Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Earlier this year I lost one of my best friends. His loss is felt not just by his family and friends, but it will be felt throughout the community. If you’ve lived in the Vale of the White Horse in the last 50 years and Roddy Benson didn’t raise funds for one of your charities, he probably took money off you for one of his. You may not have realised this was happening, as he organised or assisted at events too many to list – and how he loved to do it dressed as a duck, a bear and especially Santa! He is, officially, a Community Hero.

Roddy’s indefatigable desire to challenge himself and do something good for others has always been inspiring. To mark his 60th birthday, Roddy climbed Kilimanjaro, raising large amounts of sponsorship at the same time, of course. He announced afterwards that his next challenge would be to cycle from Lands End to John O’Groats – despite not owning a bike or having ridden one for several decades! And he would have done it too, had he not been taken from us far too soon. Although a keen cyclist, it’s not a challenge I necessarily wanted to undertake, but for Roddy, I shall.

At the end of July I will be setting off from Lands End with
a 14-day itinerary that I anticipate will get me to John O’Groats. I’ll have my riding companion, Becky, with me and we’ll be supported by the ever-patient Pete, Luna, Biscuit and Dougal (the motorhome!). In discussion with the Benson family, our chosen charity is Maggies.

Please sponsor me if you can to help this amazing charity. I’m
not the world’s fittest, fastest or most competent cyclist – it will be a proper challenge!

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.