For the last eight years the Heavy Metal Truants have been doing an annual charity cycle ride from London to the UK Download Festival set upon the hallowed heavy metal grounds of Castle Donington.
Open to all, our charity ride has seen metal fans, bands, and industry types getting on their bikes and raising £681,500 (over $1.25 million AUD) in the process!
“We were heartbroken to see Download Festival cancelling this year – a decision which we of course fully support. We weren’t happy to sit this year out though. Our chosen charities, all of which work hard to support children and young people, need our support now more than ever, so we’re calling on all metalheads from around the world to join us in the name of heavy metal.” Alexander Milas, Heavy Metal Truants Co-Founder
As it’s the 40th anniversary of Motörhead’s Ace of Spades, what better with which to honour Lemmy than to call it the Eighth Of Spades!
Chris Maric spoke to Heavy Metal Truants Co-Founder Alexander Milas about the event for his newly launched podcast, The Fourth Rune
Listen to it here
https://anchor.fm/thefourthrune/episodes/Alex-Milas-Co-Founder-Of-The-Heavy-Metal-Truants-eeri90
DONATIONS PLEASE
If you are able to spare anything at all to help Chris reach his goal,
please donate via this page.www.maricmedia.com/charity
HOW HEAVY METAL TRUANTS VIII WILL RUN IN 2020
Between June 1 and in the run-up to June 12, the weekend of Virtual Download Festival, we want you to get in the saddle and join us on a virtual ride, walk or run. Just your legs, or anything with pedals which you can log on Strava is fine – actual bikes, smart trainers, or simple exercise bikes: if you can log the miles on Strava, you can join the challenge.
If you are going outside on a real bike though we ask that you do so safely and according to government guidelines! This isn’t about the distance – it’s about the fundraising, and anyone who completes the minimum distance is automatically entered into the roll-call of legends known as the Heavy Metal Truants, but there are always a few maniacs who want to take it a little further, so with that in mind…
THE THREE CYCLES OF HELL
The Road Crew: 175 miles (280km)
…or the precise distance between Hammersmith and Donington, taking in the metal sites of East London before venturing out into the British hinterland, and the average mileage for the first seven HMT rides.
The Bomber: 333 miles (533km)
Because anyone who knows anything about Lemmy knows that he loved a double
Overkill: 666 miles (1066km)
because every party, gig, and indeed bike ride always has to have that guy or girl who takes it that much further
The Snaggler Challenge: 35 mile Walk (56km)
It’s come to our attention that due to current circumstances a few people don’t have access to a contraption with pedals, so we’re adding a walking, running or rolling challenge to the mix! Starting with the rest of us on June 1st you will need to walk, jog or run 35 miles before June 12th. Sure, you might be a little slower than cyclists but we refuse to call you stragglers. In honour of Motörhead’s famous mascot, we’re calling this the Snaggler challenge.
Registration is open until June 9 if you are interested in taking part, please go to
www.heavymetaltruants.com