Press release written 17 June 2009
TOP DOWN FOR CHARITY
Five bikers are about to embark on the iconic journey that is John O’Groats to Land’s End to raise money for charity.
Starting on Saturday 11th July the riders will take on the length of the country both as a personal challenge as well as to raise money for two Lincolnshire charities – Macmillan Cancer Care in Lincolnshire and The Salvation Army in Boston.
The group, five friends/family members from Lincolnshire, have allowed nine days for the trip to give plenty of time to take in some of the best scenery and some of the best roads Scotland and England have to offer.
And it’s all being documented in a blog, which follows the story as they prepare for the trip and will be updated throughout their journey.
The trip itself is taking place from Saturday 11th to Sunday 19th July. Starting and finishing in Lincolnshire means the group are just about doing the journey twice, so have allowed two days either end to get to the start and come home again and the five days in the middle for the actual fundraising challenge.
Zoe, the only female rider in the group, will be riding a Harley-Davidson Sportster Nighster on loan from Lincoln Harley-Davidson. They offered the loan after hearing that Zoe and her husband Allister, also doing the ride, share a bike – the plan was for them to share the riding. Zoe said: “I am so grateful to Lincoln Harley-Davidson for the bike loan, not least because it is a very generous thing to do, but also because riding a Harley has been a dream of mine for a long time. It will be the icing on the cake for what was already proving to be an exciting and memorable ride”.
Joining Zoe on the Sportster will be Allister on their Suzuki SV650S, Graham and Rick on their identical 1986 BMW R80RTs and Bradley on his Yamaha XJ600N. They all agree the trip is about the journey, which they are looking forward to experiencing, but it is the fundraising element that has meant it is actually going ahead. It is estimated the group will cover at least 2,000 miles over the nine days.
Macmillan Cancer Support and The Salvation Army are two causes close to the five riders, and as they are self-funding the trip, all the sponsorship money raised will go straight to their chosen charities – an equal 50/50 split for each. They are taking sponsorship online through their Just Giving page which can be accessed via the blog.
Follow the Top Down for Charity story and learn more about Macmillan Cancer Support and The Salvation Army in Boston at http://biketopdown.wordpress.com.
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