A GROUP of five Redditch friends are planning to cycle almost 300 miles from Redditch to Paris in aid of a local man.
Sam Hands, whose cousin George Hands was diagnosed with bowel cancer earlier this year, is leading the mini-peloton to raise funds to help cover everyday costs for George and his family as he undergoes treatment.
The team – Sam, Callum Browning, Ashley Smith, Dean Hay and Jonathan Edwards – have very little cycling experience between them and will be taking on the mammoth cycling trip aiming to get from to Paris from Redditch in just five days, riding as many as 80 miles on some days.
On May 23, the team, with Hayley Stokes and Tom Treadwell-Hands in support cars, will kick off the trip from Redditch to Cirencester, before heading to Andover and then Portsmouth, where they will catch a ferry to take them to Le Harve.
Once in France, the group will cycle 80 miles to Evreux and then on to Paris, where the Eiffel Tower marks their final destination, totaling around 299 miles.
Sam, aged 24, said: “We’re training as much as we can to get in shape, but cycling from the Midlands to France in just a few days is going to be a tall order.
“We’ve never done anything like this before but George is facing a tough battle and intends to fight back – it’s the least we can do to support him.”
George, aged just 25, was diagnosed with bowel cancer after 12 months of going backwards and forward to the doctor.
However when he was admitted to hospital at the beginning of March doctors found a large cancerous tumour.
His family are now spreading the word to younger people to be vigilant and his partner, Claire Vipond said: “Just because of your age, you should never brush off your concerns – you know your own body, so make sure the health professionals take your concerns seriously. It could make a huge difference to your health.”
Visit https://www.gofundme.com/redditchtoparis to support the cycling team.
