Sharp Business Systems UK’s Product Marketing Manager, Julian Hodges, completed the Blazing Saddles cycling challenge from Oldham to the Rock of Gibraltar, raising more than £32,000 ($40,650/€35,720) for charity.
Newsroom reports that the challenge took place over fifteen days last month, and Hodges and his team-mates covered almost 1,700 miles (an average of 115 miles per day), climbing 100,000 feet.
The course took the crew from Oldham, in the North of England, down to Portsmouth, before taking in the French countryside, the Pyrenees, the Spanish hinterlands, and finally, the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar, where they were welcomed by the Governor and the local fire service.
The journey also paused at the French port of Le Havre, to pay respects at the graves of the ‘Oldham Pals’ battalion that fought in the First World War, in the centenary year of the Armistice.
“I’ve always tried to stay active by cycling or running, but the last 9 months has been all about Blazing Saddles, and preparing mentally to be away from my wife Rachael and the kids,” explained Hodges. “The whole thing was hard, but the biggest trial for me was getting across the Sierra Nevada in Spain. We clocked the heat at over 42 degrees one day, it was like a desert, I think a couple of the guys were on the verge of collapsing!”
Asked for his highlights of the trip, Hodges commented that “getting up and through the Pyrenees was amazing,” saying that “it felt like I was part of the Tour de France!”
“The route had some of the most beautiful scenery I’ve ever seen,” he continued. “There were stunning sunflower fields in France, central Spain was like the wild west, and the Pyrenees was full of breath-taking rocky gorges, a true once in a lifetime trip.”
The money raised by the cyclists will be split between Cyclists Fighting Cancer, mental health charity MIND, the Fire Fighter Charity, and neonatal charity SANDS.
“At Sharp we have always been advocates of initiatives like this that support local and national communities,” said the OEM’s HR Manager, Sarah Coates. “I’m so proud of Julian for really embracing that ethos and putting his all into this cycle. He’s raised a phenomenal amount of money for charity and should be delighted with his performance!”
To add your own donation the Hodges’ team’s total, click here.
