Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page. If you are planning to donate can you please use the donate button on this specific page otherwise I am unaware of your donation and it is not recorded in my total (Thanks 😀).

My name is Maurice McQuitty. I am 56 and live in Ipswich. I retired from working for BT in August 2017 with an intention of getting myself fit and losing some weight having allowed myself to become very unfit over the previous 30 years sitting at a desk. As part of this ambition I signed up to undertake an iconic cycle journey from Lands End to John O’Groats - a total of about 1000 miles (It’s slightly under but I will be riding extra to ensure I do 1000 as I’m a bit OCD like that). I should point out that I agreed to this venture whilst in a fairly tipsy state at my street BBQ a year or two ago so I was somewhat taken advantage of and I will be blaming Jim Campbell (a near neighbour - see picture above on LHS) when it all goes wrong as he will also be going. Anyway I’m signed up and committed and will set off on 12th June - completing nearly 100 miles a day for 11 and a half days with NO rest days.

I purchased a new road bike (Boardman Team Carbon) in July 2017 and have been training on the roads of Suffolk ever since in all sorts of weather. So far I’ve only fallen off the bike twice with fortunately only minor damage. I believe I’ve cycled in excess of 5000 miles already and will probably do near another 3000 more before I actually get to the start. I’ve lost 2 and a half stone from my initial weight of 15 Stone and I’m really pleased about how it’s going with regards to my own personal ambition.

Many people have asked me if I am doing this for charity and have generously expressed an interest in sponsoring me if I was.  It wasn’t my primary aim but as I believe it’s a good opportunity to help a local charity and a good cause - here I am creating this page.

The Charity I am aiming to help as much as possible is...

Fresh Start - new beginnings

They are providing an excellent service to the community and deserve as much help as possible so please give generously if you can, but no matter how small your donation it will be appreciated greatly!

Please note all donations go straight to Fresh Start - new beginnings, no part of any donation pays for any of my costs - you are not sponsoring me to go on holiday!

If anyone is interested in watching me suffer in real time (and I know a few who would) I will be providing a live track from my bike computer during the event which will show a map of my route, my progress along the route, and various stats such as speed, heart rate etc. - you just need to provide me with your email address and you will get an automatic email with access to the information on a daily basis. I will also provide brief updates on Facebook - depending on my state and the state of any internet connections at the end of each day. Jim also has an on going blog which gives a lot more detail about the event..

(https://james108campbell.com)

A brief synopsis from the charity to explain what they are about follows...

Fresh Start - new beginnings was set up to provide a therapeutic service for children and young people across Suffolk and Norfolk who have reported being sexually abused and to offer support to their families.
Our aim is to help children and young people make sense of the confusion they feel and to teach them coping strategies to deal with the difficulties they face. We highlight their strengths and potential so that they are able to move from victim to survivor.
We have helped over 900 children/young adults to date, but the waiting list for support is long, and growing. Every penny you can donate will help us.

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. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.