Charles gets on his bike to launch charity ride
THE Prince of Wales got on his bike to launch a charity cycle ride but joked: “I haven’t worked out the gears.”
Charles took to the saddle at Highgrove, his Gloucestershire home, as more than 30 riders set off on their 250-mile (400km) Palaces On Wheels event in aid of the British Asian Trust (BAT).
The cyclists will stop at a number of royal residences during their adventure, including Windsor Castle, Buckingham Palace and Sandringham.
As he gripped the handlebars, the prince quipped: “I haven’t worked out the gears. I hope I don’t bump into you or get stuck behind you later on.”
Charles, who was joined by actor Sanjeev Bhaskar, who is a BAT ambassador, admitted having a quick practice a week ago but said he had not cycled “for years”, and was a little wobbly as he started.
Their path was lined by Indian Dhol drummers and the prince quickly warmed up and sped off down the lane leading to his home.
Earlier, he had jokingly told the riders after seeing them in tight fitting riding gear that they were “a very good demonstration of why I don’t wear Lycra!”
“It’s a nightmare getting into it,” he added.
And he got a fit of the giggles when he was handed a tiny Lycra top by Rohit Chadda, one of organisers of the charity ride.
“Oh, have we got the wrong one?” Mr Chadda joked at Charles’s bemused expression.
“I mean, I have heard about Lycra,” he said, stretching the top comically, “but really!”
The prince, dressed in beige trousers and jacket, with a shirt and tie, was riding a borrowed British-made Pashley bike.