SMB’s Wheel Make a Difference charity ride to Amsterdam raises over £7,000

Following last week’s news, the SMB cyclists who rode from London to Amsterdam have raised over £7,000. Bradley, Damien, Imogen, James, Mark, Martin, Nikki and Prasan cycled 298 miles across four days and four countries, sustaining three punctures and enjoying two trips to a bike mechanic. They were supported by SMB’s Head of IT Marco Cura, and his son Caleb.

The team were prolific in keeping the JustGiving fundraising page updated throughout their trip, as the sponsorship total steadily rose.

Prasan Modasia has written this account of the trip:

“Day one was an early start, setting off from the office on Newman Street and ending up in Dover. The route took the team through Greenwich, Rochester, Ashford and the Kent Downs (ironically named given this was the steepest part of the route). James kindly hosted us at his house in Rochester where we fuelled up on delicious chocolate cake and flapjacks. It was a tough first day: 92 miles cycled in 7 ½ hours.

Day two started with a puncture, but the team made it to the ferry and after a short trip across the channel, they landed in Dunkirk. The sun was shining, and the team kept a good pace. After a quick lunch they pushed on and finished for the day in a pretty town called Sluis. Legs were starting to ache, but there were smiles all round! The team cycled 66 miles on day two and deserved a well-earned break.

We had a wet start on day three but the team pressed on and enjoyed the sights of waterways, hydroelectric bridges and farmland. It was another long day, with some of the team arriving at the end stop, Delft, at 9.30pm! 87 miles cycled in total.

Day four was the final stretch to Amsterdam and the team used everything in their reserves to push straight on to the city centre. We celebrated with dinner in the sunshine, happy to finally be out of our cycling gear! The final day was 58 miles long, with beautiful coastline views.”

All money raised by the team will be going directly to Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), who work to prevent male suicide, the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK.  We would like to congratulate the team on an amazing effort and thank everyone who sponsored and supported them.

You can still donate via the team’s JustGiving page until the end of June. We will post the final total on our Twitter page.+