Bury Tandem Club - Latest News |
On July 19th 2010 71 year old Derek Pritchard and 30 year old Bobby Feven have set themselves the challenge of riding a tandem from Lands End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Scotland. The finish date is set for Dereks’ 72nd birthday on July 25th 2010.
The 843 mile journey will take them 6 testing days to complete, tracing the exact route that James Cracknell and Rebecca Romero used to attempt the mixed tandem record in August 2009. This will be approximately 140 miles per day.
Derek founded the Bury tandem club for the blind and visually impaired in 1984 due to his own sight deteriorating through an inherited disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). It left him completely blind and no longer able to ride solo. The club was a good way to pair up regularly with others who share the same enthusiasm for cycling, also giving others with visual impairment the chance to get out and ride. He has been a passionate cyclist since the 1950’s, regularly riding long distances and participating a number of tours in England, Ireland, France and North America.
Bobby is a sports massage therapist and keen triathlete who wanted a fresh challenge, coming up with the idea of the 6 day end to end ride. Bobby has never previously done the sort of regular mileage required for this event, as triathlon is over a much shorter distance. He was initially going to attempt the ride solo, but after mentioning the plan, could sense that Derek was keen to be involved.
Derek first visited Bobbys sports massage practice in 2007, unable to ride any sort of miles due to a chronic back problem and was thinking of giving up the sport. After a few treatments he was able to get back on the bike fully fit again!
The ride is a sponsored event to raise much needed funds for the Bury tandem club for the blind and visually impaired. Approximately £10,000 will enable the clubs garage to be extended in order to house all 20 of their tandems. It is only currently large enough for 15, leaving the other 5 taking up vital maintenance space. Though the club are still awaiting planning permission for the extension from Bury council, they are very confident that this will be granted. The Just Giving site for this event is www.justgiving.com/DerekandBobby There is also a site for people to donate straight to the Club at www.justgiving/burytandem
Any additional funds raised will go towards the yearly running cost, which are around £7000 pounds p/a. This cost includes all bike maintenance costs, insurance, transport for members etc.
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