Home care software firm chief, David Lynes, is cycling as far as he can in 48 hours to raise £10,000 for The Care Workers’ Charity.
The Unique IQ CEO is taking part in an epic two-day cycling event, where he has to peddle solo and unsupported, covering as much distance as he can in a 48 hour period, starting at 6pm on Friday 19th May.
The reigning champion of the event, now in its second year, David cycled 747km last year to take the crown, starting in the Scottish Highlands and finishing at Salisbury Cathedral, raising £2,000 for The Care Workers’ Charity. This year he is hoping to beat both of those records.
David said: “I’m excited to embark on my next crazy cycling challenge. I’m known for being competitive, so I’m definitely out to win the challenge again and make a substantial contribution to The Care Workers’ Charity. We smashed our £2,000 target last year, and now we’re looking to get support from far and wide to support this fantastic charity.”
David continued: “The Care Workers’ Charity is doing a great job supporting carers and raising the profile of care workers, both in and out of the care sector. That’s really pertinent to the work we do within home care technology here at Unique IQ, so it felt like a relevant and worthwhile cause.”
To help him reach his £10,000 target, David has called on his business community to sponsor him. David has already secured his first ‘’gold’ sponsor – AVERio, fall detection and monitoring software that observes the health and wellbeing of vulnerable people, non-intrusively 24/7.
Phil Neilson, CEO at AVERio said: “Having been captivated by David achieving the win last year, we couldn’t help but offer our support for his mammoth attempt this year. It’s a gruelling challenge that will no doubt test David to the limit both mentally and physically, but the AVERio team knows how determined he is and we’re sure he’ll absolutely smash it.”
A limited number of sponsorship packages are still available by emailing David directly. Donations are also welcomed via David’s fundraising page: https://thecareworkerscharity.enthuse.com/pf/david-lynes-cycle-2023
It couldn’t come at a better time. The Care Workers’ Charity has recently issued an urgent appeal for help, asking supporters to ‘step up’ and raise £100,000 before the end of May. This has come in the wake of a U-turn from government on workforce development funding for care, and reform which takes away support for wellbeing.
The Care Workers’ Charity was set-up in 2009 to support care workers in periods of financial crisis, and has since found its support in ever-increasing demand. The charity’s current programmes provide hardship funds, mental health support and training to care workers in need, with the average grant being £500.
CEO of The Care Workers’ Charity, Karolina Gerlich, said: “We are grateful to David for his kindness and for choosing to cycle for us for the second year running. It is a huge challenge to take on a 48-hour bike ride and we wish him all the best and hopefully great weather.
“It’s people like David and their fundraising efforts that keep our charity going and enable us to keep supporting care workers in their hour of need. We hope that David’s challenge will inspire more people in the sector to take on their own challenges to fundraise for us to support us in supporting amazing care workers that deliver great care every day.
“£10,000 is an amazing target, we hope that David will smash it and we will be cheering him on as he cycles. Thank you again for doing this for The Care Workers’ Charity and care workers.”
The 48-hour cycle challenge is a unique endurance challenge that combines speed, endurance and strategy. The challenge was conceived by David’s friend and fellow cyclist Paul Berney of connected care platform Anthropos, who had the idea when he bought a new Bianchi bike from Milan in 2018 and decided to ride it home to London. It made him think – just how far could you ride in 48 hours?
In the challenge, riders must cycle as far as they can in 48 hours – with distances judged as the crow flies. Taking a ferry is permitted (because the length of the UK might not be far enough!) but no other forms of public transport can be used. Any distance travelled by ferry will be subtracted from the final figure. Riders must be unsupported, carrying whatever they need with them or buying it along the way.
To find out more about the challenge and how to donate, visit: https://www.uniqueiq.co.uk/cycle-challenge-2023/
