ITS’ John Everitt’s pedal power raised £800 for Brainwave during the charity’s three-day B2B June charity bike ride and helped them double their target.
The mass bike ride to mark Brainwave’s 30th anniversary and involving 40 cyclists covering 220 miles from the charity’s Warrington centre down to the main office in Bridgwater, Somerset, set a target of £7,000, but thanks to tremendous support from family, friends and the public, they raised over £15,000.
Despite setting off in pouring rain and enduring poor weather and a strong head wind for the whole trip, the event ran smoothly and was enjoyed by all.
“On day one we left Birchwood Park in Warrington, and cycled to Shrewsbury, about 68-70 Miles,” John said. “It rained as we got ready, it rained as we cycled and surprisingly it stopped shortly before we arrived
“We cycled in groups of about four, my group having a tandem in it, which was extremely quick down hill but a bit slow on the up hills.”
Day two was the longest, with a demanding 82+ miles to cover from Shrewsbury to Monmouth over hilly terrain, but less rain helped the charity cyclists make good progress.
“Day three was around 75 miles through the beautiful Wye Valley, over the Old Severn Road Bridge and then down to Bridgwater in Somerset. I only got lost the once and ended in the middle of a muddy field.”
On arrival at their end destination, the Brainwave Centre in Bridgwater, staff and volunteers made the group extremely welcome and thanked them for their tremendous efforts.
But bad weather, gruelling hill climbs and cycling into unrelenting headwinds were nothing compared to John’s misery listening to England’s exit from Euro 2012.
“The worst bit though was still to come; listening to England play Italy over the radio on the journey home. We arrived back at Birchwood just in time to hear Ashley Young miss and put England out.”
Brainwave helps children with a brain injury, genetic disorders or developmental delay and covers a range of conditions including autism, Down’s syndrome and cerebral palsy. This year it marks 30 years of working with families to deliver individual home-based therapies and exercise programmes that help children achieve their potential.
The charity operates from three centres in Warrington, Somerset and Essex, and employs occupational therapists, physiotherapists and educationalists, enabling them to take a holistic approach to an individual child’s needs.
Although the charity has yet to decide how it will use the £15,000 raised, it represents being able to treat four children for a year.
“A big thank you to everybody who sponsored me, your support is greatly appreciated,” John said.
You can still donate to John’s fundraising efforts by visiting his JustGiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/everitt-john.
More details about Brainwave and the services they provide can be found at www.brainwave.org.uk