Colleagues At Cheshire Home Raise More Than £6,000 Following Virtual Cycling Challenge

Photot: Lynne Morrilly (L) and Lysiane Gilmour (R)

Two colleagues at a Cheshire home cycled almost 1700 miles and raised over £6,000 in the process.

Lysiane Gilmour and Lynne Morrilly both work at MHA The Willows and completed the challenge in six months.

The challenge was a virtual bike ride from Mobberley to Gibraltar, a total of 1698 miles with several landmarks such as London, Paris, Bordeaux and Madrid being celebrated as motivational landmarks.

The idea to travel to Gibraltar was in line with the King’s Coronation as Gibraltar was the first country to issue stamps with the King’s Cypher.

A static bike was kindly loaned to the home from CPASE Gym, in Warford Park, so that other staff members and resident family members could join in and help tick off some miles.

The total amount raised to date was £6743, which will go towards a tiny tablet costing around £4,000 and the money left over will be used for trips and activities for residents in the run up to the forthcoming festive period.

Apart from the cycling challenge, the home also held a communi-tea party and another colleague Amanada Drayton walked more than 1 million steps in three months.

Speaking after the challenge Lysiane said: “It was a real team effort from both Lynne and I and we are very grateful for the support shown by everyone.

“It was a well-paced challenge that we knew was a realistic, achievable goal in our set time-frame.

“I did have my doubts on the financials and am thrilled to bits that we surpassed our goal!

“Lynne did a lot more cycling than me, and in return my task was to focus on fundraising to raise as much money as we possibly could.

“We had some great community support, with a particular mention to CPASE, and also to Sheldons and Waitrose Knutsford for their donations.

Lynne added: “The biggest thing  I have learnt during this challenge is no matter how daunting things may seem they can be overcome:

“I hadn’t done any cycling for about two years. Once I began the challenge it got easier each day and pedalling uphill was no longer a problem and whizzing downhill was even more fun!

“I have really enjoyed this challenge and will continue to cycle as much as possible and am now wondering what challenge I should do next year.”