Veterans get pedalling for charities
Duo set to ride length of France for good cause
VETERAN cyclists are riding the length of France in support of two charities close to home.
Tony Wallis, 73, and Tony Thomas, 72, who are friends from Hinckley United Reformed Church, expect to take two weeks to cycle from St Malo on the English Channel to Narbonne on the Mediterranean.
They were due to set off today Wednesday May 10.
Retired electrical engineer Mr Thomas has set up a web page to track their progress and the pair will be blogging and skyping en route.
Each is aiming to raise at least £500 to be shared between Hinckley Homeless Group, which runs Hinckley’s Lawrence House hostel for homeless young people, and Systonbased charity Inter Care, which provides medical aid to Africa.
The ride will be particularly poignant for Mr Wallis, who took up cycling “seriously” after retiring as a science teacher at St Martin’s School in Stoke Golding.
Diagnosed with kidney cancer in 2011, which led to the removal of his right kidney and half of his left kidney, he was unable to ride for many months and is now under medical instruction not to exceed 50 miles a day and to keep well hydrated.
He said: “We cycled from Land’s End to John O’ Groats in 2013 and have done other coast to coast and long-distance rides together and separately.
“We’ve both been in France for holidays and spotted a cross-country route in a new publication by Cycling UK.
“We adjusted it to reduce the number of climbs and are giving ourselves a couple of half days to do some touristy things.
“We reckon it will take about a fortnight.”
The pair plan to return on May 28.
To follow their route go to www.thomas-times. co.uk and click on the highlighted links.
Donations to Hinckley Homeless Group can be made at mydonate. bt.com/fundraisers/tony- wallistonythomas and donations to Inter Care at give.everydayhero.com/ uk/two-tonys-cycling-stmalo-to-narbonne