Sophie is cycling to Amsterdam for Music Venue Trust

Hi, my name is Sophie, I am the Venue Support Team Manager at the charity Music Venue Trust (MVT) and a very casual cyclist.

In just over six weeks I’ll be joining a team from Warner Music in a two-day bike ride all the way to Amsterdam to raise vital funds for MVT.

I love cycling, I ride my bike all over London, but I’ve never embarked on a challenge like this before so I’m trying to get the miles in and do some serious training.

The Mission - raising money for MVT

MVT was established in 2014 and its charitable aims are to protect, improve and secure grassroots music venues around the UK. As the Venue Support Team manager I see first hand where your sponsorship money will go and the effect it will have.

The nations coordinators and I deliver an Emergency Response Service for grassroots music venues facing challenges threatening them with closure. In the last 18 months alone we’ve worked on over 270 such cases: Giving venues support with debts, objecting to neighbouring planning applications, de-escalating noise complaints and mediating with landlords.

The Emergency Response Service isn’t the only way the charity supports grassroots music venues: we administer grants, help venues understand funding applications, organise tours and help bring venues into community ownership.

The Ride - 16th & 17th October

‍Day one we will set off from central London and ride to Harwich in Essex - approximately 138km/86 miles).

⛴️ From there we catch the overnight ferry to the Hook of Holland.

On Day Two we ride from Hook of Holland all the way into Amsterdam, which is approximately 86km/ 54 miles

Easy right…

Thank you for your support, all training tips welcome

Love,

Sophie