Clearview National August 2016 - Issue 177 | Page 26

INDUSTRYNEWS

Border2Border cycling
challenge completed
»»WITH MANY, MANY MILES,
deserts, hills and mountains covered, the GM
Fundraising Border2Border team, proudly
sponsored by Deceuninck, have completed
the epic challenge of cycling from Canada to
Mexico. And it is fair to say the challenge,
dubbed as ‘The Toughest Yet’ has most
definitely lived up to its name!
“I struggle to find the words to explain how
difficult it was,” comments Gary Morton,
founder of GM Fundraising and a rider in
this year’s B2B challenge. “Brutal, was one
widely used by almost every rider. The early
part of the ride saw heavy rain, thunderstorms,
snow and hail storms with temperatures
around 7 degrees. One of the hardest days,
unexpectedly, was on Day 2 riding from
Monroe into ‘Yakama, Washington State.
Team one had to climb 5,400ft, more than
half of which was in the last 8 miles, through
pouring rain and a strong head wind – it felt
like the worst hour of any ride I have ever
done, both physically and mentally. The winds
on Day 3 saw us pedalling our hearts out
downhill where there would normally be some
reprieve. The views from Crater Lake were
stunning, but it was so cold no one could stop
for very long to take them in.
“This quickly changed though as we
ascended on to the Columbian Plateau and
into the desert - acclimatising to this was really
difficult. The high temperatures meant early
starts to avoid the +45 degree highs; gruelling
runs through deserts, which nearly set your
feet on fire, and an astonishing amount of feet
climbed in one day – 12,994ft over the Santa

26 » AUG 2016 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M

Rosa Mountains into Borrego Springs on day
10 to be precise.
“We also made a detour to the meet our
sponsors, Deceuninck, at their new plant
in Fernley, Nevada. We were joined by a
special guest, Fillip Geerhert, the CEO of
Deceuninck USA, who joined the team to
make the journey into the plant.” Roy Frost,
Managing Director of Deceuninck UK adds:
“It was great to see the rapid progress on our
new factory in Reno, Nevada. Filip told me
that the walls went up only the previous week
and the new silos were installed the day before
we arrived. It’s open for business in August.”
Gary continues: “The varying weather
conditions certainly added to the enormity of
this already epic challenge but it hasn’t been
all bad! Some of the scenery was spectacular,
the laughs have been many and the team
spirit soared throughout. Our Hope House
Mascots, Poppy, Harley and Kyle gave us
daily reminders of who we were doing this
for and the whole team pulled together to get
each other through to the end. The personal
sense of achievement from everyone taking
part will never be forgotten and is so very well
deserved.
“I must also pay tribute to the support team
who were amazing – they coped with every
situation, putting in extra hours before and
after the rider’s day to make sure everything
was in-hand. They provided a continuous
supply of food and gallons of water, almost
250 gallons in fact, first aid, therapy (both
mental and physical) and found bike repair
shops to mend the mechanical issues we

encountered. They were also responsible for
some of the stunning photography posted on
social media.
“To say I am very proud of the team is an
understatement. In total, the team as whole,
completed the following: 2,111 miles; 94,600
ft of climbing; 864,000 calories burned; and
4,536,000 peddle turns (cadence)
“The end of the ride saw us cycle, as a
complete team, into The Border Field State
Park and was followed by an end of ride party
hosted by Alan Reece and Kevin Harvey of
Panoramic Doors, who have operations in
both the US and UK. It was a wonderful
gesture and a fantastic way to end the ride.
Their generosity didn’t stop at the party as they
also donated $3,000 to the B2B fund.
“Thank you to everyone that has supported
us throughout – and not just from GM
Fundraising and the Border2Border team,
but from all the children, families and staff at
Hope House.
“We will be announcing the grand total
soon but in the meantime you can still support
the team through our just giving page https://
www.justgiving.com/teams/GMFB2B”
www.gmfundraising.co.uk