Two charity cyclists completed a 949-mile ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise funds for The Children’s Centre. Mike Clough, who works for Barclays Wealth and Investment, and Richard George, who works for EMCS, averaged 100 miles per day during the nine day endurance challenge. Together they raised more than ?5,000 for The Children’s Centre’s charitable projects which help families and children across the Island. The cyclists thanked all of their sponsors for generously supporting their fundraising efforts. They were assisted by Harry Eastham who drove a support van carrying a range of spare parts so that repairs could be made en-route – the van also carried a spare bike in the event that anyone needed a new machine. Mike Gardner, who as well as being an experienced cyclist is also a trustee of The Children’s Centre, cycled the whole LEJOG route providing advice, support, and encouragement for the charity riders. Richard commented:
“It was an amazing experience. We saw so many sights, parts of the country we have never seen and in some cases heard of before. We were so lucky with the weather – there was one morning of gale force winds and rain, but apart from that there was a tailwind pretty much all the way up and a sunny day on the last leg of the ride. All in all it was a very challenging but equally rewarding experience.”
Mike Clough said:
“This was a fantastic and very rewarding experience which I would wholeheartedly recommend to anyone interested in cycling. I would like to thank my family, friends and colleagues for their support and encouragement. I’d also like to say a huge thank you to my sponsors for their generosity, which has been matched by my employer Barclays Wealth and Investment, which has kindly agreed to match donations to a value of ?750. Overall, a great challenge for a great cause and one that I am very proud to have completed.”
After completing the ride, Richard compiled a list of stats to sum up the nine day challenge. In numbers he said the ride involved ‘9 days, 3 countries, 3 finishers, 5 bikes, 3 punctures, 2 bike shops, 2 changes of shoe cleats, 2 ‘clipped in the pedals tumbles’, 1 cycle into hedge, 1 near crash on a sharp corner, 18 breakfasts, 4 ferry journeys, 949.5 miles of cycling, 47,875 feet of climbing, 59 hours and 30 minutes on the bike, and an average speed of 16mph’. Mark Eastham, Fundraising Co-ordinator at The Children’s Centre, congratulated the cyclists on their achievement and thanked the support crew for ensuring the challenge went to plan. Mark, who has ridden the LEJOG route himself in previous years to raise funds for the charity, said:
“The LEJOG ride is a tough challenge and we’re extremely grateful to Richard and Mike for their efforts, and for raising such a fantastic fundraising total. This is the third year in a row we have organised a LEJOG cycling challenge and in that time the event has raised more than ?35,000. Thanks to our experienced team of group leaders the feedback we get from LEJOG participants is always good, and we’re pleased that this year’s challenge riders enjoyed the experience.”
Photo - The LEJOG team at John O’Groats. Left to right are charity riders Mike Clough and Richard George, with support driver Harry Eastham and support rider Mike Gardner.
