Pedaling for Imperial Students

My name is John Collins and up until the end of July I was President of the students' union of Imperial College London. In 2007 the College was celebrating its centenary and the student union was in the process of redeveloping the Union Building on the South Kensington campus. The College was, and still is, keen to raise money from alumni to fund worthwhile projects and the student union building redevelopment is one of the centenary campaign's flagship fundraising projects.

Early in 2007 I decided to put myself forward to raise money for the student union building by cycling over 900 miles from Land's End to John O'Groats. Many students and College people rallied round and by the time I departed on June 21st 2007 over £2000 had been pledged in sponsorship.

However, just six miles in to my journey I fell off my bike in dreadful weather and fractured my wrist in several places. A titanium plate had to be inserted in my arm and it took my seven weeks to get through the first phase of recovery. I have been told it will take a further 18 months to make a full recovery but by mid August I had been given the all clear to cycle again.

So, aware that I probably wouldn't have an opportunity to complete the task I promised to do many months earlier for at least a year, I set out on 8th September 2007 from John O'Groats and cycled to Land's End in thirteen days, arriving on the afternoon of 20th September.

The journey had many ups and downs and I would describe it as the most demanding physical challenge I have ever undertaken. The good news is I made safely from one end of the country it in one piece and so I have created a website to record the journey and thank all those who helped me complete it.

www.johncollins.org.uk