- Here I am, trying to ride
up to Pescul in Alta Badia on a bike that weighs 24 kilos, and not only does it not
have a compact chain ring, it actually doesn't have any gears at all. What the hell am I doing? (rhythmic guitar music) Well, the story starts with a conversation with World Bicycle Relief UK. I've been a huge fan of the work of World Bicycle Relief
for a few years now. Specifically, I'm a fan of
the way they've managed to empower people in developing countries through cycling and the Buffalo Bike. They told me that they have a team for the Prudential RideLondon, which is a 100-mile sportive
in the Surrey hills, and they asked me if I'd like to join to help them raise money
for World Bicycle Relief. Well, I was pretty chuffed
because (breathing heavily) I'd love to raise money
for this fantastic cause. World Bicycle Relief helps children to reduce their travel time to school, helps health workers visit more patients, and it helps entrepreneurs in rural areas in developing countries
to bring more goods to market and make better profits. But there was a bit of a problem. I really was not convinced that anybody would sponsor me to do RideLondon. After all, riding a bike
was my job for a few years, and unfortunately, there's no way I'd ride that course or Box Hill
anywhere near as quick as when I raced there in 2012
in the olympic road race. It would just look like
a bit of a poor effort, to be honest. My fears were confirmed
when even my mum refused to sponsor me and my mum is
usually extremely generous. As she put it, "Cycling 100 miles, "isn't that how you normally
spend your Sunday, Emma?" So, I realized I was gonna have to make it more challenging
and frankly a lot less fun if I was gonna have any hope of persuading family and friends to fork out and donate. And, well, Bicycle Relief UK said they had a spare demo
Buffalo Bike, so here I am. Right, (grunts) that's quite steep. (bouncy pop-rock music) Now, let's talk a little bit
about the Buffalo Bicycle. World Bicycle Relief did point out to me that it is absolutely not a race bike, as you can probably tell. In fact, it was built to
meet the transportation needs of families, students, and communities in rural parts of developing countries. As I have already mentioned, the Buffalo Bike is also quite heavy. Now, that's because it is designed to be incredibly sturdy and to
transport heavy loads. And here, I thought, that doesn't matter because RideLondon is flat, and, no, before you mention it,
Box Hill doesn't count. I know. I've raced up it and it's not what I would call a proper hill. Also, I thought it was a great opportunity to show off the Buffalo Bike to all the thousands of people that
take part in RideLondon. Let's take a closer look at the spec of the Buffalo Bicycle,
starting with the wheels, Buffalo Bicycle's own design,
26-inch, 1.75-inch rims, and on them, we have
extra puncture-resistant Chaoyang tires with 27 TPI outer casing. They are very puncture-resistant. In the rear hub, we have a powerful back pedal coaster brake,
meaning that the rider can brake safely and easily
in all weather conditions, even with heavy loads. Moving on to the group
set, the Buffalo Bike, of course, has only one gear, which in this case, is a 46, 21. It's gonna be, that's quite
a chunky gear actually for Box Hill, now I think about it. An absolutely integral
part of the Buffalo Bike is the steel alloy
luggage rack on the back, which can actually carry up to 100 kilos. The steel center stand
at the rear of the bike acts like a motorcycle stand, keeping the bike steady whilst loading. The steel alloy frame, as
you can see, is very sturdy. It actually weighs 5
kilos all on it's own, and that's because it is designed to be so durable and strong. It's designed to have an
easy mounting position for both women and men, and to have a very upright riding position. Moving toward the front, the
front wheel is very similar to the rear wheel, but
without the hub break. However, it is specked out
with a front caliper brake, right hand, front brake, of
course, glad to see that, 60 cm wide handlebar,
which is a little bit wider than I am used to, it's fair to say. Moving on to the finishing touches, there is no bar tape. However, the Buffalo Bike does have heavy-duty rubber hand grips
and, best of all, a bell. (bell rings) Very heavy duty and
heavy-looking generic saddle, which I think I might have to
swap off before RideLondon. No bidon cage, that might
be a slight issue also, and there's final and crowning
finishing touch, I think. We have reflectors on
the front and rear wheels and on the rear mud guard. (calm instrumental music) To be honest (breathing heavily), this is turning out to be a
bit harder than I expected. The Buffalo Bike was
built for transporting people and goods in difficult terrain. It wasn't built for racing. However, when you compare it to what it's used for in
developing countries, well, that does put it
into perspective a bit. I'm not sure I'm gonna make it (laughs). World Bicycle Relief has helped mobilize hundreds of thousands of
children to get to school, 126,000 over the 7 years to 2016 alone. They found that with a Buffalo Bike, children's school attendance increases 28% and academic performance
increases an incredible 59%. Buffalo Bikes supplied
by World Bicycle Relief have helped to mobilize
hundreds of thousands of healthcare workers. With a bike, a healthcare
worker can travel four times further than on foot. World Bicycle Relief has also trained up 1,900 local mechanics in countries where Buffalo Bikes are distributed, so that assembly and repair
help the local economy. (breathing heavily) So, while this is the heaviest
bike I've ever ridden, I think it's also possibly the
best and most powerful bike in the world in terms of how it's helped to change people's lives for the better. I really shouldn't have
stopped on a hill, though. I'm never gonna get started again. I might need a push. Now, clearly, I'm not doing RideLondon on a Buffalo Bike just for fun. Hopefully, it will be fun,
but it also looks like it's gonna be quite a
significant challenge. No, to make it worthwhile, I want to raise as much money as possible
for World Bicycle Relief, so please, go to their website and donate, and in addition, to demonstrate the amazing carrying
capacity of this bike, I'm going to carry one orange for every Buffalo Bike donated, so one orange for every £95 donated. I'm hoping that will make the bike a lot heavier again, kind
of hoping, kind of not. A small amount of money goes a long way towards a Buffalo Bike. For example, £95 or $147 is one bike, £35 or $50 is a toolset, and £450 pays for a training course for a local mechanic to learn to build and
maintain Buffalo Bikes. In effect, they train one mechanic for every 100 bicycles delivered through their Bicycle for
Educational Empowerment Program. (laughs) I was planning, at this point, to say how much I was enjoying
riding the Buffalo Bike, and I was, but now I'm having to walk, which is a bit embarrassing. I think RideLondon might turn out to be the hardest 100 miles
of my life, but anyway, it is amazing to get a
different perspective on the simple bicycle
because I've spent years trying to make my bike as
light and as fast as possible, and I've never really thought about carrying capacity before, but now, now I'm definitely thinking about it. Prudential RideLondon
is on the 29th of July. It's part of a whole
weekend of bike racing. You should check it out. The sportive I'm doing
is, as I said, 100 miles. I don't know how long it's gonna take me, but I suspect I might be out
until after dark, so please, please donate to World Bicycle Relief by going to their UK website. You can also click down here,
see Dan's fantastic video with World Bicycle Relief last year. Right, I'm gonna try racing downhill. I suspect it will be way more fun. Whee!
