Locals aim to cycle from St Albans to Paris in 24 hours

By debbigg | Thursday, January 12, 2012, 10:43

A team of locals are setting themselves the challenge of cycling from St Albans Cathedral to Paris' Eiffel Tower, within 24 hours, in a quest to raise money for the charity, Cancer Research.

Dean North, pictured by 'his speed testing road' in Rothamsted, where he races his sister as she drives at 15mph, to prepare himself for the St Albans to Paris challenge.

The idea was the brainchild of Dean North, 26 of Portland Street, St Albans, who came up with it whilst watching the Italian cycle race, the Giro d'Italia. Dean has always kept himself fit at the gym but fancied facing more of a fitness goal to work towards. And so the concept was born and it wasn't long before he talked three local friends, Steve Hawes Jnr, Liam Smith and Lee Jefferies, in to joining him.

As all of the cyclist's lives had been touched by cancer, the choice to ride for Cancer Research was a unanimous one. And the date for the ride was set for 3rd March 2012.

All four have been training hard for the event, and putting in plenty of road miles, as well as time in the gym to strength and condition their bodies ready for the long ride ahead.

The team will leave St Albans Cathedral as the clock strikes midnight on March 3rd and will make their way to Dover to catch the 7.40am ferry, before continuing their ride through Northern France and in to Paris, ending the trip at the Eiffel Tower. An average speed of 15 miles per hour will need to be maintained throughout the trip to make it within the tight 24-hour time frame.

Fisher Outdoor Leisure, who are one of the UK's leading distributors of cycles and cycle accessories and who are based in St Albans' Brick Knoll Park have supported Dean in his quest to get to Paris. Dean said of them: "I would like to thank Fisher Outdoor Leisure for their ongoing support as I prepare for the challenge."

Dean and his fellow riders are looking to raise as much money as possible for Cancer Research and to help reduce the number of people suffering from cancer. If you would like to donate, you can visit their Just Giving page here: www.justgiving.com/stalbans2paris

And the boys would also welcome contact from local businesses who might be interested in sponsoring the challenge via email: stalbans2paris@hotmail.co.uk

A twitter account has been set up so you can track the progress of the team as they prepare for the challenge, follow them @stalbans2paris

I wish them luck and look forward to hearing how their preparations continue and ultimately how their journey and fundraising plans pan out.

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Comments

Dean will now be cycling to Paris on his own after the others have dropped out. This will make the challenge even harder. You've got to admire Dean's self motivation, haven't you?! I you'd like to support him and his efforts to raise money for Cancer Research on this amazing quest, then donate via his Just Giving page - details above.

By debbigg at 08:58 on 27/02/12
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What a blow! Lee Jefferies has had to pull out of the challenge under doctors orders due to an injury. Gutted!

By debbigg at 21:27 on 26/01/12
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Dean has contacted me with the sad news that the father of his partner, William Garvey died last week after battling cancer for 13 years.

When I first spoke to Dean, he mentioned to me that William was a reason for the St Albans to Paris in 24 hours bike challenge, and inspired his decision to take on this amazing feat in aid of Cancer Research. Now having passed away after such a long battle, it has made Dean and his team mates even more determined to succeed with the challenge and achieve their fundraising target.

On breaking the news of William's passing, Dean said: "Cancer Research UK's research enable William to not just fight for 13 years but live, the cancer only got the better of him once his body had stopped responding to the chemotherapy in the last few weeks. With further research and funding Cancer Research UK can prevent this in the future and keep more people alive."

Please don't forget you can donate to the challenge via the lad's Just Giving page: http://tinyurl.com/7xttx4f

By debbigg at 09:05 on 26/01/12
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