Two Sheffield men plan their second charity cycle with the aim of beating their last time of 17 hours and raising more money for their charities.
Markie Gebbie, 54 and Glenn Cutts, 64 previously cycled 195 miles from Worksop (Sheffield) to Ecclefechen (Scotland) in 17 hours and raised £2000 for charity. This year they are planning another charity cycle in the hope of raising more money and completing it in a shorter period of time.
Mark Gebbie said: “We are trying to beat personal times so that is what I am trying to concentrate on.”
Mr Gebbie is raising money for dementia UK, a charity that is close to his heart.
The pair will either cycle the original 195 miles and attempt to complete it in 14 to 15 hours or, depending on the conditions, they may try to cycle a further 50 miles.
Whether they decide to go the extra distance will depend on what weekend they choose to do it and whether family and friends can come and support them at the finish.
Mr Gebbie said: “If we can’t change the distance we can certainly try and change the time.”
Since their last cycle Mr Gebbie has worked to improve his fitness.
He said: “I have stepped up my fitness a lot in the past 13 months. I went from practically nothing to now going to the gym three times a week. I even have a personal trainer. Compared to 18 months ago, I am eating completely differently.”
The pair completed their last cycle in an 80 mile, 70 mile and 50 mile session and this time they are planning on cutting that down to two 100 mile sessions.
Mr Gebbie’s son Ryan joined the pair to cross the finish line in Scotland last time and he hopes that the same will happen again. His other son has also shown interest in crossing the finish with them.
Last year Mr Gebbie raised £1605 for Dementia UK and hopes to raise even more this time around. However, he fears that it might be too close from Christmas time and too sudden from the last cycle that people might not be in a position to give money.
He said: “People love to give money to charity but sometimes it isn’t always possible. They can always support us in other ways.”