Andy Beckett
Andy's Lands End to John O'Groats ride, June 2014
Fundraising for Southampton Hospitals Charity
Story
I started cycling in September 2012 in at attempt to get fit and lose some weight before I got to 50. My initial rides of 5 and 10 miles were hard work, although fun :) My first “long” ride of 35 miles felt as if I'd never get there, although it was really good looking back at it.
A friend gave me a challenge of riding a century (100 miles), so I found a local charity and spent a windy day in early May 2013 riding a 100 miles. I found I really enjoyed long rides, and started riding a few more centuries.
Earlier this year (2014) I saw an articleabout Percy's Pals and their aim to ride roughly 1000 miles for charity. This was a perfect match for me, a really good cause to raise money for, and an opportunity for me to ride 1000 miles. I met up with some of “Percy's Pals” and instantly felt welcomed and part of the team. The goals and aspirations in raising money for a specialist portable CT brain scanner for the Wessex Neuro ITU, which would help people in a vast area of the south of England was something close to my heart.
I've met all costs for the ride, as riding 1000 miles is my challenge, so all donations actually go to the charity and helps us reach our target of £0.25M
Please help if you can, every pound helps. You can sponsor directly here, or from your phone by texting ATBC50 £5 (or some other value) to 70070
Percy’s Pals is a fund raising group under the umbrella of Southampton Hospital Charity. The group was formed by friends of Dr Richard Percival, who died in February 2013 aged 47 years from a stroke at The Wessex Neurological Intensive Treatment Unit (WNITU) at Southampton General Hospital.
The WNITU treats victims of strokeand brain injury from all over the south of England. Anyone suffering brain injury or stroke in the South of England is very likely to be treated there.
To allow faster diagnosis of emergency cases, Southampton General Hospital are aiming to raise £250000 to buy a portable CT scanner. Without this scanner the treatment of patients admitted to the WNITU could be delayed vital minutes, where the speed of treatment can be crucial to their survival and a successful recovery.