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Cycling for Reforestation: Anyone Can Offset Some CO2

By Phil Sturgeon

Phil Sturgeon wasn’t any novice when he decided to help the environment by selling his Cannondale CAAD8. Through his blog he had already fundraised for 70,000 trees last summer. Sadly, being injured, there was little he could do to continue the effort. However, the clever ad he put out ensured that the reforestation would go on.

“I initially bought the bike for £500, but with general depreciation plus laying it down at 25mph, it was probably worth about £300,” Phil Sturgeon admits on his blog. “With my current level of sheer and unadulterated panic about impending climate oblivion, any spare money I come across goes on reforestation. If somebody gave me £300 I would have immediately bought 3,000 trees. Instead somebody felt motivated to pay for 5,000 trees.”

Since both Phil and the buyer attended the same conference in Paris, the Cannondale got to go on one last adventure with its first owner. A ride from the UK to Paris. An overnight ferry was the right choice to minimize the carbon footprint and after some cycling in the beautiful French countryside, the Cannondale was delivered.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B52sXyfFp4K/

“If you own anything you can spare, shed it all, and put it towards saving the planet,” Phil says. “If I learned anything this summer, it’s that riding bikes in 42 °C is bullsh*t, and the world isn’t getting any cooler.”

Talk about leading by example!