My aim is to raise £2500 which is the average cost of an Air Ambulance call out.
My employer will also match every penny I raise so hitting this target would represent funding two missions and potentially two more lives saved.
If you would like to donate, my fundraising page is here.
My Story
I am told that while driving to work on the morning of 26th February 1996, I hit a patch of black ice which sent me skidding across the road and collided head on with a 7.5 tonne sweeper lorry annihilating my little car.
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With the severe force of the crash, my body took quite a battering. My head had collided with the steering wheel with significant force, something was impaled in my lower left leg and I have several other scars on my head and body from the day which I cannot explain.
The head injuries had given grave cause for concern so the emergency services scrambled the air ambulance to get me to a head trauma specialist at the Royal London hospital.
The swift response of the helicopter service in delivering me to hospital meant that the doctors were able to quickly establish the extent of my head injuries and limit the swelling on my brain through sedation.
Whilst I have no memory of the day itself, or for several weeks after, I know from the photo of the car wreck and the months of recovery, I am very lucky to be alive.
Around February every year I find myself reflecting on how my life could have ended that day. Having only recently found out that the Air Ambulance is largely funded through donations, I have decided to do my bit to raise money for them as without their existence and attendance things could have been very different.
My Challenge
If you need further convincing to sponsor this worthwhile cause, how about I cycle from Land’s End to John O’Groats in just nine days?
I have signed up to join an organised ride with a gruelling schedule, way over and above anything my puny little body should be asked to do:
Map
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Day
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Description
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Distance
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Climbing
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Day1
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Land's End to
Okehampton
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107 miles
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7,000ft
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Day2
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Okehampton to Bath
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110 miles
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6,000ft
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Day3
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Bath to Ludlow
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99 miles
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3,087ft
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Day4
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Ludlow to Haydock
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105 miles
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2,300ft
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Day5
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Haydock to Penrith
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108 miles
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5,188ft
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Day6
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Penrith to Hamilton
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100 miles
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2,800ft
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Day7
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Hamilton to Fort
William
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126 miles
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6,000ft
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Day8
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Fort William to Kyle
of Sutherland
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110 miles
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4,900ft
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Day9
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Kyle of Sutherland to
John O'Groats
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104 miles
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4,100ft
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Total
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Lands
End to John O'Groats
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969
miles
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41,375ft
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To put this into perspective, I have only ever ridden a hundred miles five times before and these rides were spread out over four years (it takes me that long to recover!).
Oh, and it will be September so could be very wet, cold and windy - and we will be camping!!!
If you would like to donate / sponsor me, my Virgin Money Giving fundraising page is here
I will be keeping a record on this blog of how my training progresses and will also update it with more information about how that day affected me so please do check back from time to time.
