After three days of hard riding, Lesley Willstrop's three
sons and their entourage made it to a very windy Tynemouth
on England's North-East coast to complete their "Coast to
Coast" pedal from Whitehaven on the Cumbrian West coast.
"The
first day was brutal," admitted world number four James
Willstrop, "we went for a longer stint on that day and the
weather and terrain were pretty tough."
Willstrop and his friend from their schooldays Nathan had
apparently been at the back of the pack for the whole of the
three days, but somehow contrived to reach the finishing
post at the mouth of the River Tyne some minutes ahead of
the rest.
"I
can't believe it," said organiser David Campion as he
trailed home in the peloton.
"Not that it was a race, but after 150 miles we somehow
managed to take a wrong turning and James sneaked past us!
"But it's been a good journey, we had a few moments on that
first day but after that we'd broken the back of it, the
weather perked up and everyone enjoyed it.
"As a group we've raised over £12,000 for the charities, so
it's definitely been worth doing."
After dipping their wheels in the North Sea the party were
last seen heading for Tynemouth's Rock of Gibraltar pub ...
The Lesley Willstrop doubles tournament, which has
raised close to £25,000 for various charities, will take
place for the fourth time in September 2011, and in addition
to this year's event Lesley's three sons, World no 4 squash
player James Willstrop, England Coach David
Campion and Lee Campion will be attempting to
ride together from Whitehaven to Tynemouth, coast to coast,
setting a target of 50 miles of undulating terrain on each
of three days.
They will be raising money for two charities based in
Yorkshire, Candlelighters, who support children with
cancer in Leeds, and 'HER breast friend', a Hull
based charity who support women in dealing with breast
cancer.
The three brothers will be backed by the former World
women's champion, Vanessa Atkinson, a keen mountain
biking enthusiast, Sarah Kippax the World No.18,
Simon Parke, former World No.3 and a ten man support
group of friends from the Queens Sports Club and Pontefract
clubs in Yorkshire.
Willstrop looked ahead to the event, scheduled to run from
May 30th to June 1st:
"We
know that 50 miles a day doesn't sound much, but even though
my livelihood depends on a certain level of athleticism, I
am under no illusions: cycling is a far different stress
than squash. The saddle soreness for a start will be
excruciating for someone who rarely cycles! The whole team
will have to train very hard for this, and the non athletes
will need a lot of encouragement. I am pleased to have a
long summer with few squash events, allowing me the time to
have a go at this."
David, who has been the driving force in adding the bike
ride to the fund-raising activities also added that they had
been keen to raise money for worthwhile local institutions:
"We
are thrilled to be going for this in honour of these two
fantastic charities, as well as in mum's honour. It means a
lot to us to have a direct impact at a local level as
opposed to the mainstream agencies. We have been in touch
with both charities, and we hope to build a relationship
with them."
Oldest brother Lee, who has been instrumental in gaining
some solid financial support already is proud of the legacy
they have built for Lesley:
"We know how difficult it is for cancer patients and their
families, and we are so pleased something positive has come
from our mum's death to ovarian cancer in 2000."
The public have a chance to get behind the team and their
efforts; should anyone wish to contribute online, please
visit:
"We
know that 50 miles a day doesn't sound much, but even though
my livelihood depends on a certain level of athleticism, I
am under no illusions: cycling is a far different stress
than squash. The saddle soreness for a start will be
excruciating for someone who rarely cycles! The whole team
will have to train very hard for this, and the non athletes
will need a lot of encouragement. I am pleased to have a
long summer with few squash events, allowing me the time to
have a go at this."
