An intrepid trio of keen cyclists will put their pedal power to the test while raising vital funds for a charity close to their hearts during a mammoth 170-mile tour of the county.
Alan Dawson, Becky Cooper and Bill Partner, who all work for Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C), will take part in the Cycle Sportives UK Round Norfolk Ride on Saturday, May 24 2014. The trio estimate it will take them around 12 hours to complete the tour, which starts at Great Yarmouth Race Course at 7am and winds its way towards Diss and Thetford, before making its way to King’s Lynn and following the north Norfolk coastline back to Great Yarmouth.
They are taking part in the epic challenge to raise money for Hospice Ethiopia, which has close links to NCH&C and is twinned with the Trust’s Priscilla Bacon Lodge, which provides specialist care to patients with life-limiting conditions, such as cancer and motor-neurone disease, from its base at Colman Road, in Norwich.
The event is the latest in a line of fundraisers which NCH&C staff have completed for Hospice Ethiopia, which provides home-based care and a day unit for people in Africa with advanced cancer and HIV and relies on charitable donations to continue its good work.
“It will be a tough challenge, but doing it together will help as we will be able to push each other,” said Alan, who is NCH&C’s Finance Manager for Children’s Services. “The fact we are doing it for charity also gives us extra motivation and an added incentive as we don’t want to let Hospice Ethiopia down.
“I think we are all feeling a mix of excitement and trepidation. We will get a real sense of achievement when we complete the ride, but as we haven’t covered that distance before there are also some nerves thrown in.
“We have been cycling together since January, and building up mileage gradually. We did our longest ride a couple of weeks ago, and covered 133 miles in nine hours, which has given us confidence we can go the distance.”
Becky, Assistant Director in north Norfolk, was the first of the trio to hear about the ride, with Alan and Bill, who works in HR, deciding to join her as a personal challenge. Since then, they have thoroughly enjoyed their training rides through the Norfolk countryside.
“I spend so much time sitting at a desk during my working day, so it’s great to get out into the open air on my bike,” added Alan, who only started cycling a couple of years ago. “We have all lived in Norfolk for several years, but the training rides have helped us to really appreciate the things on our doorstep and discover new places we’ve never been to before.
“We have set ourselves a fundraising target of £500, but are keen to raise as much as we possibly can for Hospice Ethiopia, where a little bit goes a long way. Just £15 provides a month’s medication for one patient and £76 pays for an assistant palliative care nurse for one month – so it’s a really worthwhile cause.
“Our Trust has such close links with the charity, and uses the twinning to share knowledge and best practice to benefit patients, so it seemed the obvious cause for us to support.”
Anyone who would like to sponsor Alan, Bill and Becky can visit their Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/Alan-Dawson2
