A couple from Norfolk have embarked on ambitious challenge to cycle around the coastline of England, Scotland and Wales in a bid to raise thousands for charity.
On July 4, Julia Gooch and Lyndon Tunmore from Bergh Apton in south Norfolk set off on a gruelling 5,000 mile trip to cycle the entire length of mainland Britain’s coastline.
The couple will carry all of their kit, including their camping equipment, on their bikes in panniers while they pedal and estimate the trip will take more than four months to complete.
During the course of the challenege, Ms Gooch and Mr Tunmore, who are both in their 50s, are aiming to raise £5,000 for the Priscilla Bacon Lodge Hospice Appeal, which aims to build a new specialist 24-bed hospice for Norfolk.
The couple have been inspired to take on the challenge by their friends Graham Wilson and Lyn Took, who both received care at the Priscilla Bacon Hospice in Norwich in 2019.
Ms Gooch said before their deaths, Mr Wilson and Ms Took had encouraged them to take on a big adventure, she said; “Lyndon and I met in 2017 whilst both cycling in a local group. We had taken part in various long-distance cycling sportives, but we wanted to take on a big adventure.
“Our ideas were encouraged and fuelled by our dear friends Graham Wilson and Lyn Took, a couple in their early 70s who had enjoyed many years of outdoor adventures. They shared their stories with us, over evenings of wine and photographs, and urged us ‘not to wait’ and to ‘do it now, whilst you still can’.”
“Now that we have the opportunity to undertake this journey, we hear their advice ringing in our ears. ‘Carpe diem’, seize the day! “Never has this been more relevant, as we do not know what challenges are around the corner and feel we owe it to Graham and Lyn to ride around the coastline and raise money to build the new Priscilla Bacon Hospice.”
To sponsor Julia and Lyndon visit: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Wewillride5000miles
• The Priscilla Bacon Hospice Appeal has recently also received the support of the Norfolk Freemasons, which has chosen the appeal as its named charity to support in 2020.
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