Leasedrive VELO

Leasedrive Velo team to ride 261 miles from Wokingham HQ to Le Mans in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care and RNLI
27 April 2010

The Leasedrive Velo Group, one of the UK’s largest independent privately-owned vehicle management groups, is entering a team of 17 riders in a 261-mile charity bike ride between its headquarters at the TRL proving ground in Wokingham and Le Mans in aid of two charities. The team, led by group information solutions manager, Paul Newman, aims to raise a minimum of £5,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care, one of the UK’s oldest charities, and the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea.

Roddy Graham, commercial director, said: “After a two-year break, the organiser of our highly successful London to Paris bike ride, which ultimately raised £16,472 for Marie Curie Cancer Care, has decided to repeat the venture with a longer and even more challenging route to Le Mans.

“Marie Curie Cancer Care has been our nominated company charity since 2005. Sadly, most of us all know a relative or friend who has suffered from cancer and the work this charity undertakes on supporting research and nursing terminally-ill patients as they draw to the close of their lives is awe-inspiring. Likewise, the work of the 40,000 RNLI volunteers on lifeboats, beaches and stations, who risk their lives to save and protect us all from the dangers of the sea is also critically important.

“Both the charities we are supporting this year merit maximum support and we hope people will give generously. In the current climate, we hope that many people will contribute and help us in our quest to raise a minimum of £5,000, preferably double that figure. Giving freely of their time and effort in aid of such worthwhile causes is what will drive our intrepid 17-strong team to keep rotating those pedals over 261 gruelling miles.”

The Leasedrive Velo team will start from the group’s headquarters in Wokingham on Saturday June 26 and will ride 54 miles to Portsmouth before catching a late afternoon ferry to Cherbourg. Day two will cover 72 miles between Cherbourg and Granville and day three 71 miles from Granville to Laval. The fourth and final day will see the team complete the final 64 miles to Le Mans, home of the world’s most famous motor race, the Le Mans 24 hours. There it will complete a lap of honour of the eight-mile public road circuit.

Current sponsors include Leasedrive Velo, which is covering the ferry return fares, fuel, support van and cycle shirt top costs, as well as underwriting its participating employees’ time-off; and Thrifty Car & Van Rental which is kindly providing a 17-seater minibus.

Online donations to the Leasedrive Velo Wokingham to Le Mans Charity Bike Ride can be made by visiting the Marie Curie Cancer Care fundraising website http://www.justgiving.com/mccc-BikeRide or the RNLI fundraising website http://www.justgiving.com/rnli-BikeRide

Alternatively, please send a cheque made payable to ‘Marie Curie Cancer Care’ or ‘RNLI’ to Paul Newman at Leasedrive Velo, Crowthorne House, Nine Mile Ride, Wokingham, Berkshire RG40 3GA.

- Ends-

Notes to Editors:

Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of the UK’s largest charities. It was established in 1948 – the same year as the NHS. Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, Marie Curie Cancer Care expects to provide care to around 29,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in its hospices in 2010 along with support for their families.

Marie Curie Cancer Care has nine hospices across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and two centres for palliative care research. While Marie Curie Cancer Care mainly cares for people with cancer it also cares for people with other life limiting illnesses. The charity also runs the world-renowned Marie Curie Research Institute, which investigates the causes and treatments of cancer. It funds seven scientific teams investigating the causes of and treatments for cancer.

Financially, around 70 per cent of the charity’s income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and businesses, with the balance of funds coming from the NHS.

RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 235 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 140 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 137,000 lives.

For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk.

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