Picture Sparks Worldwide Interest in Cumbria’s ‘Floating Cyclist’!
News Release / 26.07.2011
A spectacular picture, taken on Buttermere shows teenager Matt Whitehurst somehow defeat logic by pedalling on top of the 75ft deep lake - without sinking. Featured by the Daily Mail and The Times, as well as being twittered around the world, Cumbria and Buttermere in particular, has become the focus of much interest.Comments have come in from across the world and from locations including California and Japan. One emailer has invited Matt to cycle across his swimming pool, another enquired as to the use of polystyrene in the tyres, and another suggested the use of plexiglass and scaffolding.
Matt, a Cockermouth School pupil from Papcastle, Cumbria, carried out the jaw-dropping stunt to raise awareness of a bike ride being organised to raise money for the Cumbria Community Foundation (which ran the Cumbria Flood Recovery Fund).
Matt's proud dad Steve is a member of the Cockermouth mountain rescue team and was one of the first members of the emergency services to arrive in the town. He heroically helped stranded residents escape safely from their homes after the area was swamped by the highest level of rainfall ever recorded in England.
The ride, sponsored by Jennings Brewery, in Cockermouth, will take place on September 18 following a route from Keswick, in the heart of the Lake District, before going over bridges washed away by the floods.
He said: "I can't and won't reveal how I did it, but plenty of people saw me and they'll confirm it wasn't a camera trick. "The photos are real."
Andy Beeforth, speaking on behalf of the Community Foundation said; “We’re delighted this picture is causing so much interest and look forward to welcoming hundreds of riders on one of the three rides in Septemberâ€.
Anyone interested in signing up for the event should go to The Jennings Rivers Ride at <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.cumbriafoundation.org')" class="main">www.cumbriafoundation.org</a>.
