Jake saddling up for heart charity ride
Fitness instructor to cycle the length of the UK
FITNESS instructor Jake Dyer will saddle up on Sunday (August 27) to cycle the length of the UK in memory of his nana.
The 22-year-old, who works at Hinckley Leisure Centre, is to ride 967 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).
More than £4,000 has already been pledged in sponsorship on his dedicated JustGiving page.
The former John Cleveland College student worked as a lifeguard and duty manager at Hinckley Leisure Centre on Coventry Road and now at Argents Mead, before taking up a full time post in the gym at the new centre on April 3 this year, his granmother’s birthday.
He said: “Training has gone really well.
“I am now looking to try and reach £4,500 on the fundraising front and am also looking at running a marathon next year as a follow up to this event.”
He expects to take two cycling around 80 miles a day, spurred on by the memory of his grandma Eileen Dyer, who died on Boxing day 2009 aged 70.
She and her husband Tony Dyer, who were directors of Hinckley United Football Club, had watched their side win the winter bank holiday fixture before returning home to relax in front of the TV.
Jake, who had visited the couple on Christmas day, came home from a day out with a friend to find his Nana had died suddenly at home, due to a hidden heart defect.
Of the money he raises, £1,400 will cover costs of the trip and the rest will be donated to the BHF.
Bikes and Sports on Stockwell Head has donated cycling equipment to help him train while The Tin Hat pub on Trent Road has named BHF as its chosen charity of the year, keeping collecting tubs at the bar and sharing news of Jake’s fundraising venture on Facebook.
To support Jake’s Land’s End to John O’Groats ride for the British Heart Foundation visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/JakeDyer4 or follow on Facebook.