Eddie Gets on his Powabyke for World Record Attempt
At 66 years of age,South Gloucestershire resident Eddie Sedgemore is no stranger to a challenge, and later this year he will be setting out with the aim of achieving his second Guinness World Record.
With support from Bath-based company Powabyke, Eddie is looking to break the existing record for the longest journey on a motorized bicycle which currently stands at 1,654.6 miles, and will be raising money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) at the same time.
In May he will start his challenge at the Powabyke HQ in Bath, and travel to the key compass points of Lands End and The Lizard in Cornwall, Dunnet Head in Scotland, and Lowestoft in Suffolk. This will entail visiting the Northern, Southern, Eastern and Western extremes of the mainland. Eddie has calculated that his route will take him over the 1,655 miles needed to set a new world record.
Eddie will be travelling on a Powabyke X-byke – a lightweight electric cycle, technically classed as an electric mobility vehicle. Although the vehicle looks like an ordinary bike, the powacell battery will give Eddie’s bike a range of approximately 10-15 miles per charge, depending on the landscape and conditions. He will also be able to pedal to increase his range, and can carry additional lightweight powacells on the journey, to be recharged overnight along the way.
A former street cleaner for Bath and North East Somerset Council, Eddie has completed the Lands End to John o’ Groats challenge four times in the past, setting the world record on a push-scooter in 2001. He has also completed the London Marathon five times, as well as the New York Marathon and has raised hundreds of pounds for charities in the past.
Eddie decided to take up the challenge after discussing it with Powabyke’s Managing Director Nick Child when being shown the company’s new X-byke model.
Nick Child, Managing Director of Powabyke said, “Eddie is a remarkable man and his past achievements certainly show this. We’re obviously delighted that he will be taking up the challenge on one of our X-byke models, and we will be supporting him throughout his challenge as much as we can. We have complete confidence in Eddie, and in our bikes, so we’re hoping the attempt will be a success.”
Eddie added, “I’m looking forward to hopefully setting another World Record in May. The X-byke is a brilliant vehicle to use for this challenge, and the support shown to me from Powabyke has been fantastic. Also it’s great that my fundraising effort will help save lives and fight heart disease - the ’s biggest killer.”
Jane Harries, BHF Fundraising Volunteer Manager said, “Every two minutes, someone in the has a heart attack – almost 30% of those people will die before they reach hospital. This is why the Saving Lives in London Appeal is so vital. It aims to raise £100,00 to provide life-saving defibrillators acrossLondon. Eddie’s record-breaking attempt will be a massive boost to our appeal - a huge thanks goes to him for undertaking this challenge, and to Powabyke for supporting him in his efforts.”
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