About
Hi. My name is Gary Lorrison. I have set up Fundriding.com with the aim of helping people wanting to bike ride and raise money for charity
Over the past three years I have cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats twice, both times to raise money for local hospices - St Cuthbert’s Hospice in Durham, and Willow Burn Hospice in Lanchester. So far I have raised about £2,500. As well as organising our Land’s End John O’Groats trip this year I aim to do a third ride this October. I will be puttting a
blog of this ride on this website so you can get a better idea of exactly what it's like to do.
I have found it an immensely enjoyable and challenging experience which in addition to raising money provided me with the opportunity to test my fitness, meet lots of people, and see Britain in all its glory.
My experience
Having done the ride twice, both times by myself, I am fully aware of the problems and challenges of organising this challenge. For me the most annoying thing on the rides I have done was to have to carry two weeks worth of kit all by myself. It is so much easier if you don’t have to do so, and one of the reasons why I decided to organise this ride, so that other people wouldn’t have to. It makes the difference between a hard slog and a very pleasurable experience.
My other main problem was accommodation. Do you book it all in advance or organise it on the day? If you book in advance, what happens if you have an accident or are otherwise delayed? You miss your destination and upset your entire schedule. However, if you don’t book, you risk not having anywhere to stay at night. I have tried both ways and neither is ideal. For example, I ended up in Ardrossan on the Scottish coast late one Saturday night with nowhere to stay and could not find any accommodation. If it weren’t for a friendly Scot who put me up I would have spent the night out in the cold.
The solution is to have a backup which will get you to your accommodation no matter what. In the ride I am organising, if at the end of the day’s cycling you haven’t made it to your destination, we will pick you up and take you there. Under the End to End rules this is not cheating as all you are required to do is travel from one end of the country to the other.
