Challenge will go ahead
SAIF Scotland President Mark Porteous was looking forward to the challenge of taking on the gruelling 166-mile charity cycle ride from Scotland to Harrogate to arrive in time for the SAIF AGM later this month.
He even bought a new Cannondale road bike in order to make the three-day journey a little bit less arduous, but all his plans all came to naught when he had an accident in late February while riding to work and broke his elbow.
However, his son Grant, who also works in the family firm based in Edinburgh, is taking Mark’s place in order to join SAIF President Paul Allcock and incoming Vice President Gary Staker on the charity bike challenge along the back roads through Northumberland, County Durham and into North Yorkshire.
Mark enjoys cycling and was excited about the challenge ahead of him. After recovering from a chest infection, which laid him low for a few weeks in January, he was keen to get on his new bike and catch up with his training schedule.
Mark explained: “In the past I’ve used a hybrid bike, which is a cross between a mountain bike and road bike, but these are a bit heavy going on long road trips. I did the 50-mile Glasgow to Edinburgh charity ride event last year and felt that for those distances I would need a proper lightweight road bike. The Cannondale is incredibly light – I can lift it with just two fingers.”
However, the big issue with the new bike was getting used to riding with ‘cleats’. These fix your cycling shoes to the pedals, enabling you to transfer more energy to the pedals during cycling. But if you can’t unclip yourself in time before you stop the bike, you are likely to come a cropper – and this, unfortunately, was what happed to Mark when he could not release his foot in time to steady himself at a stop in Edinburgh on his way to work.
He said: “I crashed right down on my elbow and I knew immediately that I’d done some serious damage as the pain was unbelievable. I got a taxi to the hospital and when I went for an X-ray the technician could tell I’d broken it by the way I was holding my arm. When I had to turn my arm around for the X-ray I nearly passed out with the pain.”
Gary, Paul and Grant will be joined on the road by David Fry and Lisa Platts from funeral supplies company Clarke & Strong, which is based in Coventry.
Providing essential backup in the support vehicle for punctures and blisters as well as moral support will be Arran Brudenell, Past President and Managing Director of Leicester-based Anstey & District Funeral Services.
The team is raising funds for MIND, the charity which provides advice and support to anyone experiencing a mental health problem. It also campaigns to improve services, raise awareness and promote understanding of mental health issues.
The plan is to head off from Berwick-upon-Tweed on Tuesday 21 March and cover the 60 miles to Ashington, just north of Newcastle, then, on Wednesday, cycle a similar distance to Stockton-on-Tees, just outside Middlesbrough. The final push will involve the 50 miles through North Yorkshire to Harrogate, to arrive on Thursday afternoon in order to rest up before the SAIF AGM on the Friday… and tell Mark all about their adventures!
If you would like to support the team’s fundraising for the charity MIND, please click here.
Tags: accident, AGM, bike, challenge, charity, cycle, Grant, Harrogate, Mark, Porteous, SAIF, Scotland, Scottish