A Bike Ride Through Central America to Support Mental Health

Editor’s note: I’ve had the chance to speak with Daniel about his adventure. His passion for the bicycle and more so for mental health are outstanding. I ride with him in spirit.

Update on the tour:
I think we have finally learnt to out-alpha the dogs. I just wanted to say thanks for the help you gave us at the start when we were naive to it all. We are 200km from the end, the trip was meant to take us 3 months, but now we have been for 6, and still looking to stay. We just end up staying at places and enjoy it and can’t leave. At the start we were concerned about miles per day, now we just ride. We have also been shocked at the amount of support we have had along the way both out here and back home. We have continued messages of support from friends, raised over 1,500 pounds with over 70 donations and our blog has had over 19,000 views worldwide. The kindness and generosity we have received both at home and along the route has taken us both aback. Without this support, we would not be here. We came out here to partly raise awareness for mental health and partly discover a different way of living and I think we have slightly done that. Once thanks for the support at the start and the tips you didn’t have to help. Hopefully, this is only the start!

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Leaving on the 25th March 2014 myself (Daniel Grimes) and friend Roberto Sordillo are cycling 5,386 KM alone through 10 countries in Central and South America (Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador and Peru) for the British Mental Health charity Mind. It is a charity that we are both passionate. Our aim is to average 60 km per day taking us just over 3 months. Are we physically and financially prepared? Probably not! But we are following our dream to do a bicycle tour – learning some Spanish and salsa along the way. Hopefully, with the exposure we receive we can help remove the stigma of mental health issues such as depression.

Gracias,
Daniel Grimes