End to End Appeal

Hi all,

My name is Luke Matthews. I am a serving Firefighter with Avon Fire & Rescue.

During lockdown I have lost one of my close friends to a mental health illness. He was a superb ambassador for fitness, fundraising and our Armed Forces. He sadly passed away only days before embarking on a 100 mile run race in aid of Samaritans.

In his memory, to raise awareness of mental health and to support both The Samaritans and The Firefighters Charity, I am aiming to ride from John O’Groats to Lands End. This will be a solo venture (and support vehicle should funds allow) whereby I will ride an average of 120 miles a day over 8 days.

I write this with the hope of gaining your support along the way. This is a spur of the moment idea and with that in mind I have only 6 weeks to organise, train and fundraise - set to depart 27/08/20.

My aim is to raise £2500.

£1000 of this will cover the cost of a van, insurance, fuel and campsites for each evening. The remainder will be split equally between The Samaritans and The Firefighters Charity.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this and for making a donation towards what I hope you will agree are very poignant and underfunded causes.

Special thanks go to;
• Samaritans & The Fire Fighters Charity for their outstanding commitment to mental health and protecting our communities
• My Avon Fire & Rescue colleagues for providing fundraising support & advice.
• Amity cycles for servicing my steed pre & post event 

• Altura  for their overwhelming generosity in donating all my clothing & cycle storage
• Certini who have pledged mechanical equipment & nutrition
•Robin Cox for using is annual leave to captain the support vehicle 
• My wonderful pregnant wife who is allowing me to disappear for 8 days in Lycra.

Mental health is not always visible. Let’s fight this together!

 #Alturacycling #Alturarider #Allseasonrider  #Amitycycles #AFRS #Certini #TeamSamaritans #FireFamilChallenge #MentalHealthAwareness #TriedTestedTrusted