On 4^th August 2011 Adrian Beckett and Graham Adlard of Diageo (Percy Fox/J&B) and Pat Walshe arrived into Land's End after a 12 day journey by bike (the kind you pedal!) from John O'Groats, a 962 mile ride that took us from the most northern point of the UK to the most southern. Thank you to everyone who has generously donated - there is still time to help us reach the target! It was a great journey and one where we burned over 50,000 calories and climbed over 42,000 feet. We have done our bit - now it's time for you to do yours...

The thought of cycling 1000 miles is a daunting one of course – we have some great training in place leading up to July and as a team we will pull through for this great cause. Please support us and look out for our daily blogs while we are away at www.end2end2011.co.uk.

Adrian's Story

It was not that long ago that I was smoking 20 a day, out down the pub at most opportunities and had the eating habits of a blue whale. Then two years ago I bought my road bike on the Diageo Bike2Work Scheme... Quite simply... one of the best things I have ever done!

The lingering odd 'social' ciggy here and there with a pint has long gone, the days filled with chocolate, doughnuts, cake and letting the gym take £35 a month without me even remembering how to get there are behind me... all thanks to my bike...

I remember taking it out for the first time, feeling really excited, clipping my shoes into the pedals before swiftly dumping myself and bike knee first into the pavement... fond memories... I remember making it just a couple of miles down the road before nearly fainting, a few weeks later making it 10 miles and nearly throwing up... Gradually the miles increased until last year I cycled 530 miles in 6 days. You will struggle to keep me off my bike nowadays - Mel has pretty much accepted that we cannot plan any form of holiday without checking that the bike can stay in the hotel room!

So enough about me, now it's time for me (and you!) to do something great and support a fantastic cause which really does make a difference to people's lives for the better. Please dig deep and donate now…

Bring on the hills!

Graham’s Story

Why am I doing this ride?

Cycling has never really been my thing, it’s just been a useful assest to have for nipping down to the village shop or going to the park with Harry for a game of football. I still thought Raleigh was the king of bikes!

Like Adrian, the Diageo cycle2work scheme was a real catalyst for me to get a bit fitter. When I read about his achievement of cycling from his home in Essex to Land’s End in the company news letter (Fox News), I was inspired by his next challenge, John O’Groats to Lands End. It was all too easy at the time to send Adrian an email saying ‘ count me in on the big ride’ and from that day I’ve been committed.

I’ve been training for the ride since January, week on week purchasing just one more item from the likes of Wiggle, Evans or Chain Reaction. Thanks to Dianne & Harry for putting up with me disappearing for hours on end most weekends, whilst I clock up the miles.

Giving up a few days of my time and going through a bit of pain along the way will all be worth it, if we can raise some funds to help some young people have a better start in life. Please dig deep to support this undervalued cause, anything you can donate will be much appreciated.

I’m really looking forward to a beer (or two) at the end of it!

Pat Walshe

Our 3^rd team member is Pat Walshe who is riding the journey in memory of his sister Margaret who sadly died some years ago at the age of 42 after battling facial cancer. He is admirably raising awareness and funds for two charities. Let’s Face It and See Saw. Let’s Face It provides a support network to help people cope with facial cancer and facial disfigurements. It provides much needed support and practical day to day advice. Sometimes those suffering just want a friendly ear when they’re feeling scared and unsure about the future, or upset by stares they might get from strangers – Let’s Face It helps here too.  My second charity is ‘See Saw’ (www.seesaw.org.uk). It’s based in Oxford and helps grieving children to move forward and to face the future with hope .If possible please do give generously by linking through to Pat’s site: http://cyclingformargaret.wordpress.com/about/.

 

Now to tell you a bit about Positive Futures....

 
Positive Futures (www.posfutures.org.uk) helps young people from deprived communities steer clear of crime, drug and alcohol misuse and move forward in their lives. Positive Futures is the national community-based inclusion programme for young people aged 10 to19. Funded by the Home Office, the programme gives young people the chance to develop the skills needed to get on a positive career path and take on roles as active and responsible citizens. Managed by young people’s charity Catch22 the programme is delivered through 91 projects in some of the most deprived communities across England and Wales.

·     In 2008-09 59,348 young people attended Positive Futures projects

·     Thanks to Positive Futures, thousands of young people are now in education, training and employment

·     In 2008-09 young people were recorded as achieving 9,677 awards and qualifications that's an increase of almost 65% on the last year

·     7,153 (67%) of the 10,725 young people recorded showed movements in a positive direction

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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.