I’m Cycling From London to Istanbul To Raise Money For WWF

My next big trip is officially confirmed, and if you know me at all, you’ll have guessed it wouldn’t be an easy one. I like to turn travel into a challenge, whether that’s to tackle a big hike or immerse myself in an off-the-beaten-path destination. As such, I’ve come up with my most demanding trip to date. I’m going to cycle from London to Istanbul – a staggering 3000 kilometres across the entire European continent – to raise money for the World Wildlife Fund. This article explains why I’ve decided to do this and how exactly I plan on doing it!

Update: I successfully completed the bike ride in August 2019!
You can read all about it here: London To Istanbul By Bike: Notes From The Road

Why I’m cycling across Europe

I’ve travelled to Australia, Asia, America and beyond, but Europe is a continent that I’ve left largely untouched. I’m from England, so I guess I always thought that Europe is right on my doorstep and readily accessible, and as a result, never really gave it much attention. It’s time to change that and see what this diverse continent has to offer.

Anyone who knows me will know how much I love the natural world, and how passionate I am about protecting the planet. I preach a lot about sustainability – so it’s time for me to practice what I preach and reduce my use of aeroplanes. Travel and transportation is one of the leading causes of global warming – according to ETA, “just one return flight from London to New York produces a greater carbon footprint than a whole year’s personal allowance needed to keep the climate safe.” So, its time for me to forego my use of them (wherever possible) in order to keep my carbon footprint as small as possible.

Given that continental Europe is just 27 miles across the sea from England, I realised that I don’t need to take an aeroplane to see Europe. My bicycle can carry me across the entire continent. So, I thought, “why not do just that?”

As this journey will be a huge challenge for me – both mentally and physically – I thought it would be a good idea to make it into an expedition that will raise money for a charity. The World Wildlife Fund is one of my favourite charities, and given what they stand for, I thought they’d be a perfect choice.

Sustainable travel is possible

The World Wildlife Fund is at the heart of global efforts to address the world’s most important environmental challenges: safeguarding the natural world, tackling climate change and enabling people to use only their fair share of natural resources.

The WWF themselves raise the subject of sustainable travel a lot and claim to be committed to environmentally friendly travel. They even organise what they call “conservation tours” in partnership with Natural Habitat Adventures, where you can book onto a sustainable trip that aims to support the protection of nature, wildlife and local communities.

As such, I thought the WWF would be the perfect charity to raise money for, as our values and missions align perfectly.

Cycling has little to no impact on the environment, so I’m hoping my journey will show that sustainable travel is possible, and inspire others to travel more sustainably, too. I’m fully aware that it isn’t possible for everyone to cycle long distances, but it is entirely possible to use trains, coaches and shared cars, instead of planes. I want to prove this, and hopefully, encourage others to do the same.

The logistics behind cycling from London to Istanbul

I’ll be kicking off sometime this summer and estimate that my journey to Istanbul will take about 3 months to complete. I say “estimate” because this isn’t just about the destination – it’s also about the journey. I want to enjoy Europe and see as much of it as I can on my route.

I’ll be using a network of cycle routes that span across Europe called EuroVelo. The EuroVelo routes unite the entire continent by cycle paths, which should mean that my journey will be simple to map out and follow.

I have a rough route in mind; I ideally want to cycle through France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, before heading directly south down the coast of Croatia, then east through Bosnia, Montenegro, Kosovo, Serbia and Bulgaria, before finishing up in Turkey.

If you’d like to sponsor me and donate to WWF, here is the link to my Just Giving page:

https://justgiving.com/lauren-pears-cycles-london-to-istanbul

Thanks for reading, I’m off to get stuck into training!

Thank you for reading! If you found this post useful, I’d be grateful if you would consider using the affiliate links below when planning your travels. I’ll make a small commission at no extra cost to you. This will help me to keep this blog running. Thanks for your support — Lauren.

Accommodation – Booking.com
Flights – Booking.com
Travel insurance – World Nomads
Excursions & tours – Viator
Outdoor gear – Decathlon
eSIMs – Airalo

Alternatively, you could buy me a coffee to say thanks!