Cyclist heading to Wales, Italy and the US, to help Inspire

Last year, 51-year-old cyclist and philanthropist Hilary GaleaLauri raised more than €14,000 for Inspire because he believes that life regenerates itself by giving back to it part of what one receives.

In August of last year, Hilary embarked on a 12-day, 1,600km cycle from Land’s End to John o’Groats (LEJOG). The distance is the traversal of the whole length of Great Britain between two extremities: the south-west and north-east.

The money was used to sustain disability programmes and services for children, adults and their families. Inspire helps over 1,000 people with disabilities, including Down’s syndrome and autism. This is either done for free or at a highly subsidised rate.

Next year, Hilary, who is a partner at KPMG, plans an epic ride down the Western US seaboard from the Canadian to the Mexican border. Starting in Seattle and averaging around 100km a day, Hilary will travel the length of the United States (over 2,500km) in four weeks along some of the world’s most scenic coastline to the palm-lined beaches at the Mexican border. Once again, Hilary will be fundraising for Inspire. “Over the years I’ve seen what the Inspire Foundation does for people with disabilities, how it helps people reach their potential and how it empowers families and individuals struggling with disabilities, so doing this in order to help out felt like the natural thing to do,” explained Hilary.

In preparation for his ambitious ride in the USA, yesterday Hilary cycled across Wales in one single day. Covering a total of 300km, the ride included some impressive hills, taking the cyclist through the picturesque town of Caernarfon to Chepstow, through Llanberis and Gospel Pass. The ride was not the easiest on the calendar but its aim was to prepare Hilary for next year’s challenge.

Also in preparation for next year's US challenge, later on in September, Hilary will be using his annual vacation entitlement to cycle the length of Italy to Malta, this time covering no less than 1,500km in nine days.

“It is thanks to people like Hilary, who use their personal passion to help a good cause that organisations like Inspire can survive and thrive. Without the help of individuals like him, it would be very difficult, if not impossible for Inspire to raise enough funds to keep reaching out to so many people that need its help,” explained Antonello Gauci, CEO at Inspire.