On Sept 12th myself, a friend of mine Stuart Carpenter and my father in law ‘Nonno Pippo’ will cycle from London to Paris, we hope to complete this in 24hrs.

During last winter we had an idea to cycle to from London to Paris in 24 hours for a total distance of 270 Kilometres. To make it more challenging I will cycle with my foldable bike a Dahon Vitesse with 20 inches wheel.

We are cycling to support two excellent charities: Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation and Prostate Cancer UK.

Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation

I will let Stuart explain more:

“In 2005 a friend of mine Dave Waterman lost his six year old boy to a rare form of cancer called Rhabdomysarcoma. In 2002 after many doctors and hospital visits and not getting any answers finally an answer came which no one could prepare themselves for. Oakley was diagnosed with Rhabdomysarcoma when a tumor was found in his pelvis. After an operation, chemotherapy and radiotherapy he was remission. However, eventually the tumor had returned. In 2005 the tumor was found to be inoperable and the foundation was established to fulfil Oakley's wish to stay at Church Farm and for other children to benefit from spending time there.

The Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation was started by parents Dave and Lorraine Waterman from Gosport shortly before Oakley passed away. It was while enjoying precious time together staying in a caravan at Church Farm Holiday Village at Pagham near Chichester that Oakley announced his wish.

He wished that they could purchase a caravan at Church Farm, which he loved so much, so it could also be used by other children, who are suffering with similar life threatening illnesses. Enabling them to enjoy time away from the normal daily routine and hospital scene, to enjoy have a short break with entertainment for the family. So the parents agreed to their sons only wish and with the help of some friends a caravan was purchased at the site in 2005. In 2007 a second caravan was purchased at another Haven site overlooking the sea at Devon Cliffs near Exeter.”

Dave Waterman, ex Portsmouth FC player who has since retired from his football career says “Running the foundation has helped a difficult situation. It gives you a warm glow to think there are so many kind-hearted people out there. Oakley would be so proud of everybody who has helped us.”

The Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation is able to offer flexible respite opportunities to children and their families suffering with life-threatening illnesses to help create memories to cherish. But to keep Oakley's legacy going we need to keep on raising funds to keep the caravans and pay for their upkeep which is £20.000 per year! In addition to this every ten years the vans need to be replaced to maintain the high quality that the families deserve.

Prostate Cancer UK

I, as SaddleDrunk Founder, will raise money for one of the most worrying cancers for men.

Over 10,000 men in the UK die of prostate cancer every year – that’s a strike rate of one man every hour. And a big part of the problem is that too few men know their risk.

It’s not just about the men who die of prostate cancer. 250,000 men in the UK are living with the disease – and are left to cope with impotence, incontinence and infertility.

The statistics are against us:

1 in 8 men will get it, rising to 1 in 4 amongst black men.
Set to be bigger than lung, bowel or breast cancer by 2030.
83% of men at increased risk of prostate cancer are not aware of the danger, and neither are their partners and families.

We need every man across the country to know their risk, know the symptoms, and know what to do. That’s why we’ve formed a new team – Men United v Prostate Cancer.

The money raised will help men living with the impact of prostate cancer every day – helping men realize they are not alone, providing care and information, and getting them through the day-to-day struggle that a cancer diagnosis brings.

Please support us

The London to Paris bike ride will provide an opportunity to raise awareness and much needed funds to those great causes. A big thank you to anyone who can support our ride and donate !!

We also want to say a big thank you to our supporters enabling us to do this ride which are Dahon, SaddleDrunk, Biotex, Lezyne, WTB, Freedom, Victoria Velotour, IdeArt.

You can donate here:

To support Stuart and Oakley Waterman Caravan Foundation:

DONATE ONLINE at: www.justgiving.com/stu-carpenter/.

or

DONATE by texting CARP51 and the amount (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to: 70070

To support Stefano and Prostate Cancer UK:

DONATE ONLINE at: https://www.justgiving.com/SaddleDrunk

or

DONATE by texting SADR88 and the amount (£1, £2, £3, £4, £5 or £10) to: 70070

Thank you SD team.