An Epic Cycle of LEJOG!
The Lands’ End to John O’Groats cycle ride would have been a retirement holiday for Steve & Julie Hunter. They had planned to do this on their tandem & was on Julie’s “bucket list” of things she wanted to achieve. Sadly, it was not to be as Julie was diagnosed with cholangiocarcinoma in December 2020, and despite help and support from AMMF passed away nine months later.
In her memory, Steve and two friends Mike Hodgson and Nigel Butler will attempt to complete the ride in June this year. Steve and Julie were life-long cyclists, having completed a number of long-distance trails in the UK and in Europe, both on cycle and tandem, so to complete LEJOG now seems a fitting way to raise much-needed funds for, and to say thank you to AMMF.
Nigel, Mike and Steve
Mike too has many years of cycling experience and has also cycled on the continent as well as in the UK.
Until being invited by Steve to do this ride, Nigel hadn’t ridden seriously since Junior school, more than 40 years ago!
After a slow start over the winter due to the freezing conditions in December and January, training and preparation is now picking up, and rides are getting longer and more enjoyable as the weather warms up.
Steve chose the Cicerone “Quiet Roads” LEJOG for the route and from that the 18-day timetable. All route accommodation is booked and they travel down to Cornwall on Friday 16th June for an early start the following day. One of the reasons for choosing the 18-day route was to give enough time to enjoy the towns and villages they finish at, at the end of each day.
All 3 guys want to enjoy the ride, the scenery, the sights and smells of the journey, and are looking forward to a “wee dram” at John O’Groats to celebrate.
Steve initially set a target of raising £1500 for AMMF, and they are already well on the way to achieving that, with the total at the time of writing well over £1000.
Various friends and family members will be meeting up with the team along their journey, to show their support and hopefully to buy the guys a beer.
Also accompanying the 3 riders is Nige’s wife Sue, who will wave the team off each day and then transport the gear to their next location. Their dog Dude will also be part of the team as the official Mascot, he is pictured here in his AMMF T-shirt.
Dude proudly wearing his AMMF top!
The trusty guide for their journey!
Everyone at AMMF wishes Steve, Nigel and Mike the very best of luck with their cycling challenge! If you would like to sponsor the 3 of them, they have created a JustGiving page which they will also be updating throughout their journey.
If you are planning on taking on an epic challenge, why not fundraise for AMMF alongside it? We are always keen to hear of your fundraising, so please get in touch with us at fundraising@ammf.org.uk!
