Thanks for visiting our team fundraising page.

969 miles from Swindon to Nice, Southern France, by cycle. In memory of one special dude. George Alexander Coogan Bright.

One day George, my little brother, as spontaneous as he was, decided that he was going to cycle with his friend Miles from Swindon, to Nice, Southern France. The fact that he had only owned a bike for a matter of a few months failed to deter him. Off they set. George with little more than a Sainsburys carrier bag containing clean pants, and a toothbrush. True to form they had a great time, and didn't get too far into France before Georges' knee hurt a little bit and he took that as his cue to abandon his trusted friend and return home. Miles followed shortly after. It wasn't a huge span of time after this, and George tragically died in sudden and very traumatic circumstances on May 29th 2014. He had just turned 24. His loss will be felt by those who knew him, for the rest of our lives. After his death his big brother, said he would like to finish what George started, and cycle to Nice. A few of his friends echoed this sentiment. That time has come.

A little bit about why Papaya has been chosen as the Charity. We do not know, and will almost certainly never know the exact circumstances surrounding the death of George. What we do know though, is that in the days immediately before his death, he was in some kind of emotional crisis. For whatever reason, George felt unable to talk to anyone about what he was going through. What happened could never have been anticipated and George had always been extremely happy, positive and had a huge number of friends and extended family that valued his friendship and loved him dearly. He led a simple existence and cared nothing for material belongings, or branded goods. (With the exception of his PS4). Despite this, whatever it was that troubled him, he felt unable to reach out for help. It's as likely as anything else, that George suffered a tragic, fatal fall from his hotel room. In any case, I personally feel that had he felt able to pick up the phone and reach out, he would not have been sitting alone with his thoughts in that room, instead, a much loved Son, Brother and Friend friend would be here with us now, eating Dominos (without onions) and sitting up until the early hours watching YouTube videos of kids falling over, or debates involving his hero, Christopher Hitchens. So the charity, Papyrus, work to show young people that there is help and support available. That even if you can't talk to your family or friends, there is always someone available to help.

The team name. George used to sign most of his greetings card 'G-Unit', it was his moniker. When he played ice hockey, to a decent standard, he always wore #22. 

Departure from Calais Port for Stage 1 will be in the last week of July 2016.

Remember: Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never share them with anyone or send you unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. They'll make sure Gift Aid (an additional 25%) is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer, too. That means more money goes to the charity, faster, with JustGiving.