On 29th October 2018, our friend Will Ross had a devastating and life changing accident, which has left him permanently paralysed from the chest down.

Of course, all of his family and friends were in complete shock, but we knew we had to do something to help raise funds for Will, his wife Emma and their young daughter Florence, in order to help them prepare for the long and emotional road that lay ahead, not least the challenges of finding a new family home suitable for complete wheelchair access.

To raise as much money as possible, on 26th August 2019, a group of Will’s friends; Joe Burkmar, Mike Coe, James Davies, Tim Hannibal, Rew Leonard, Dave Perry, Lewis Whitehouse and Nick Townend - none of us would describe ourselves as "Cycle enthusiasts", will embark on a 600 mile bike ride from Poole to Jersey 'the long way round'. This ride will take us from Poole in Dorset, to Folkestone in Kent, across the Channel (sadly not possible to cycle this part) and on to St-Malo in France. Here, we will cross to Jersey where we'll finish with a lap of the island supported by all of Will’s family, friends and local cyclists, including hopefully Will himself on a hand bike. This feat will take 6 days, and see us cycle an average 115 miles a day for the first 5 days, followed by a 30-ish mile lap of Jersey on the final 6th day.

Please use the below link to access our blog, which will keep you up to date with all our training rides, sponsorship events (time permitting – there are children, new babies, and weddings to also contend with) and saddle sores along the way, on our countdown to the BIG ride itself.

https://pooletojerseythelo.wixsite.com/bikeride

Your support would mean the world to Will and Emma, their family and friends, and of course, US … 'The Long Way Round' team. Our purpose for this event is to help in some way with the financial support that will be needed by Will and Emma to make their lives more wheelchair friendly.

A HUGE thank you in advance!!