A fundraiser from Frome has cycled from Norway to the south-west corner of Portugal in under 85 days, raising over £3,000 for charity in honour of his late father.
Andy Jennings took on the European Divide Trail cycling solo, unsupported and mostly off-road, in aid of charities We Hear You (WHY) and Help for Heroes. He cycled 4,638 miles, averaging 67 miles per day, with a total ascent of 64,000 metres.
“That works out to be 925 metres of ascent for every day of riding, which, with a hefty bike and kit weighing in together at 30 to 32kg, is no mean feat,” said Andy.
“Before I started this challenge, I explained I was doing this to honour my dad and I would like to think I have succeeded in that respect and that he would be suitably impressed and proud of me (while at the same time thinking I’m clearly mad).”
On his travels, Andy came across the story of the ‘Portuguese Eagles’, who were airmen explorers from the 1920s. Andy was reminded of his late father, who was a lifelong aviator himself and thought he would very much have been in tune with the Portuguese Eagles mindset, their challenges and their achievements.
Great causes
Andy said, “I took on this challenge to raise funds for two great causes to help ex-servicemen and women as well as those people in my local area who are experiencing and dealing with the effects of cancer and purely for myself, to scratch an itch, to test myself, to see whether I was capable of it. It turns out that indeed I was, which is fulfilling in its own right. The plan did indeed come together.”
Real difference
A communications officer at WHY said, “The staff at We Hear You can’t thank Andy enough for taking on this challenge of a lifetime to fundraise for them. Donations of this kind make a real difference to small charities such as ours and help ensure our counselling service reaches those who need it most. Thank you Andy for making a real difference to your local community in honour of your father. You have certainly made us all extremely proud!
“The big question is what’s Andy’s next challenge now he has tested out his kit.”
To date, Andy has raised £1,655 for We Hear you (WHY) and £1,507 for Help for Heroes, two charities close to his heart.
We Hear You provide counselling and emotional support for patients, families, friends and carers who have been affected or bereaved by cancer or any other life-threatening condition, across Somerset, Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire.
There’s still time to make a donation to Andy on his Fundraising page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/andy-jennings-edt-2024-why
If you would like to find out more about Andy’s journey visit his blog, where it is all documented:https://ajridestheedt.wordpress.com/
