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Your chance to sponsor Richard Barber as he gets on his bike to raise money for the Cambridge Courts appeal
CLICK HERE to sponsor Richard
You may have heard of “RideLondon 100”, an event that the Mayor of London is sponsoring to keep the legacy of the Olympic Games alive. It is a major bike ride taking place on Sunday 4 August, and will follow the Olympic route from the Queen Elizabeth Stadium through London, Kingston and the Surrey Hills (including Leith Hill, the highest point in Surrey, and Box Hill), and back to finish on the Mall – a course of 102 miles which must be completed inside 9 hours. Like the London Marathon this event will be televised around the country.
Some 20,000 cyclists will be taking part – including the EFA President, Richard Barber! Many of them would think nothing of riding 100 miles in one day. He is not among their number. Every rider must indicate how long they expect to take so that the starting times can be staggered according to people’s abilities, and he has indicated that he expects to take 8 hours and 59 minutes – so he should be easy to spot bringing up the rear!
This will be a very different experience to his ride from Land’s End to John O’Groats a few years ago when he was able to take time to enjoy the countryside. This ride is a timed endurance test and since the middle of March he has been out training at all hours and weathers.
He has waited until he’s 71 before attempting the greatest single physical exertion of his life, but he’s doing it for a very good cause – namely for the EFA to help contribute to the last £50k tranche of funds needed to pay for the new Eton fives courts at Cambridge University. When complete these courts will be open as much to the public as to members of the University and a new n/national Eton fives centre will have come into existence.
He will need all the support he can get to complete the course so please do think of sponsoring him – no matter how small the sum may be.