Loughborough friends cycle to Mallorca for Rainbows

Four friends are cycling over 1,000 miles from to raise money for Rainbows.

Lisa Shuttlewood (50), Michael Gould (51), of Loughborough, and Donna Adlam (50) and George Cowan (70), of Mallorca, will start the trek on May 14 for 11 days.

As well as clocking up the miles, the friends will be climbing many hills, including the Pyrenees mountain range. In total they will reach an elevation of 52,000 feet, which is almost twice the height of Mount Everest.

Not only are they putting in the miles, the challenge will be made even trickier as the friends do not have a support vehicle – meaning they will need to carry all of their possessions and spare parts themselves.

Lisa said: “I live in Loughborough, not far from Rainbows, so I know what an important place it is and how much it means to so many families. I wanted to do something special for Rainbows. This may sound a tough challenge but in comparison to the work that the staff at Rainbows do, it pales into insignificance.

“This will be a real challenge for all of us. We are strong cyclists, but we are really pushing our boundaries and because we want to raise as much as we can for Rainbows, it gives us more of an added purpose.

“Because we are self-supported, we will be carrying everything on our bikes, or on ourselves. Usually a trek like this would have a support vehicle to carry all of the essentials but we will have all of our spares, like inner tubes and chains, and tools and clothes and energy food etc. If one of our bikes breaks down in the middle of France, then we have to fix it there and then.”

Gary Farnfield, Rainbows Community Fundraiser, added: “This sounds like an epic challenge and we would like to thank the team for supporting of us. We need the support of our fundraisers to help us to continue to brighten short lives. We wish them all the best with their incredible journey.”

To support the team, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/lisa-shuttlewood2