Details of Wanderers' participation in Prostate Cancer UK's annual London to Amsterdam bike ride with Men United
Following on from The Football League’s season of support for Prostate Cancer UK, one of the club’s former employees will be taking part in the organisation’s annual London to Amsterdam bike ride with the Men United Team this weekend.
Gareth Lester, who previously worked on the ground staff team at the club for 17-and-a-half years, will be cycling 145 miles over two days between June 12 and 14 to raise money to help beat prostate cancer.
He will also be participating in memory of another former Bolton Wanderers employee Dave Melling who sadly lost his battle with prostate cancer in September 2014.
Speaking ahead of the event, Gareth said: “I was asked if I’d like to be the club champion back in December of last year and straight away I was happy to do it.
“To get the opportunity to represent the club is something that I couldn’t turn down, alongside the chance to fundraise for a charity which is very close to Bolton Wanderers and my heart with what happened to my colleague Dave.
“It will be a fantastic experience – having spoken to people who did it last year, they couldn’t speak highly enough of it and I’m really looking forward to the challenge.”
He continued: “I used to do a lot of mountain biking, but in recent years I’ve been more into road biking which I hope will stand me in good stead.
“It’s been hard to juggle life alongside training, but I’ve done a couple of 40 mile rides in recent weeks so I’m ready and raring to go.”
The star-studded peloton, which will begin at Leyton Orient FC and end at Ajax’s Amsterdam ArenA, will see Luther Blissett, Terry Butcher, Matt Holland and the rest of the participants line up at The Matchroom Stadium in east London in the early hours of Friday 12 June for the third annual #L2A with the aim of raising over £250,000 to help save men’s lives.
The event includes a half-time pit-stop at Colchester United before the team set sail from Harwich at the end of day one, while Saturday 13 June sees the group take in a serene sojourn along the pristine pathways of the Netherlands, culminating in a finale in Amsterdam.
Prostate cancer kills one man every hour in the UK, and in 2014 riders from more than 50 clubs helped raise more than £200,000 to support the 250,000 men affected by the disease in the UK.
To show your support and sponsor Gareth who will be representing Bolton Wanderers during the event, please visit his JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/Gareth-Lester or alternatively, please text BWFC 68 plus the donation amount to 70070.
For more information on the bike ride itself, please visit www.prostatecanceruk.org/amsterdam.