Bray goes the extra mile!

Published: 23rd September 2014 | Issue 30 Share article:

The challenge included nearly a thousand miles of cycling

The challenge included nearly a thousand miles of cycling

Denis Bell and Raymond Scott of Bray Controls, joined a team of cyclists to take on the challenge of cycling from John O ‘Groats to Land’s End in aid of the Gene Therapy Charity. The cycle covered 905 miles and was completed in eight and a half days! Denis has worked with Bray for six years as Operations Manager and Raymond an Electrical Engineer joined Bray in 2012

The Team was led by Stuart Wren whose daughter Chloe aged eight, suffers from cystic fibrosis. Chloe is on constant medication and spends one week of every month in hospital. As with many conditions, gene therapy is being studied as a possible cure.

This challenge was a great achievement considering the age of some of the cyclists – which ranged from mid-thirties to early sixties and some of them had only been cycling for as little as three months. It seemed like an impossible feat, yet every member of the team completed the challenge. This would not have been possible without the support team who consisted of three men, a minibus and a support van. The support team were there in the morning to check all the bikes and get everyone safely on the road, whilst also carrying spares for the bikes. They then went ahead and prepared all the food and refreshments for all the stops during the day.

On day three, Fiona Campbell of “Bowenworks” donated her time, by spending the evening giving the team some physiotherapy and some stretching techniques to prepare them for the remainder of the cycle. Fiona also supplied some treatments for the team to take with them. Without this support many of the teamwould not have been able to complete the challenge. Although the cycle was long and arduous, the people the team met along the way were so generous in their giving, and even the emotional support of passers-by was a huge support. They experienced all four seasons during the trip, with weather extremes from snow still on the ground in the mountains, to sunburn. The pain endured was more than compensated by the beautiful scenery. Everyone agreed, to see the UK at its best is better viewed from a bike than inside a car! Experiencing the dramatic scenery of Glencoe, the views from the Shap summit in Cumbria, the Wye Valley at Monmouth in south Wales and the final approach to Land’s End through Cornwall will be the lasting memories of this challenge and not the burning pain of sore muscles!

The Team would like to thank Morrisons for their support during the trip as they supplied food and refreshments during the challenge, laying on a buffet and refreshments at Alness in the Scottish Highlands and Penzance in Cornwall, ten miles before the finish. They are also very grateful to the Scottish Police who donated the minibus, and “Mann Freight” who donated the support van.

At the last count the team had raised around £7000 – a tremendous effort from all involved and for a very worthy cause.

Bray Controls
Tel: 0141 812 5199
Email: www.bray.com

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