Bristol2Beijing Update
10.08.21
Blink and you may miss some of the activities Luke Grenfell-Shaw, Bristol2Beijing, has managed to fit into his journey through Central Asia so far! Here is an update on the recent events in the fourth leg of his journey, during which time The BEARR Trust is delighted to be Luke’s official partner.
B2B Challenge
On the weekend of 17-18 July, Luke and Pippa Ebel organised the B2B Challenge to celebrate the halfway point of Luke’s journey and encourage people to get active in any way that works for them. Over 100 people from all over the world took part by travelling between two points beginning with the letter “B” and recording their journey. Many of BEARR’s network got involved, including BEARR’s own Chairman, Nicola Ramsden, who managed to string together several Bs in Norfolk – Burnham Market, Burnham Norton, Burnham Overy Staithe and Burnham Overy Town – but didn’t quite make Brancaster!
Trustee Jane Ebel took part in the B2B Challenge from France 
Trustee Jane Ebel says of her B2B experience:
“My ambitious B2B challenge was curtailed before it even began because of travel plans. We HAD thought of a relay race: baguette to baguette but realised this was a bit of a cop out. So… not to be deterred and poring over the local map of the Tarn, we found several small villages beginning with B and I was duly dropped off at the first location. I spent a glorious hour or two, jogging through sunflower fields, completely alone except for the clicking cicadas and the occasional snake, basking in the hot afternoon sun”.
BEARR friends Veronique Garrett, co-founder and trustee of the British-Russian charity Downside Up which supports children with Down Syndrome, and Charles Garrett, British Ambassador to the Kyrgyz Republic, also got involved. Charles described it as, “a powerful experience because of what Luke said about his life, because we brought together a group of 40 Bishkek cyclists and other guests, who will now act as multipliers of Luke’s messages”.
Veronique commented:
“the B2B challenge was a great opportunity for us to publicise what Luke has been doing. So many people have commented and applauded him for what he has done. It was an opportunity to share his message. For me, however, having the opportunity to get to know Luke better and to learn from his experiences has been more important. He’s an extraordinary man”.
You can read more about the weekend here.
Psychoanalytic Association “Training Cafe”, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Luke is also visiting several of BEARR’s grantees, past and present, en route. Most recently, he visited 2018 grantee the Psychoanalytic Association in Almaty, Kazakhstan. As part of their project, the Psychoanalytic Association organised training for specialists on how to open social enterprises employing young people with disabilities. Several “Training Cafes” were set up in the city as a result – cafes which continue to employ young people with disabilities today. Read more about Luke’s visit to one of the training cafes here and read the Psychoanalytic Association’s project report from 2018 here.
Many of you will by now be aware that Luke is travelling nearly 30,000km by tandem bike from Bristol to Beijing raising money for different healthcare charities along the way, especially cancer-related charities and those with a focus on young people living with cancer. Luke himself is a young CanLiver. Read more about his story and donate here.
