West Country cyclists set out for Edinburgh

A parishioner from Christ the King Catholic Church, Thornbury has set off on his bicycle bound for Edinburgh. Mark Wallis has gathered together banners and petitions and will call on leaders of the world's richest countries to Make Poverty History. CAFOD campaigner Mark Wallis is one of seven campaigners cycling from the Bristol area to join tens of thousands of people from all over the UK and beyond, at the rally on Saturday 2 July to demand trade justice, debt cancellation and more and better aid for the world's poorest countries. Mark's parishioners have pledged their support for the campaign by signing a sash that he'll present at the rally. The route will take Mark from Bristol to Edinburgh in six days, through the Malvern Hills, up to Derbyshire and eventually Scotland. He and his fellow cyclists will have to cover an average of 65 miles a day to make it in time for the rally. Mark said: "It's been a long time since I've cycled anything like this far so I'm a bit apprehensive. But I'm doing it because it works. All the campaigning on debt, trade and aid over the last few years has made a difference. Greater public awareness builds pressure on the politicians, which leads to better decisions, commitments and follow-up. 2005 is an opportunity, a challenge to us all, to make a real impact on global poverty." Source: Diocese of Clifton