A group of amateur cyclists were in the pub (where else?) pondering this very question just a few months ago.
Like most daft ideas that come up over the course of a few beers, they posited an answer (4 days) and gained a raft of volunteers to join the cause. In the cold light of day, it all seemed rather less plausible but one of them had other ideas.
And so the JOGLE84 team was born and from 1st June four apparently sane blokes will cycle in a continuous relay from John O’Groats to Lands End, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support along the way. They will cycle in pairs in four-hour stints, with one rider change every two hours. Each cyclist will ride for approximately 500 miles.
The four are John Morris, a 41 year-old software developer, Robert Carter, a project engineer, aged 36, Chris Woods, a financial director, aged 46, and Craig Walker a 38 year-old sales manager.
Steve Crawshaw, an engineer, aged 42, is their support driver. We asked what motivated them to take on such a physically and mentally demanding challenge. John told us, “Each of us has been affected by cancer recently. We’ve lost parents and friends our own age as well as currently supporting family members through survival and remission. “We’re also all very keen cyclists and have taken on a number of challenges over the years, although nothing on this scale previously.”
Having smashed their initial target of £5,000, they’re now hoping to raise £7,500. Donations currently stand at just over £6,000. With just over a week to go and training at an intensive high, reality is setting in. John added, “We’ve each cycled more than 2000 training miles over the past few months but even so, putting it all together is going to be really tough. Hopefully we’ll get lots of support en route to keep us going.”
So, if you see a white Volkswagen van sporting the JOGLE84 message, give the lads a huge hand and maybe your loose change too. Donations can be made at www.justgiving.com/jogle84 or you can text JOGL84 £5 to 70070 to donate a fiver (or you can replace the ‘5’ with any amount you choose).
Check out the blog or follow their progress at http://www.jogle84.moonfruit.com/.
