Last year a friend of mine, Neil Polson (AKA Neilly Boy) tragically passed away, merely in his late 30s, whilst on holiday. At the funeral I agreed to participate in a challenge this year; Ride the C2C (approx 140 miles over the Penines) in 2 days followed by the Great North Run on day 3.
When people pass on it's common for people to say they were a lovely guy or girl but this dilutes the sentiment making it very difficult to emphasise just how lovely the exceptional ones really are. I hadn't spoke to Neil for many years but the news of his death truly rocked me. He was infectiously friendly, witty and charming and it was an absolute pleasure to be around him.
Alongside the insane challenge that we will be embarking upon in a few days time there is also a small matter of building a mountain bike trail in Neil's name. Work has started on this already in Hamsterley Forest and the overall cost is likely to be circa 40K (not including countless, volunteer build hours). We all get badgered for donations on an almost daily basis but wouldn't it be nice to have contributed to an actual, tangible thing? Something you can go and check out yourself in Hamsterley Forest, and even use?! Therefore, if you can just spare as little as a single pound that would be hugely appreciated! A pound is a packet of crisps from a vending machine these days. However, if you are a fan of Dr. Evil and donate "one million dollars!" that would be great also.
This isn't a 10k fun run, or a sit in a cold bath for 1 minute challenge, this is something that is going to be EXTREMELY painful. I shattered my L1 vertebrae and heel a few years back, and 3 serious operations later, and after a whole lot of pain and discomfort, I'm being faced with something way over and above what I thought would be possible! It'll be 3 days of horror (particularly day 3 as I've only managed a hand handful of training runs at 3-4 miles a shot - and that's not after 140 miles in the saddle!)
PLEASE DONATE!
