The Idea
In 2005 my Mum (Mary) swam the distance of the English channel (in a swimming pool) to raise funds for Aspire who are a Spinal Injury charity. In the same year my wife (Gina) jumped out of a plane at 15,000 ft to raise money for Rheumatoid Arthritis. In 2006, my Mum took part in the widely publicised and organised “Race for Life” event to raise money for Cancer Research. Again in 2006, my sister (Sam) did a 10 mile walk followed by a 10k bike ride to help fund Guide Dogs. These were all great ideas and brilliant that they’ve been done. Since then I’ve felt it important that I do something too. Not to jump on a bandwagon, but to do something that would be a double edged effort: firstly to raise money for charity and secondly, on a personal level, to regain my fitness and improve my overall health.
When I was in my mid-teens I used to cycle loads. It wasn’t uncommon on a summer’s day for me to pack up some stuff and head out for a 20 odd mile bike ride just for the sake of it. There’s a trail that runs from just above Liverpool across the width of England to just above Hull which is open to pedestrians, horse riders and cyclists. It’s 350 miles end-to-end. When I combined these two thoughts I realised I’d got my charity event!
You can’t realistically do something like this on your own since it involves months of planning and training. I’m no way near as fit as I used to be and I want to raise a lot of money therefore I needed someone to do the event with. Steve was an obvious choice since he worked as a fitness instructor for many years and he’s always up for good laugh. Not long after making my thoughts known to my friends another mate, Terry, expressed an interest in taking part too and became part of the team.
It’s going to be really hard work but I’m sure it’s going to be worth every minute of it. I just hope we reach and exceed our goal.
Rob