102-103-104 Light Fund_muk.qxp_NEW LSB 2008 GRID 22/09/2018 12:10 Page 102
THE LIGHT FUND
The road to Dublin
Inset: The Merry Ploughboy marked the finish of the epic challenge for the 70 cyclists.
Back in June, 70 plucky members of the licensing industry took on the challenge of cycling from Bristol to Dublin. The journey raised £230,000 for The Light Fund – far exceeding the original fundraising target. Stephen Gould, head of territory UK and EMEA at Sutikki, and official blog writer and photographer for the ride, looks back at the experience.
W
ith over two years in the planning, The Bristol to Dublin Bike Ride Challenge for The Light Fund from June 12-15, 2018 was nothing short of a mammoth undertaking at its most diverse that delivered by the truckload and more in so many different and gratifying ways. Everyone has their personal interpretation of ‘challenge’, however, only a Professor of Topography would have realised when considering this route that the body would be pushed to the extreme in a battle for self-preservation and personal accomplishment. Many of our group were
102
LICENSING SOURCE BOOK EUROPE 2018
cycling neophytes and at least 20 had to purchase a bike along with all the kit and caboodle… and that’s a lot of stuff. On the Monday afternoon of the day before the start our riders and Classic Challenge crew gathered at the Holiday Inn in Bristol to collect their branded cycling kit for the week ahead and to make final preparations to their two wheeled steeds. At only 22 miles on day one and with a refreshing absence of judgement, we had our first casualty and one of three seats in the support car was already filled. Then came the ‘angry Welsh farmer’ incident. This chap had