United Utilities 2012 Challenge Event

In a fit of enthusiasm last summer I signed up for the United Utilities 2012 challenge event – to cycle from the Eiffel Tower to Blackpool Tower, 500 miles in five days. I was probably one of around 150 people to register, and I may well have dropped out along the way, but for the fact that one of the charities we are riding for, Brainwave, supports my son Joshua who suffers from cerebral palsy.

So there’s no backing out, I will be one of a team of 30 cyclists who be setting out from Paris on Thursday 14 June and hoping to make it back to Blackpool by Monday 18 June 2012. Hopefully my training will prove adequate - I owe a huge thank you to my family and in particular my wife Judith, who has supported me through what has been an arduous training regime.

So please help me support the United Utilities 2012 Challenge Event charities detailed below - Every contribution makes a difference.

Many thanks...Phil

PS) Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.

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Some of you may know that Joshua has suffered from cerebral palsy since birth. He suffers from what is called spastic diplegia where both the arms and legs have abnormal stiffness affecting gross motor ability. In Joshua’s case he is unable to walk unaided and uses a walking frame for short distances or otherwise a wheelchair. Arm function is less restricted, but he is not able to do many everyday things that require fine motor skills, like get dressed or writing. That said we are lucky to be blessed with an otherwise very happy and intelligent little boy. Brainwave have helped us by providing us with physiotherapy work programmes and techniques, which they update with us every six months, and which we can carry out with Joshua on a daily basis to help reduce limb stiffness and improve gross motor ability.

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The charities that the team are fundraising for are Brainwave & Donna’s Dream House, two local Northwest Charities and the international charity WaterAid.

Brainwave in Warrington work with families to assist them in home based individual therapy and exercises to help children with development delay, brain injury or genetic conditions to achieve their full potential.

Donnas Dream House in Blackpool is a locally based trust providing free holiday experiences for the children and teenagers with life-threatening illnesses and their families, and for recently bereaved siblings and their families.

WaterAid is supporting many opportunities in the world’s poorest country’s supplying clean water and effective sanitation and has a long established relationship with the water industry.