I am an enthusiastic Norfolk Wildlife Trust supporter who is cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats in June, and I have decided to fundraise for NWT while doing this epic ride. I turned 70 in December last year so I am treating this as my '70 miles per day at 70' challenge. The total distance is 1,040 miles, to be completed in 15 days. I took up cycling when I retired from being a professor at UEA and have since done quite a few long rides including the annual Norwich 100 cycle, but so far these have been one-day events. I also started doing triathlons at the same time and am currently membership secretary of the local triathlon club, Tri-Anglia, which has 650 members.
In my view NWT do vital and amazing work acquiring land and placing it under ecologically sound management for birds and other animals and plants. When my children were growing up we as a family made many weekend visits to NWT reserves and especially enjoyed outings to Cley Marshes. I am fundraising for NWT because of this protection of wild places in Norfolk – not just for now but for future generations.
Frank's route for the challenge
During the ride I will be keeping NWT updated on my progress. The ride starts on Saturday 3 June and ends on Sunday 17 June. Interestingly, the biggest hill climbing does not happen in Scotland as most people would expect, but in Cornwall where there are lots of ups and downs in the first two days, and on the eastern side of Cumbria where on the eighth day there is a cumulative ascent of 2,100 metres (nearly 7,000 feet). A following wind is of course helpful, which is why most people do the ride this way round in the hope of getting steady south-westerly winds behind them.
– Frank Ellis, Norwich
If you'd like to donate, you can visit Frank's JustGiving page or use TextGiving to send a text message with the words 'LDJG47 £5' to 70070. This will work for small donations of £1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10.