The Ride of His Life
Richard Timson (51), a senior community nurse from Hackney has cycled through England, Wales and Scotland for Mercy Ships.
Richard took part in a Lands End to John O’Groats bike challenge along with his friend Mark Woollett, who was fundraising for Clic Sargent, last month - a massive undertaking that is over 1030 miles.
The route follows the south coast of Cornwall and Devon, then north over the Severn Bridge, up the Welsh Borders, the west side of England, east of the Lake District, into Scotland following the A74(M), then up the Great Glen Fault and north to John O’Groats.
Recalling his adventure, Richard said, “I have enjoyed cycling as a leisure pursuit for a number of years with my friend Mark Woollett. We started doing day cycling trips about 10 years ago – more of the 35 miles type of ride in nice countryside, including long pub lunches, but the draw of something more challenging was always there in the back of our minds.
“We had talked about trying one of the ultimate cycling challenges in the UK for a number of years, almost as a joke really. This year we are both turning 50 and thought that if we were gong to give it a go, this would be a great time to do it as a way to mark the occasion.
“During the challenge we covered 1035.5 miles in 15 days. it was extremely hard going in the first few days, indeed Devon and Cornwall going over Dartmoor on the second day was possibly the hardest thing I have experienced as a cyclist.
“Overall it was a glorious experience seeing the different and varied parts of the country and experiencing the kindness of strangers on our travels.
“I chose to support Mercy Ships because I have many colleagues who have worked on the ship. It’s a charity close to my heart as I feel that to give people medical assistance, and chance in life, who have no other means of receiving it is such a worthy cause, especially knowing how much access to high quality medicine we have here in this country.”
Judy Polkinhorn, Executive Director of Mercy Ships UK, said, “We are absolutely thrilled that Richard has taken on this big challenge on our behalf. The work of Mercy Ships would not be possible without the support and generosity of volunteers and fundraisers; they are vital in ensuring Mercy Ships can continue to help and provide care to those less fortunate. We have just celebrated National Volunteer Week and we would like to use this opportunity to thank Richard and all those people around the UK who continue to support us.”
Richard has so far raised almost £2000 for Mercy Ships but hopes to raise more. To support Richard, visit his donation page here: www.charitygiving.co.uk/richardtimson