Interview with Liam Cook - Cycling to Rome

24 September 2013

How did you get into cycling?

I started cycling in Florence when I lived there for a year. I don't drive and Florence has a really bad bus network. Then I realised I could get a bike.

Now I live in east London. Cycling helps a lot in a big city when getting around can be hard. It's cheap and easy. I like that feeling - that you don't have to do anything to it, you don't have to insure it like a car. You just get on your bike and go.

Tell us about the Big Push

Oscar Lotis originally set up the Big Push six years ago to raise funds for a medical treatment he needed. The team cycled from Brighton to Land's End.

Last year we went from London to Ben Nevis, which was pretty much the length of mainland UK. Climbing the mountain was the toughest part. It was also really wet last year, and very cold. This is the first Big Push to go to the continent.

Why Friends of the Earth?

Supporting you was Oscar's idea. We wanted to affiliate ourselves with a charity long-term and I knew about you from university - I've just finished my second year at Kingston University studying sustainable development. I thought it fitted in nicely with the bikes.

Tell us about the Rome ride

We'll be doing about 100 miles a day, slightly less in the Alps. Though France is undulating and the Alps are the highest mountains in Europe, I think Italy's coastal road will be the trickiest part. The Coliseum is our destination. And then I don't know - chill out and have a beer.

What next?

I like the idea of doing a capitals challenge with four teams setting off from Edinburgh, Belfast, Cardiff and London, and meeting in a central point.

Fancy fundraising for Friends of the Earth?

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