A Burnham-On-Sea cyclist pedalled over 100 miles on the first day of a cross-country ride from Burnham-On-Crouch in Essex to Burnham-On-Sea to raise funds for local rescue hovercraft charity BARB Search & Rescue.
Keen cyclist and former Mayor Andy Brewer is undertaking the 200-mile challenge, which started on Friday (September 4th).
Andy was cheered off from Burnham-On-Crouch at 9am on Friday before he cycled through Essex to London and then on to Reading. He is due to arrive back in Burnham-On-Sea later today (Saturday).
He has cycled over 2,000 miles since March in training for the event and explains why he has chosen BARB: “BARB provides an essential service in keeping our coastline safe and the charity is wholly dependent on voluntary contributions, much of which is achieved via local fundraising activities that have not been possible since restrictions were introduced to help prevent the spread of Coronavirus.”
“Over the past few months I’ve been cycling to keep myself fit and active and I’ve been inspired by some of the high profile fundraising challenges for our key workers. Whilst I wouldn’t dare to compare myself with the likes of Captain Tom Moore, I want to give myself a challenge that can be used to raise much-needed funds for Burnham’s hovercraft rescue service, enabling them to maintain their training schedule and continue to provide their service.”
He adds: “In the past I’ve completed a number of Coast to Coast cycle rides in different parts of the country, ranging from 14 miles in Cornwall to 136 miles in the Lake District; and for this challenge I propose to cycle approximately 200 miles from Burnham-On-Crouch in Essex to Burnham-On-Sea.”
The event is being sponsored by Burnham-On-Sea’s Retreat Caravan Park, who have been long-running supporters of the charity. Two of the park’s team were at Friday’s start.
A spokesman at BARB, which operates two life-saving rescue hovercraft and inshore rescue boats, says: “We are hugely grateful to Andy for taking on this challenge and the Retreat Caravan Park for their continuing support of BARB.”
“We are a small, independent charity that is fully dependent on donations to keep our life-saving service running and this year has been especially challenging, with fundraising halted for several months. We need to raise thousands of pounds every year to keep running, so fundraising events like this make a real difference. We wish Andy every success.”
Click here to make a donation towards Andy’s cycling fundraiser for BARB
