Cyclists complete 500km ‘Zoodax’ around Regent's Park

On Saturday October 3, four cyclists from Regent's Park Rouleurs cycled for 18 hours, non-stop around the Regent's Park Outer Circle. They covered just over 500 kilometres, raising money for The Regent’s Park Cherry Tree Fund.

The four cyclists to complete the full distance were Justin McKie, James O'Connell, Tom Harris and Matt Antoniou, supported by others from the Regent’s Park Cyclists community.

McKie said: “There are thousands of cyclists that use the outer circle of Regent’s Park to train and exercise, so we wanted to do something to say thanks to The Royal Parks for providing the only safe place in central London to train and exercise away from traffic, pollution and lorries.”

The team have so far raised around £3,500 of a £10,000 target. If you’d like, you can donate here. The money raised so far will pay for two trees out of the 100 that are scheduled to be planted later this month.

“We have dedicated a tree to Bradley Wiggins, who as a youngster cycled in the park and regularly uses the park when he is based in London,” said McKie.

The ride started at 5am at London Zoo, with the group circling anticlockwise for 113 laps of the park. They were brought food and drink throughout by fellow cyclists and completed the 500km target just after 11pm. They averaged approximately 32kph (20mph) so were able to complete the distance well ahead of their 24 hour schedule.

McKie said things didn’t really get too bad until after the sun went down.

“The first 300k was actually a lot of fun. We had so many friends and fellow cyclists from the Regent’s Park community join us that we always had someone to take our minds off the discomfort of cycling for so long.

“After 400k, we were into the night and that’s when it got really challenging. We didn’t have the stunning Nash terraces and beautiful scenery to view, so you end up focusing on the aches, pains and boredom. I felt at times as though it would never end.”

The club meets up to ride around Regent’s Park each day, whatever the weather, and further afield at weekends. Last year, a short film about their morning ride was submitted to the Sundance London short film competition.

More recently, another club member, Mat Ilic, ‘everested’ Swain's Lane in Highgate. To attain the necessary cumulative height gain of 8,848 metres, he had to climb the hill no fewer than 134 times. “My God, is it a dark place,” he said of the experience shortly after finishing.