London to Brighton

Taking on a fundraising challenge can be well, challenging. When our Estates and Facilities Manager, Gary White, heard that a younger relative was going to do the London to Brighton Cycle Ride, Gary decided this would be right up his street. Not that he had done any serious cycling since his school days but having just turned 60 he thought this would be an ideal opportunity to show he could cope with the demands of the 55-mile event. Gary has worked at the Hospice for the last seven years and in that time, he’s had some wonderful experiences.

He said “There are little moments where you can see what difference you make to people. Yeah, little stories, like the time I took a patient home one day with patient support and just listening to everyone, the patient and the family talking about what a difference we’d made. It’s just amazing.”

Taking on this kind of challenge requires some serious training which for Gary requires a new bike and gel padded underwear. Despite his legs turning to jelly after his inaugural session, he’s determined to see it through to the end and raise funds for St Michael’s Hospice.

Like many people, the idea of raising enough money can be daunting but as Gary says ‘even £100 is £100 more than the Hospice had before.’ A Just Giving page is a good way to start; if you need help or support let our Fundraising Team know.

We spoke to Gary about why he decided to take part and the challenges he thinks he’ll face along the way. Listen below.

Photo of Gary White on his cycling training session

Episode 1: Getting ready

Hospice Facilities Manager Gary White, talks about his decision to do the London to Brighton Cycling event in aid of St Michael’s Hospice.

Back in May we reported that our Estate and Facilities Manager, Gary White, has bravely undertaken to do the London to Brighton Bike Ride in aid of the Hospice. We caught up with him again this month to see how his preparations were going and what his biggest challenge was so far.

‘The thing I’m finding hard is getting the training in. Fitting it in around everything else you have to do.’

Despite these difficulties Gary has now clocked up distances of 27 miles in one go enjoying some great rides out towards Camber. He’s also thinking about bringing the bike to work and riding home as an easy way of fitting the training in. But as he says, you’ve got to understand what you are committing to. To prevent there being any nasty surprises on the day he’s also considering driving the actual route so he knows all the ups and downs.

One of his previous worries was how and when to start fundraising. He’s now got a JustGiving page setting himself a target of £1000.00 and raising £190.00 in the first three weeks.

‘It gives you a bit of a lift as well, you get a bit of a boost, the fact that you see people donating.’

The only problem he’s faced is when people only put their first names alongside their donation, so he doesn’t know who to thank. Something to think about if you’d like to support Gary.

And what about the gel padded Lycra? He may not have gone that far but you’ll definitely be able to pick Gary out on the starting line as he’ll be wearing his Father’s Day present of a bright, tangerine top and baggy shorts.

He’s yet to decide how he will celebrate after the ride, but he does know he’ll be taking the following Monday off work to recover.

We really do appreciate the hard work and dedication that goes into these kinds of challenges and the determination Gary has to see it through and raise funds. If you’d like to donate visit his JustGiving page.

If you’d like to listen to his full update you can do so in the podcast below.