Radio Bristol and wanted to help. Then I heard another appeal recently and I wanted to see the people I met last time again.

“You hear so many cynical reports about charities but with this one you know the money you are giving goes straight to the source and where it is needed.”

Terry’s trip to Lusaka takes place between May 31 and June 14 To help visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com click the donate option and enter Terry Carter.