Fourteen intrepid cyclists are now on the road to Paris raising money for charity , following a donation from a Staffordshire pub company.
Burton-based pub company Punch Taverns has donated £700 through its Punch Community Promise to the Burton2Paris Charity Cycle Challenge.
The challenge involves four gruelling days of bike riding, starting off in Rosliston Forestry Centre on 18th July and finishing in Grand Palais on the Champs Elysees, Paris, on 21st July 2012.
Covering over 350 miles, the team consists of 14 riders and 4 support crew who are aiming to raise money for both Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and Cyclists Fighting Cancer Charities.
The challenge organiser, John Widdowson, a 27 year-old father of two from Burton on Trent, started planning the charity challenge in July 2011, after being given the all clear after being diagnosed with having a Non Hodgkin’s Diffuse large B Cell Lymphoma, a form of Blood cancer.
“It was a good time to do it as I wanted to make people aware of my story and raise money to save other people,” said John.
“It started out as a joke when my friends would come to visit me in hospital and talked about riding our bikes and it just escalated into a great charity bike ride.”
Since July 2011, he and his friends have been planning the challenge and have received a great amount of support along the way.
“This is one of the reasons I am doing the bike ride, for everyone who supported me at my bedside. I’ve been overwhelmed by the amount of support the local community have given me – the people in Burton have been fantastic,” he said.
“The money Punch donated has lifted a huge weight of my mind.
“By covering the costs of the t-shirts and diesel for the support van we can focus on raising money for the charities instead of funding the challenge.
“With less than a month to go the group are excited about how intense – and sore – it is going to be and we have lots of bum pads ready!”
Sarah Maia of Punch Community Promise said the challenge was for a great cause.
“As a Burton business, we are committed to causes in the community and we were delighted to be able to help John and his fellow cyclists on their trek.
“We wish them the best of luck and will be following their progress with interest.”
For more information or to make a donation towards the Burton2Paris challenge, visit www.burton2paris.weebly.com.
The Punch Community Promise involves Punch donating time and money to a variety of local causes such as charities, schools, sports clubs, welfare groups and hospitals. To qualify, charities or causes must be located within a 15-mile catchment area of Punch Taverns’ support centre in Burton.
Punch is a leading pub company in the UK with around 5,000 leased and tenanted pubs nationwide.