Nick Culley, senior managing consultant based at Pure’s Cambridge office, joined more than 26,000 amateur cyclists on the 100-mile charity bike ride. The closed-road event follows a similar route to that of the London 2012 Olympic Road Cycling Races, starting in Queen Elizabeth Park and through Surrey’s country roads, before a spectacular finish on The Mall in central London.
Nick, who lives near Downham Market, said: “It was an extremely tough challenge so I’m really pleased to have made it all the way around. My biggest concern was being able to make it up the hills. Coming from the Fens, I’m not used to cycling over that kind of landscape! The last hill was the worst as this was 95 miles into the ride, but the crowds were fantastic and really spurred everyone on. It was an amazing atmosphere as we cycled through The Mall and across the finish line.”
Sadly, the event was disrupted by the tragic death of one rider and by two other serious crashes. Organisers stopped cyclists along the route to deal with the incidents. Although Nick’s overall time was 8 hours and 35 minutes, his actual ride time was 6 hours and 28 minutes, beating his target of cycling the 100 miles in less than six and a half hours.
Nick has completed tough cycle challenges before, including a week-long 500-mile bike ride, but this was the first time he had cycled 100 miles in just one day. He added: “It was a day which I will never forget and, despite still feeling a little stiff, I would love the opportunity to do it again. I will be entering into the ballot to take part in 2017.”
The money Nick has raised will be donated to ARHC, one of Pure’s chosen charities to support. It is the county’s only adult hospice and supports people in Cambridgeshire who are living with a life-limiting illness. Nick set himself a target of raising £1,000 for the charity and has already exceeded this, with sponsorship still being collected.
To date, Pure had raised over £113,225.64 for charity. Like Nick, many of the team have gone to extreme lengths to raise funds for worthwhile causes. This year’s extreme charity missions have already included consultant Jen Little completing a 75km trek across the Sahara Desert in aid of ARHC and Mark Wishart taking on a Brutal Midnight Mountain Marathon, described as being harder than marine training, to raise money for Delete Blood Cancer UK.
To sponsor Nick, visit his Just Giving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Nick-Culley1
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