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Andy Armitage's charity cycle ride

01 July 2011

After 22 punctures, 2 crashes, 1 broken wheel, some seriously strong head wind and a mixed bag of weather, a tired and sore but exhilarated Andy and his group claimed “we did it”.

In June of this year, Andy Armitage (Sales estimator for Oadby plastics) along with 11 other cyclists made the 300 mile journey from London to Paris for charity. The idea came about after Andy and 4 other gentleman rode from coast to coast in 2009, from Whitehaven to Sunderland and raised a fantastic £4,000 for the Multiple Sclerosis Society. This time round the group of 12 raised money for Cancer Research, Loros and Matthew Needham’s Treasure Chest.

On the 16th June Andy and the rest of his group undertook this intense challenge of 300 miles in 3 days and to date have raised an astounding £3,560.50. They achieved their aim of 3 days after starting at the Dome at 8:00am and completed their journey at the Eiffel Tower at around 0630pm.

Along the way the men were kept very safe with a support crew that included 3 friends driving 2 minibuses’ and a transit, donated by Ford. The journey itself was met by a mixture of excitement and nerves, the latter of which would not have been helped with the weather. As the group set off the showers came down but the group made it to Folkestone with just 9 punctures. The team took the Channel Tunnel to France where they were met by much nicer weather, blue skies and sunshine with a heavy wind. The coast road was pretty but the desire to sightsee was taken away by the 30mph head wind and the hills. The first day ended in Boulogne-Sur-Mer at around 8:30pm. Day two started at 8:00am, more heavy showers but sunny spells made the journey difficult in its own way. The final day started at 8:30am where the group cycled to the outskirts of Paris, the Eiffel Tower stood out like a sore thumb from the steep slopes but it vanished as the group hit the flat roads. Cycling through the city took hours, dodging the traffic but finally the team arrived at around 6:30pm and as you would expect from a group of men who were in a foreign country, they celebrated the only way they knew how, with an ice-cream under the tower.

When asked about the ride Andy said “It was a fantastic experience with a great bunch of blokes. The suicidal scooter kids were possibly the hardest part. Luckily I never suffered a puncture or injury, bar a few saddle sores.“
Andy also said the group is planning their next charity cycle ride but nothing has been made definite yet.

You can still donate now by visiting
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/thekeystothetower
And please remember to gift aid your generous donations.