Pedal power is name of the game for duo
Two local fundraisers are gearing up for their most dangerous challenge to date.
Gerry Mclelland, of Netherton, and Brian Roy, from Carfin, have already conquered Mount Kilimanjaro in 2014 raising over £ 16,000 for St Andrew’s Hospice and skydiving from 10,000 feet last year in support of the Celtic Foundation.
This time around, the dynamic duo will take part in a six-day bike ride across the West Bank in Palestine to raise money for Medical Aid for Palestinians’ (MAP) projects.
So far over £2,600 has been raised on the pair’s Justgiving page with a fundraising night due to be held in St Luke’s, Glasgow on November 29.
Gerry said: “Thank you to everyone who has supported us so far.
“We have trained hard for the heat and distances involved but nothing will really prepare us for what we will experience in Palestine.”
Fitness fanatic Gerry has this year committed to running a marathon a month to raise awareness of mental health issues, and suicide in particular.
He has already run marathons this year in places like Barcelona, Milan, Helsinki, Dundee and Derry, with Munich, Budapest and Tenerife still to come.
Last Sunday, Gerry and Brian cycled 45 miles from Glasgow to Edinburgh, in preparation for the cycle in Palestine.
Brian, who recently left his role as General Secretary of Scottish Labour to focus on new challenges, said: “This will be our most difficult challenge yet, for a charity that does incredible work in often dangerous circumstances.
“The critical work MAP does in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank would not happen without the generosity of individual donations.”
The challenging ride will take place from September 15 to 23 and will cover over 240 kilometres, taking the cyclists from the northern most point of Palestine, Jenin, to the lowest point on earth the Dead Sea.
They will travel through the divided city of Hebron and finish in Jerusalem.
Along the way, the group will pass by the Separation Wall, and visit MAP’S mobile health clinic serving the threatened Bedouin communities in the Jordan Valley.
To donate to Brian and Gerry’s fundraising total visit https://www.justgiving.com/ fundraising/cyclepalestine2019