Sunday 11 May 2014

I'm Riding in the 2014 BHF London to Brighton Bike Ride

I'll be riding "Flame", a Pashley Mailstar
Why not donate by text?
text : MAIL49 (easy to remember as I am riding a Royal Mail bike, and I am 49 years old!)
then the amount: £1  (suggested - by all means give more!)
then the number: 70070
It is run by Vodafone on behalf of JustGiving (who call the service JustTextGiving)
Or donate online at JustGiving's page.

Hi.
As some of you already know, I'm 49 years old, and I have worked for Royal Mail for the last 22 years in a number of roles at a number of locations.
Some of you may recognise me as one of the two postmen who serve the Buckingham Park area of the town.
A group of us (about 15) from Royal Mail Aylesbury Central (the one in the town centre) and Royal Mail Aylesbury Vale (the one near Wendover) are taking part in this ride on old Royal Mail bikes to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.

I will be riding a Pashley Mailstar (as seen in the picture at the top of the page), which has 3 speeds, and weighs a little over 55 pounds (25 kilos, for the young 'uns), so the hills will be a bit of a challenge, but that's half the fun! I have christened mine "Flame", although the colour isn't really Flame Red - it is, of course, Pillar Box Red!
They are decent enough bikes, but, with only the three gears, have a smaller gear range compared to a "normal bike", as well as weighing about twice as much!

After the ride, the bikes will be returned to Royal Mail, and become part of the company's charity program to provide transport to folks in Malawi, where I am sure that they will continue to provide reliable transport with low maintenance costs for many years to come.

Heart Disease is the biggest killer in both Britain and the USA - more even than all the various cancers put together. In Britain in causes around 80 THOUSAND deaths a year, and in the USA, about HALF A MILLION deaths per year.
That's big numbers!
So, please sponsorship me for this event, which, I am sure you will agree, raises money for a VERY good cause.

P.S. A big thanks to Katya, our 11-year-old daughter, who took the picture at the head of the page of me with the bike. She also took the portrait that shows my "natural highlights" (i.e. the grey bits") so well, AND designed the flyer for me that you can see in the gallery.

And, of course, thanks to Royal Mail for lending me the bike!

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