9 May 2008
As the summer draws nearer a trip to Brighton may seem like the perfect day out – not for one of Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service’s firefighters who is planning to cycle there!
Andy Dale, from Blue Watch, Aylesbury Fire Station, is taking part in the famous London to Brighton Bike Ride on Sunday 15 June to raise money for the British Heart Foundation.
He will be joined by 10 of his football team-mates from Chesham Thursday football club, who actually play in Amersham on a Monday, in cycling the 54 mile scenic route from Clapham Common to Madeira Drive near Brighton pier.
They will be among 27,000 cyclists taking part in this charity event. Andy will be setting off at 8.30am and hopes to cycle through the finish line in less than five hours.
Andy, 40, joined Buckinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service as a retained firefighter based at Amersham Fire Station in 1986. He became a wholetime firefighter in 1992, transferring to his current watch at Aylesbury in 2002.
After volunteering at the football Christmas party Andy has been training mainly at Cannons gym and more recently through the country lanes of Chesham with his new shiny white bike.
He said: “I am really looking forward to taking part in this event. As well as being a great personal achievement, it will spur me on knowing that I will also be raising money for such a worthwhile cause.
“The British Heart Foundation is currently undertaking 1,200 pioneering projects to help combat heart disease and prevent people dying prematurely. It will also help fund their 260 nurses who are able to visit patients at home.”
This is not the first sporting event Andy has taken part in – he climbed Mount Kilimanjaro three years ago.
Sponsorship for the bike ride would be gratefully received by Andy, who hopes to make over £700 for charity. Cheques can be made payable to the British Heart Foundation or alternatively donations can be made online by logging on to www.justgiving.com/andy_dale
“All donations are secure and sent electronically to the British Heart Foundation, and if you are a UK taxpayer, Justgiving will add an automatic 28 per cent bonus to your donation at no cost to you. Please join me in supporting a fabulous cause,” said Andy.
Since 1980 when the British Heart Foundation first become involved with the bike ride over 650,000 cyclists have taken part raising over £40 million to help fund pioneering research, patient care and vital information.
For further information visit the British Heart Foundation website
http://www.bhf.org.uk/