Npower employee Steven Jones and his friend Rob Smart, both 26 years old and from Stourbridge, Worcestershire, have eschewed the idea of a local bike ride for charity; instead, they have entered the London to Paris bike ride in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support. They will be covering 300 miles - or 470km - in just four days, starting from St Pancras station on August 17 and finishing up at the foot of the Eiffel Tower on August 20.
Steve, who works for npower and Rob, who works for Structural Design Partnership Ltd, have been friends since before they could walk, let alone ride a bike. They both attended Greenfield Primary School and then Redhill Secondary; both have done some road cycling in the past, but nothing on the scale of their forthcoming challenge. Steve is a keen downhill mountain biker, and Rob a regular cross country cyclist but London to Paris, a long distance road challenge, is completely different. Both friends have been in training for some time and can now cope with cycling around 150 miles a week.
They aim to raise at least £1,400 each for Macmillan. Steve explained: "This year is Macmillan's Centenary and, speaking with friends and family, everyone has a story to tell of how Macmillan has helped someone they know. Macmillan wouldn’t be able to do the great work that they do without regular financial support - we were looking for a challenge, Macmillan is an incredibly worthy cause; it seemed like an excellent match."
Up until now, they have been riding their off-road bikes but, following a practice ride on the MacRide Elgar, when they borrowed road bikes and found the whole experience faster, easier and more comfortable they are looking to buy road bikes in time for the event.
As an extra incentive, npower, has promised to match Steve’s fundraising, up to £1,000. The fundraising is on track and anyone who is willing to sponsor the dynamic duo should go to www.justgiving.com/teams/london2paris.
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