CHARITY RIDE PLANNING

A solo century is familiar. Three people on one Thorn is not, and that is the point. Sponsors remember the odd machine. Strangers stop at the village green. The tin fills faster if the crew looks organised rather than surprised.

Book the bike before you print the forms. Adult triplets are few, and midsummer Saturdays go first. Tell us the start date, the finish date, and whether you need a spare day either side for collection. If the ride is a multi-day tour, phone for a week rate rather than stacking daily prices in your head.

Pick tarmac. Canal towpaths and farm tracks punish a long wheelbase. The pilot should already be happy on a tandem. If nobody in the team has stoked before, hire a tandem for a practice afternoon and read the braking note on the logistics page.

Pack a collection tin, a simple board with the charity name, and a person who is not riding who can talk to donors at the lunch stop. The riders need both hands on the bars. The talker needs a dry place to stand.

Treat the van as part of the route. An 11-foot frame will not fold into a hatchback the night before. See Kit moves for trailer, roof-rack, and ferry-crate notes, then look at recent write-ups on Adventures to see how other crews handled harbour starts and capital loops.

When the plan is firm, contact us with dates and rider sizes. We will say whether the adult or family machine is free, and we will send the booking terms so the pilot can read them before anyone pays a deposit.