‘On your bike’… or should we say ‘On your Penny Farthing’
EWS are proud to be teaming up with military veteran and fundraising whizz, Dean Williams, to support the ‘Tour De Borders’ challenge. For the fundraiser Dean, along with 5 wounded veterans, will cycle a coast-to-coast route through Northern England and Southern Scotland, totalling an impressive 320 miles!
The full journey will be completed by the team within 1 week between 25th June to 2nd July, in an effort to raise money for a great cause – Help For Heroes.
As signatories to The Armed Forces Covenant, EWS actively supports the work that Help For Heroes carries out, and the care that is available for our military personnel.
Managing Director, Richard (Eddie) Edwards says: “Here at EWS, many of our staff have served full careers in the Armed Forces, and therefore have witnessed first-hand the trauma and harm that is inflicted on our military every single day. We hugely admire Dean’s enthusiasm, dedication, and passion in ensuring this amazing charity can continue to offer their support. EWS applaud the ‘Tour De Borders’ team for not letting the pandemic stand in their way of fundraising, and I take my hat off to the veterans for the challenge that they are about to tackle.”
About the ‘Tour De Borders’
The starting block for the tour will be the Northumbrian town of Tynemouth, from here the team will head north along the coast to Berwick-upon Tweed. The veterans will then head west, crossing over the border and traveling through southern Scotland. They will then make their way down to Carlisle, before finally cycling back to Tynemouth to finish the challenge. Phew!
The veterans will use a mix of bikes, with three of them taking to the road on recumbent bikes due to their injuries, two using normal road bikes and Dean opting for a very unusual mode of transport…a Penny Farthing. Consisting of two completely different sized wheels, a bright orange frame and no form of gears, we are sure the Penny will trigger plenty of attention on the road.
Dean says: “I am absolutely thrilled that a business such as EWS has chosen to support the challenge! I know the past year has been very difficult for small businesses, so to receive this backing from EWS is incredible. Their generous donation will go a long way in ensuring wounded veterans and their families get every bit of support they need.”
The ‘Tour De Borders’ challenge was originally developed to take the place of the ‘Big Battlefield Bike Ride’ that was unfortunately postponed due to COVID restrictions. This challenge will now take place next year when the cyclists will ride through Belgium and France, visiting historical battlefields and war memorials on the way.
Unfortunately, 2020 was a tough year for a lot of people, but despite the issues caused by the pandemic, Help For Heroes continued to carry out their crucial work, sticking to their firm goal of not stopping until every wounded veteran gets the support they deserve. Whilst offering physical, psychological, financial and welfare support, Help For Heroes continues to play a huge part in bettering the health, wellbeing and livelihoods of the people who bravely serve our country.
EWS would like to say a huge thank you to Dean for visiting us at our Headquarters in Long Bennington. Dean seemed to make quite an impression at the business park when he kindly agreed to let EWS’ Managing Director and Business Manager have a go on the Penny!
Everybody at EWS wishes Dean and his team the best of luck, and we look forward to following them on their journey.
If you would like to kindly sponsor the cyclists, please follow the link below;
Dean Williams is fundraising for Help for Heroes (justgiving.com)
(Background Music: – ‘Vacation’ by Free Music: – Free Music | Free Listening on SoundCloud)
