From Putney to Paris For Lincolnshire Man

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Cycling 250 miles raising money for the RHN where his wife is a patient

An epic 250 mile charity cycle ride finished with a bit of fun in Paris.  Mike Shattock, 40, of Truesdale Gardens, Langtoft, celebrated completing the ride from London to Paris by dressing as a Frenchman complete with a beret and string of onions to ride down the Champs Elysees.

It marked the end of the journey which started on Wednesday 6th April at 9.30am from the Royal Hospital of Neuro-Disability in Putney and finished on Friday evening.

The ride was the first of three charity challenges in aid of the hospital, which is caring for his wife Sam. She has brain damage after suffering a cardiac arrest in January 2010.

Mike rode a fixed wheel bike which means he had to pedal the 251-mile journey with a total of 92,909 pedal revolutions. He said: “I am absolutely chuffed to bits that I did it. It was difficult on a fixed wheel bike and the worst part was going downhill because normally you relax but I had to pedal it all. I had blisters from pressing the brakes so much.

“I do feel a bit of a lightweight though because I did it with five other guys and some of them ran the Paris Marathon on Sunday and then cycled back again!”

Mike said a highlight of the cycle ride was getting into France where the weather was better and the motorists were more considerate.  The lowest point was going to a pub to celebrate the end of the cycle ride and seeing his football team Norwich lose 3-0 to Swansea.

He returned home on Monday to be greeted by his proud children Harry, 16, and Zoey, 14, who are pupils at The Deepings School.

Mike will also run the New York Marathon in November and climb Mount Kilimanjaro in March in a bid to raise £10,000.

He is calling the adventure the Yellow Beetle Challenge and so far, he has raised about £5,000. He said: “We have still got a long way to go but I’m over the moon that we’re half way there. I had wanted to raise a third of it by the first challenge.”

To sponsor his effort visit www.justgiving.com/yellowbeetlechallenge.

Article courtesy of Rutland & Stamford Mercury
Image courtesy of Mike Shattock

April 27, 2011