Renegade Conservatory Guy

Today the Ride 4 Hope team set off on bicycles from Oceanside, just outside San Diego on a 3043 mile trip across the USA in to Atlantic City, climbing over 100,000 feet in the process. Over 17 days, this will equate to a daily average of around 200 miles which will be carried out as 3 teams of four on a rotational basis, resulting in a 12-14 hour day.

During the trip the riders will be faced with many different challenges including a high point of 11,000ft above sea level in Colorado and one single day which covering 270 miles. Excessive temperatures in Nevada will also pose a test to the riders and nutritional expertise will be harnessed throughout the challenge.

Left to Right: Iain McInnes, Richard Gyde, Keith Aspinall, Gary Morton, Andrew Glover, John Olkiewicz, Graeme Bailey and Mark Sheldon

The event is organised by GM Fundraising but the charity that will ultimately benefit from the ride is Hope House Children’s Hospices which is a registered charity in its own right. GM Fundraising has supported Hope House for the past 7 years and is keen to continue and develop this lasting support. Hope House provides respite, palliative care and terminal nursing for life-limited children through two hospices – Hope House in Oswestry and Ty Gobaith in Conwy.

Each rider and indeed the support crew are funding their own way which means every single penny raised will go to where it most counts, Hope House.

I’ve just received my first email update from my brother, Andrew Glover, who is the guy in black lycra on the picture:

Well it’s day one and we are getting ready to set off. Our plan today is to start from Ocean Side, San Diego, and the full team will ride the first 20 miles, after that we will split into out first team relay. Each team will cover a further 25 to 30 miles of hills (we start the Rockeys today) and overall we will cover about 100 miles.

If you haven’t sponsored me yet them GET ON WITH IT!!!!!!

It’s a really great event, and you can donate to the Ride4Hope team or individual riders like my brother on this link.

The Ride 4 Hope team is a team of 12 cyclists from the glazing and construction industries, each having spent nearly 18 months training for this important and worthy challenge:

Gary Morton – GM Fundraising
Iain McInnes – McInnes Communications
Graeme Bailey – Business Micros
Keith Aspinall – Business Micros
Alan Sadler – Fabstore/Profix
Richard Gyde - Mila
Gary Torr – Dekko Window Systems
Dave Thomas – Haffner
Andrew Glover – Conservatory Outlet
John Olkiewicz – Conservatory Outlet
Mark Sheldon – ABI Facilities Engineering
Sean Pearce – Greystone Advertising Design

Supporting the cyclists will also be a number of support crew who will provide the necessary and crucial back up for the arduous 16 days across the USA including Dave Broxton from Glassex and Anthony Taylor from Northwich Glass. Finally, Yvonne McGregor MBE will be supporting the ride as masseuse and to add her considerable experience as a former world champion, world record holder and Olympic medallist in cycling.

I’ll no doubt be keeping you updated of major events, and there’s an official blog on the Fenestration News website - Ride 4 Hope blog.

Or Visit GM Fundraising - Ride4Hope