Alex Harbour, from Crowborough, has set himself the gruelling challenge of cycling from London to Paris in 24 hours next month in aid of international charity Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF.)
The 31-year-old will start his first London to Paris ride on Thursday, July 2.He is taking part in the event in memory of his father, Karel Harbour, who died of meningitis last year while on holiday in Mexico. Alex will be completing the challenge with Martin East, Simon Relf, Scott Sargeant, Fred Simpson and John Adams from Wealden Cycle Club, and together they hope to raise £4,000.
Alex, who is the aftersales manager for SLM Vauxhall Tunbridge Wells, said: “We are completing a 260 mile ride that is normally undertaken over three to four days. We aim to complete this in 24 hours including our ferry crossing. We expect to burn as many calories as completing four marathons. This attempt would not be possible without the support of Wealden Cycle Club, Wealden Cycles and our support driver Robert Abraham.”
If you want to sponsor Alex you can visit his JustGiving Page at: www.justgiving.com/london2parisin24hours
Chris Head, chief executive at Meningitis Research Foundation said: “We are extremely grateful to Alex for cycling from London to Paris in July on our behalf. As he is sadly aware meningitis and septicaemia are deadly diseases which can strike without warning, killing in hours. We rely on voluntary donations to fund our vital work into the prevention, detection and treatment of the diseases and support those affected, so every penny he raises by cycling will make a huge difference to the charity.”
On March 29 Meningitis Research Foundation (MRF) supporters across the UK celebrated news that a long awaited and hard campaigned for vaccine against meningococcal meningitis type B (MenB), one of the most feared and deadly forms of the disease, will be offered to babies for free under the NHS. However, they are still concerned there is no catch-up campaign for toddlers and no recommendation for teenagers, the second highest ‘at risk’ group, to be routinely vaccinated. Vaccinating this age group has the potential to protect the wider population because they are key to transmission andspread.
To run or fundraise for for MRF in 2015 ring: 01454 281814 or visit: http://www.meningitis.org/get-involved
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