A Star Wars cycling enthusiast known as the Biking Scout has been spotted around the Llanelli area recently. In an attempt to raise money for Teenage Cancer Trust he is set on cycling 2,400 miles in a full Biker Scout Kit. Star Wars Day, 4th May 2022 will be his target date when the fundraiser will be finalised.
In a brief interview with the Biker Scout, he said:
“I have been part of groups that combine our love of Star Wars with raising money for charity since I was given a Stormtrooper suit by my wife for my 40th birthday back in 2015. I’ll never forget the first fundraiser I did at Vue cinema in Carmarthen back in 2017. Seeing the smiles on the faces of children (and adults) was just awesome. I was hooked and a passion was born.”
“Under normal circumstances, me and my fellow troopers would attend events, bucket collections etc in order to raise money for charity. This past year has made this impossible so having got into cycling during lockdown in 2020, I wanted to find another way of raising money. Hence the Biking Scout was born.
“I am challenging myself to cycle the equivalent circumference of 10 Death Stars dressed as a Biker Scout from Star Wars. That’s approximately 2,400 miles.”
When Covid struck, he and his fellow troopers were faced with a host of events being cancelled. When he started to work from home in 2020, he wanted to try and do something that would allow him to continue to raise funds for charity but wouldn’t be impacted by the pandemic. A solo cycling challenge seemed the perfect way to do it.
He added in the interview:
“I took the opportunity to get into cycling to get me out of the house. Around the same time I was finishing off my 2nd outfit, a Scouttrooper and The Biking Scout was born by combining both passions.”
The next step was to decide the amount he would cycle. He then worked out the size of the Death Star and set himself the challenge of riding the equivalent of its circumference 10 times. Approximately 2,400 miles.
He wanted to achieve this within 1 year. Starting on May 4th was a must and so the challenge began last year.
