“How do you fancy riding a bike from to John O’ Groats?”

A simple question which should generate a relatively simple response – ‘No!’. However when six members of the advertising and communications community were asked this at the beginning of the year they all responded with an empathic ‘yes’. ‘End to end’ as it is known is one of the most iconic bike rides in the UK and on the 27^th May, Mike Hope-Milne (Pearl and Dean), Richard Bon and Darren MacKay (both Clear Channel), Robbie Macintosh (John Ayling), Tom Scally (Reuters) and Richard Brooke (Unilever) will leave Land’s End in Cornwall aiming to arrive in John O’ Groats in Scotland, ten days later.

The journey, from one end of Britain to the other, involves turning the pedals an estimated 280,000 times, climbing an estimated 45,000ft up hills (Everest is 29,000 ft high) and travelling  through three countries: across Bodmin Moor in Cornwall, over the Lake District and through the Scottish Highlands. The normal time span for ‘end to end’ is 14 days and, whilst the team is not attempting to break any records (that is, 41 hours, 41 minutes and 22 seconds!), they will be covering an average of a hundred miles a day for ten consecutive days!

The reason why they have come together to do this is two-fold: first of all, because they want to and, secondly, to raise as much money for their industry’s charity, NABS, as they possibly can.

Each year NABS supports thousands of people in the marketing and communications industry, whose lives have taken an unforeseen turn due to work-related issues such as redundancy and unemployment or health-related issues such as cancer, heart disease, mental health issues and homelessness.

NABS provides emotional, financial or practical support and professional advice to anybody who is involved in the creation or delivery of advertising.  This support extends to people currently working in creative, digital, direct marketing, design, sales promotion, PR, media agencies or media owners and to people who have worked in the industry for the majority of their careers.

There are numerous cases of where NABS has made a huge difference to the lives of people in our industry when they have most needed it. Examples include that of a young mother who has found herself bereaved early whilst struggling with debt and a very young family; a career professional who was in an abusive relationship and left with nothing after the only hope and shelter she had was cruelly taken from her; a mother made redundant and trying to care for a terminally ill child on state benefits and a family trying to come to terms with a child with leukaemia and struggling to cope. 

NABS is entirely funded by the industry it supports, from company donations, individual giving and attendance and participation at the NABS calendar of sporting and social events. It is funded by people like the ‘end to end’ team doing silly things like riding from one end of this country to the other so that people can find solace and help in their darkest hour.

We are asking you to dig deep, as we will, and sponsor our efforts in the knowledge that our pain and suffering will relieve that of others. Pain for us is inevitable but the suffering is optional – for many this is not the case. Follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/end2end_2010) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/End2End 2010/317062353282?ref=ts) and donate through Just Giving (http://www.justgiving.com/end2end-2010)