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On 30th April, 5 cyclists are due to set off from Blackpool Tower with the aim of making it to Le Eiffel Tower, a mere 5 days later. This mammoth challenge, especially as some have done very little riding in the past, is being undertake for the charity Winston’s Wish.
This will be a very poignant challenge for one of the riders, Craig Budsworth of True Solicitors, the immediate past chairman of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society. The reason is that Winston’s Wish has become very close to his heart after helping his friends cope with the loss of their 2 year old daughter, Natasha, in a road accident. In Craig’s own words “Our challenge will be taking place almost 12 months to the day since Tasha died in an accident when her Mum was driving along the road and a minibus, being driven by a man who had only been in the country for a week, turned right into the path of their vehicle. Tasha’s twin sister and her Mum, were also injured in the accident. In over two decades of helping people who have been involved in road traffic accidents, this does not prepare you for the loss of a child who was like a niece to me and we all desperately miss her cheeky ways and loving nature. When something as devastating as this happens, you struggle to see any light at the end of the tunnel but Winston’s Wish have been there to help Tasha’s parents, her twin and her other siblings, come to terms with that loss. There are times when I know that they have only been able to continue to function because of the support of this wonderful charity.”
Paul Jackson, the organiser of the event, was only too happy to adopt Winston’s Wish as the team’s charity. Paul said “We work in conjunction with Craig’s firm at Accident Exchange, specialising in providing accident management services and replacement cars following an accident, and know his reputation for undertaking challenging charity bike rides and so I knew he’d be up for this event. When I then heard Tasha’s story I looked more into Winston’s Wish and heard about the wonderful work they do for families. Before hearing about Tasha, I had planned to ride for Help the Heroes and to then see how the 2 charities work in conjunction with each other meant we all knew that Winston’s Wish was the best charity we could ride for. Having that kind of knowledge will get us all through the 507 miles in 5 days, well that and plenty of chamois cream!”
The other riders, Dave Perkins, Chris Thompson and Phil Gilbert are all starting their training now, but with a little over 3 months to go, they all know that this is one challenge that will be tough to complete. They will be safe in the knowledge that they'll have support
