Women cycling from London to Hong Kong for food charities
Friends Julia Mason and Bethany Martin will put their mettle to the pedal when they ride across more than 20 countries to throw a spotlight on food wastage
Hongkonger Julia Mason and her best friend Bethany Martin will set off on a 16,000-kilometre journey from London to Hong Kong this Saturday to raise awareness about global food waste - and have an adventure.
The aim is to raise £25,000 (HK$287,000) for three charities that are concerned with changing attitudes towards wasting food. Two in Hong Kong - Food Angel and Feeding Hong Kong - and Feed Back in Britain.
The pair met at Sheffield University and, while cramming for their finals in biological science last year, hatched a plan to cycle through Europe to Croatia. And then they thought: why not keep going?
"I'd always wanted to do the Trans-Siberian Express and we were trying to figure out how to put the bikes on the train and we thought, 'We've got bikes, why not cycle all the way?'" says Mason, 21, who has lived in Hong Kong since she was two.
The "Forks on Wheels" journey will see them cycle from Martin's home in London to Mason's home in Hong Kong - a journey that will take in 22 countries, passing through Slovakia, Serbia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and China.
Food waste is an issue close to Mason's heart. As a student at West Island School, she did a final year project on food wastage in local supermarkets and was stunned to discover how much food was thrown out at the end of each day. And both have read and been deeply moved by Tristram Stuart's 2009 book Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal.