Five current or former Denstone College staff set off on Monday July 18th to cycle around 800 miles from the College to Alpe d'Huez in France in order to raise money for Higgy's Heroes in support of the Multiple Sclerosis Resource Centre.
THEY'VE DONE IT!!!!!! As you can see from the new picures, everyone made it to Alpe d'Huez on Sunday morning. A few words from the team about the final few days: After Reims, the cycling was pretty plain sailing. we enjoyed about seven hours of completely flat terrain, and the bikes behaved almost impeccably. Rob and Matt Bennett had some gearbox problems, and JT managed to warp his rear wheel (which was replaced by the support team - top effort!), but considering how hard they were worked, they coped well. The terrain east of Lyon became more hilly, but the reward was a wonderful ride down to Grenoble before, inevitably, the climb up the Alps began. The rise to Alpe d'Huez is probably the most famous of all in cycling circles, and with good reason. All found the ascent a real challenge, but all made it to the official finish of the Tour de France leg, and beyond to the Beausejour Hotel, which hosts the college ski trip. Job done, and off to Serre Chevalier and three hours in a spa!
A huge thank you to everyone who has donated so far, and for all the messages of support.
The ride was the brainchild of Team Leader Jon Tomlinson, who recruited fellow cyclists Fran and Matt Porter, Rob Ayton and Matthew Bennett, as well as Catherine Stanley and Jon Tuxford, who will act as the support team for the ride.
Alistair Hignall commented, 'I’ve always been proud to boast that you can rely on Denstone people to go the extra mile. To know that Jon Tomlinson and his Alpe d’Huez crew are going to go the extra mile times 800 makes them very special people and me very proud that they’re taking on this challenge as Higgy’s Heroes. MS is a life sentence, with precious little time off for good behaviour, but as the MSRC motto goes ‘Life is worth Living`. Jon and his team, and all other Higgy’s Heroes, will help to make life better for people with MS. Please support them in any way you can'.
Higgy's Heroes (http://www.higgysheroes.com/) was set up by Alistair 'Higgy' Hignell, an Old Denstonian, and former international rugby player and first-class cricketer. Higgy was diagnosed with MS in 1999. The disease forced him to retire from his career as a commentator in 2008.
The team would like to thank Samways cycles in Derby and Gym & Tonic in Uttoxeter for their support with equipment and training. Thanks also to Denstone College for the loan of a minibus and help with fuel costs, and to TC Harrison in Burton for discounted minibus spares.
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