Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.  If you decide to make a donation, it will really mean a lot to me, and particularly to HEADWAY ESSEX, who will be able to make great use of every penny that you donate, since I paid for ALL my expenses - travel, accommodation, food, training, and even bike and puncture repairs!

Just after I committed to this Land's End challenge, my brother John died suddenly at the early age of just 69.  I therefore decided, with the kind agreement of John's widow Linda, to dedicate my participation in the event to the memory of John.

The reason that I chose to support HEADWAY ESSEX is that it provides advice, information and support to people with acquired brain injury, and equally as importantly, it provides these to those who care for them.  Headway Essex is the ONLY charity in Essex providing care and support for survivors of brain injury and their families and carers.  Serious brain injury does not just affect the individual but will often devastate the whole family.  Each year, the Headway Essex Brain Injury Advisory Service supports over 250 families and the Day Centre provides over 2000 places.

I therefore set myself the very high target of £7,000 - my highest yet, but I believe that this is achievable - just!  And why have I chosen this target? - because that sum would pay for a client to attend the HEADWAY Day Centre, one-day a week, for a full 12 months - what a cause worth working for!   And by the way, £7,000 over a 1,030 mile cycle journey represents a total sponsorship of nearly £7 per mile, which I think is realistic.

Please dig deep and sponsor me, either ON-LINE if this is right for you, or by CHEQUE:-

Donating ON-LINE through this web site using your credite card is simple, fast and totally secure.  It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me since Headway Essex will receive your money faster - within a few days of you making your donation - to get your gift working very quickly, rather than being held in a bank account for months.  Also, if you are a taxpayer, an extra 28% in GiftAid tax will be added to your gift at no extra cost to you. 

If you prefer to make your donation by CHEQUE and not by credit card, kindly make your cheque payable to: "Headway Essex", mark the reverse of your cheque with your post code so that GiftAid can be claimed, and forward this to:-  Ian Dewis, "Field View", Plummers Road, Fordham, Nr. COLCHESTER, Essex, CO6 3NP.  Like donations via JustGiving, these cheques will be forwarded to Headway Essex regularly and quickly.

If you have any queries about either of these two methods of payment, or about the event itself, please contact Ian Dewis directly on 01206 242 047 or via e-mail on:  iandewis@hotmail.com

And the reason that I chose to complete the LAND'S END TO JOHN O’GROATS CYCLE RIDE is that it was an even bigger and more demanding challenge than:-

*  The Three Peaks Challenge (which involved climbing Ben Nevis in Scotland, Scarfell Pyke in England and Snowdon in Wales, in 27 hours) that I completed in 2007, and for which I raised funds for The National Deaf Children's Society,

*  Abseiling Colchester Jumbo Tower in 2008, raising funds for Marie Curie Nurses,

*  Fire-walking - bare-footed over 20 feet of freshly-laid red-hot coals, and

*  The London-to-Paris Cycle Ride (which involved cycling 250 miles in just three days - that's 84, 61 and 104 miles over the 3 days) that I completed in 2008, when I raised over £4,000 for The Stroke Association to fund their national support telephone line for two months.

The Land's End ride involved cycling over 1,000 miles in 12 days – that’s a daily average of between 85 and 90 miles.  I started by cycling through Cornwall and over the tough climbs of Dartmoor, then along the flatter Somerset roads to the Wye Valley hills and on to Tintern and Shrewsbury.  I then cycled via Preston to the long climbs over Shap Fell and on towards the Scottish border, then along the rolling Scottish hills from the Lowlands to loch-side Inverary.   Next, I covered the Highlands and Loch Ness to the rolling Moorlands.  Finally, I cycled along the beautiful beaches of the North Coast to my destination – John O’Groats.

If you are interested in the route that I took, it was:

05/05/09    Lands End to Liskeard                    - 83  miles
06/05/09    Liskeard to Sampford Peverell          - 84  miles
07/05/09    Sampford Peverall to Tintern           - 98  miles
08/05/09    Tintern to Shrewsbury                   - 90  miles
09/05/09    Shrewsbury to Preston                   - 86  miles
10/05/09    Preston to Carlise                         - 100 miles
11/05/09    Carlisle to Kilmarnock                     - 95  miles
12/05/09    Kilmarknock to Inverary                  - 90  miles
13/05/09    Inverary to Lock Lochy                  - 97  miles
14/05/09    Lock Lochy to Bonar Bridge             - 83  miles
15/05/09    Bonar Bridge to Bettyhill                 - 62  miles
16/05/09    Bettyhill to John O'Groats               - 62  miles

By cycling this distance, I was hoping for two outcomes - firstly, to reach my target of £7,000, and secondly, (and probably more importantly), to spread the word of the wonderful range of services that Headway offers.  I know that I will continue to support this charity for the rest of my life - without a doubt.                

Now that I have completed the challenge, I will be delighted to talk to groups of interested people - just let me know if you'd like me to talk to an organisation that you are involved in.

Taking part in the event, as well as the considerable training beforehand, helped me to improve my general level of fitness and, hopefully, to increase my life expectancy!  I'm now 65 and I intend to see in my century!

Many thanks for your support through both your sponsorship and your encouragement.

Best wishes, Ian.