Hi everyone
By the time you read this, our son Tony & his friend John will just about
be completing an
arduous cycle ride
from Rotterdam to
Bratislava, Capital of
Slovakia - distance
as the crow flies is
over 600 miles but,
cycles not being
able to fly and
considering cycles
can only use
secondary roads it
will be more like
1000 miles.
When I learned of
his intention I suggested he might like to consider sponsorship for Take
Heart as both his mum and I have had major surgery at the LGI. I had a
by pass in early 1989 just in time for the formation of Take Heart, so I am
proud to be a founder member in this, our charities Silver Anniversary
year.
His mum more recently had a replacement Aorta valve in 2011. It was
John, already a keen cyclist, who persuaded Tony to do the journey by
bike. Tony and John have adventured together in the past by completing
one of the most ardous treks in Europe - the GR20 which entails a
journey on foot throughout the length of Corsica.
Tony readily agreed to this sponsorship and as their initial ferry crossing
and return flights are already paid for by themselves, any money raised
will all go direct to our charity. Consider the distance and bear in mind
Tony will celebrate his 60th birthday in June this year. If you can
help Take Heart in this way, please make a donation on the Virgin page -
click on the link below.
For the curious, why Bratislava?, well Tony's son (our grandson) lives
and works there.
D.R.(BOB) & Peggy Stanley.
http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/tonystanley
Thanks Bob - and thank you Tony and John. Just thinking about what
you are doing makes us exhausted! Good luck - and arrive safely.
Colin Pullan, MBE, Chairman
See end of article for result!
The pair finished successfully and raised
£1600.00 for the British Heart Foundation and
£720.00 for Take Heart.
Here’s the story reported in the Bradford Telegraph and Argus
Fundraiser surprises himself with success
CHARITY cyclist Tony Stanley has surprised himself by completing a challenge he
set himself to cover almost 1,100 miles in just 16 days.
The target for Tony, 60, was to reach his son's home in Bratislava after starting out
from Rotterdam, on a route through Holland, Germany, Austria and on to Slovakia.
Now back in Bingley with around £2,000 earned in charity donations for the British
Heart Foundation and the Take Heart fund based in Leeds, he admitted: "I didn't think
I'd be able to do 1,100 miles without catching a train or ferry.
"There were no mishaps, not even a puncture, and everything went very smoothly."
The businessman, who owns Stanley Cars on Canal Road in Bradford, completed the
trip with his squash partner John Bell. Already he is planning a similar challenge for
next summer, from Bratislava to the Black Sea, following the Danube.
His idea to cycle the route came out of an idea to visit his son Oliver, 28, who lives in
Bratislava with his wife Renka.
He has also succeeded in doubling his original fund raising target which had been set
at £1,000.
However, before his next two wheeled challenge he is preparing to walk from the
Atlantic to the Mediterranean via the Pyrenees.
