Jonathan Flynn raises money for St Michael’s Hospice
I have an annoying habit of agreeing to do things and then asking myself later ‘why did I do that?’ This was exactly the case when a group of friends were organising a coast to coast bike ride covering 180 miles over three days. Unfortunately, I was in the pub with them when they were all signing up to do this. I’m not known for my sporting prowess so I nearly chocked on my pint when they asked if I’d like to do it. The list of excuses flew through my mind but unbelievably I heard myself say ‘yeah, absolutely - that sounds like fun’ and with those words, I was committed.
Struggling with a crisis of conscience over the next few days, I thought of any excuse to bail out. However, over a conversation in the office about fund-raising for Interim Partner’s chosen charity, St. Michael’s Hospice I mentioned that perhaps I could raise money on a bike ride I had agreed to do. Within minutes, Katie who is responsible for fundraising had set up a Just Giving account and emailed the whole business asking for their support in sponsorship. I was now definitely committed.
A matter of weeks later I found myself on a coach at 5am on a Friday morning on route to Ravenglass. At 9am we reached the start of Route 72 ‘Hadrian’s Wall Cycleway’. The more serious of those amongst us made their final adjustments to bikes and did final checks over their equipment. I was just grateful for my padded shorts, chamois cream and lucozade - ‘right, we’re good to go’. The ride got off to a good start, the majority of the morning was on roads as we headed to Whitehaven. In the afternoon we hit more of a trail which made for some smooth cycling along the beautiful West Coast. The first day’s riding ended after eight hours in the saddle - we reached our B&B and settled in for a round of mixed grills.
The second day started at 9am sharp and we took off at pace covering nearly 30 miles in two hours. Unfortunately after lunch things slowed down considerably as the second half of the day was mostly (very steep) hill climbing. We finally saw Hadrian’s Wall midway through the second day and in my slightly delirious state I initially stood on the wrong wall to have my photo taken. We cycled 80 miles in total on the second day and I was at the point of surrender as we reached our second B&B. The final day was a lot less strenuous, coming down the hills we’d conquered the day before and at about 12 o’clock the Tyne Bridge came into view. It’s true what they say; the last mile is the hardest mile. We endured full gales, heavy rain, two punctures in the group and being pelted by hard boiled sweets by some local children on a bridge. However, we made it to Tynemouth, collapsed onto the coach and started planning for our challenge next year.
I raised £860 for St. Michael’s Hospice in Harrogate and I dedicated the bike ride to the memory of a school friend, Vicky Murphy who had just lost her battle with cancer and was buried while I was away.
If you would like to sponsor me, please use the following link which is still live - www.justgiving.com/interim-partners-onyourbike.
Jonathan Flynn is Head of Retail for Interim Partners