AN epic 2,000-mile bike ride awaits 22-year-old former University of York student Louis Lunts.

The history graduate and cycling enthusiast plans to raise £2,000 or more by cycling the distance from London to Istanbul for York-based charity Survive, in Priory Street, which offers support and information to women and men who have suffered child sexual abuse or rape or sexual assault as adults.

Louis said he plans to set off on July 1 and arrive in the Turkish city five weeks later on August 4, by which time he hopes the current political situation in the country will have settled down.

The journey will take him from one end of Europe to the other, through ten countries, but he is no novice, having previously cycled from London to Rome.

He said: “I wanted to do a trip like this and I wanted the money to go to something local and worthwhile where the funding would make a real difference. I chose the London to Istanbul route long before all the recent trouble, because it is a well ridden cycle route, Hopefully, by the time I get there, things will have calmed down a bit.

“My dad will be joining me for part of the way and a friend is setting out with me and dropping out in Vienna so I won’t be completely alone.”

Louis said he chose the charity after a talk given to the university’s drama society by Survive support worker Annie Borthwick led to fundraising for the cause.

Ms Borthwick said: “This money means an enormous amount to us. We need between £50,000 and £60,000 a year to keep going and to stay open for the rest of this year we need £12,000.

“We don’t get any money from the health service or the council, so Louis’s efforts are a massive boost to us and we can’t thank him enough.”

Louis has currently broken through the £1,000 mark in his fundraising attempt. To sponsor him go to charitygiving.co.uk/louislunts


What is Survive?

Survive is based in Priory Street and run by three part-time workers and eight volunteers.

It offers a safe place for survivors of rape and sexual abuse to come to where they will be listened to in confidence and understood.

The service saw about 90 people last year and this year numbers look likely to exceed that number in the wake of Jimmy Savile.

To find out more go to their website survive-northyorks.org.uk phone the office on 01904 638813 or email survive@survive-northyorks.org.uk