Cyclist to ride 600 miles for charity

The cycling team - Chris Byrne, Dave Maskew, from Rochdale, Anthony Turner and Paul Carruthers

A Rochdale man is warming up for a mammoth 600 mile cycle from Blackpool to Paris to raise money for the NSPCC and Fanconi Hope.

David Maskew, 35, from Rochdale who works for Jex Engineering in Manchester is currently preparing to complete the gruelling challenge which involves cycling almost 600 miles in under seven days.

Starting out on 28 August, Mr Maskew will embark on the challenge with five other friends. The journey will begin at Blackpool Tower and follow terrain south, over the Pennines, down to Dover and then through northern France before hotfooting it into Paris, finishing when they reach the Eiffel Tower.

The riders hope their efforts will raise £30,000 which will be split between two charities, the NSPCC and Fanconi Hope.

Mr Maskew, said: “The Tower to Tower challenge will be a once in a lifetime opportunity and I’m really excited about the journey ahead. I’m proud to be raising money for two fantastic causes and it’s so brilliant to think that for each mile cycled, we will be raising money that will have a real impact on children’s lives.

NSPCC corporate fundraising manager, Adina Watt added: “It’s fantastic to see friends and colleagues coming together to take part in such a challenge to support the charity. We are extremely grateful to them for getting on their bike to help raise much needed funds that will make a real difference to the lives of local children and I wish them the best of luck with the bike challenge.”

The money raised will support the NSPCC’s Child’s Voice Appeal for the charity’s vital helpline services, ChildLine and the NSPCC Helpline. The NSPCC needs to expand these services to protect more children who may be too young, vulnerable or unable to speak out for themselves.

Fanconi Hope is a charity set up to sponsor research and support families affected by the rare genetic disorder Fanconi Anaemia that affects young children, leading to bone marrow failure and bone marrow transplantation, with very high subsequent risk of leukaemia and head & neck cancers.

Please support David and make a donation by visiting http://www.justgiving.com/letower2tower2010
You can also track his progress on the team’s blog at http://www.letower2tower.com