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Eiffel Tower to Big Ben

7 to 9 April 2013 - 340 miles in 3 Days

‘Inspire a Generation,’ was the motto of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in London 2012. Getting young people to participate in sport and activity and the promise of a legacy that would reach out far beyond the games.

This inspiration has led to 5 people getting together and seeing what they can do to ‘Inspire a Generation.’

Having never taken on a challenge like this before, Paul, Claire, Adam, Matthew and Richard are going to set off from The Eiffel Tower and race 340 miles to the Houses of Parliament. With support from John Atkins Cycles in Leamington Spa and Chris White MP they hope to raise awareness of their chosen charities, but more importantly, kick start a series of local events that involve children and families participating in cycling and community activities.

They have been inspired to contribute to the legacy left behind by the Olympic Games and hope that the awareness raised in Leamington and Coventry will also ‘Inspire a Generation’ to contribute too! 

You can follow their training and progress on twitter and Youtube @ richardmachin11

Their chosen charities aim to raise greater awareness of the work being done to support people and families affected by Motor Neurone Disease, and the importance of educational resources to save lives in Africa, Asia and the Far East through a local charity, Thare Machi Education.

Motor Neurone Disease is a fatal neurological illness with no cure that affects both men and women. It can cause progressive paralysis, loss of speech and difficulty eating and drinking.

The ride is in memory of John Mackie MBE, Claire’s Dad, who lost his 12 year battle with the illness in 2009, and inspired everyone who was fortunate enough to have met him to try and make a positive difference to benefit others and dedicated his life to inspiring a generation to participate in community and sporting activities. 

Thare Machi Education is preparing interactive audio visual lessons on DVD in the languages of the very poorest communities around the world. Originally set up to help prevent women become infected with the HIV virus, the TME lessons have extended to include other health and life skills issues as well as child care, sex education, the dangers of human trafficking and agriculture. 

There are now over 560 individual discs spread across 53 languages and the discs are being used in 25 countries in Africa, Asia and the Far East.

TME works in partnership with local organisations, they provide the discs for free and the partner provides the means of playing them. Portable DVD players now cost about £120 and can last for up to 6 hours on their own battery, which is re-chargeable from a car.

The key to their success is the high number of Associates who are self-funded supporters working to help achieve the goals.

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