What's it all about?
Exhausted but elated, cycling duo Trevor and Michael
Hanover were welcomed by staff from Rainbow Trust on Saturday (12th September) after completing a gruelling 350 mile bike ride to raise money for Rainbow Trust.
The adventurous father and son team set off from Fernstone, Rainbow’s respite house in Hexham Northumberland on Monday 7th September and battled extreme weather conditions, steep hills, ditches, road traffic accidents and aching limbs to reach their final destination of Rainbow House in Surrey.
Last year, Trevor trekked through the highlands and lowlands of Scotland, raising almost £20,000 for his favourite charity. This year, the pair hopes to equal their fundraising target of £20,000 for the second time running, clocking up a staggering £40,000!
After a cup of tea and a well deserved rest, Trevor commented:
“Michael and I are absolutely exhausted but really proud of what we’ve achieved. Our family, friends and colleagues have given us amazing support all along the way, which has helped to keep us pedalling and reach the finish line at Rainbow House!”
Linda Squire Community Fundraiser at Rainbow Trust added:
“Trevor and Michael should be very proud of themselves. Cycling on a journey between our two respite houses is an inspiring way of raising vital funds and awareness for Rainbow Trust. On behalf of everyone at Rainbow and the families we work with, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Trevor and Michael for their continued enthusiasm and support of our special charity.”
If you would like to make a direct contribution, please donate here and quote ‘Hanover Dairies Big Bike Ride'.
Sponsor Trevor and Michael now
Day 1
We set off from Fernstone at 9am then 53 miles, 8 hours and a lot of sweat later we arrived at Kirkby Stephen. A lot of uphill work but worth it in the end.
Day 2
We started from Kirkby Stephen this morning raring to set off on our journey to Clitheroe, Lancashire, it was an uphill struggle and not so many downs. We have found ourselves struggling against the weather and also the busy traffic, I have ended up in a ditch at the side of the road and Michael had a close encounter with a lorry, we are determined to carry on. Even though - am having a lot of trouble with my right knee. We will succeed!
Day 3
Today has been a tough one, it has taken us 9 hours to travel 43 miles and I have probably pushed the bike about ten of them. My knee has been giving me a lot of pain and the wind has set us back as it has always been against us but we arrived safely in the end. Tomorrow we will be doing a 53 mile ride to Newcastle under Lyme.
Day 4 We encountered a few problems on our way through Staffordshire today; the bad knee wasn't the biggest problem, we ended up having to ride on some dangerous roads and were lucky to make it. We covered a distance of about 55 miles and are ready for a nice hot meal. We're spurred on knowing our fundraising has reached over £8000.00 already. Brilliant.
Day 5
We had a nice ride throught the country today, the roads were quieter and a lot safer than yesterday. Knowing the finish line is closer and closer keeps us going, we stayed in a nice little village in the outskirts of Birmingham and are off to Buckingham tomorrow.
Day 6
We set off nice and early and made our way down to Silverstone. It was a quiet country ride but there were a lot of hills to ride up! Tomorrow will be a tough one, we will have to ride down to Rainbow House in Surrey for the final day, it will be about 75 miles.
Day 7
We knew this was going to be the hardest so far; we left at 5.30am in the morning when it was still dark, so we could get a good start on our 75 mile long final journey to Rainbow House in Surrey. It was a busy route as we were cycling through London heading south. We had an accident at some traffic lights; no one was injured, just the bike, but we kept on going determined to make it to the finish line. When we arrived at Rainbow House we were surprised to see the Rainbow staff in the street with banners cheering us; that was nice for them all to come and do that. We would like to thank everyone for their donations and for supporting this wonderful charity.
