Set for an epic journey

TWO cyclists are ready for the off on an epic journey from Yorkshire to the Costa del Sol to raise funds for Tomas Leighton.

Today (Sunday September 21st) amateur cyclists, Paul Kearns and Steve Tindall will set off on the ride from Baildon, West Yorkshire to finish at the Euro Weekly News head office in Arroyo de la Miel, Malaga. Speaking to the Euro Weekly News Paul explained that he had known Tomas’ father Jon for years and wanted to help raise money for the little boy’s care. And John thought it a great idea to finish at the Euro Weekly News’ offices “because of all the support you have given us over the years.”

Tomas, who lives on the Costa del Sol, has Cerebral Palsy, blindness, epilepsy and global learning difficulties, each of which needs specialist attention to help him progress physically and intellectually and give him the best possible quality of life.

Paul and Steve will have pedalled a distance of around 2,000 miles by the time they finish, the finish date planned for is October 17.

The ride is to raise cash for two charities. The first is for Tomas and the other  is for Breakthrough Breast Cancer. 

Just the first stage of their route through England is daunting enough – 300 miles just to get a ferry to cross the Channel to France. Once on foreign soil they will take a route through Normandy towards Alencon, Le Mans, Tours and Limoges. They will then turn further south through the Dordogne region towards Cahors and Toulouse.

Once in Spain they will head down the East coast, passing through Figeures, Lloret De Mar, Barcelona, Benidorm, Alicante, Malaga and finally into Benalmadena.

For the duo it is the second time they have embarked on a marathon bike challenge.

In their first they raised £12,000 (€15,260) by cycling the 1,067 miles from Lands End to John O’Groats in 13 days.

You can find out more on their Facebook page From Rain To Spain and their website www.fromraintospain.org.uk.