Hitachi Capital’s cyclists complete a 375 mile cycle to Amsterdam, raising over £20,000 on the way
The Hitachi Capital to Capital Charity Cycle Ride (HCCCCR) took place again this year with the ten-strong “HCCCCR4” cycling team departing from the Hitachi Capital office in Staines-Upon-Thames to Amsterdam on Thursday 3 September. The team of cyclists took on the punishing challenge to raise funds for the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity. The HCCCCR4 team were triumphant in reaching Amsterdam on Sunday 6 September and raised over £20,000 on the way.
This year the challenge was made even more gruelling by taking on an additional day of cycling. The ride saw the HCCCCR4 team travel from Staines-Upon-Thames to Dover, over the English Channel into Dunkirk, from Dunkirk to the Dutch town of Terneuzen, from Terneuzen to Spijkenisse and finally from Spijkenisse to Amsterdam. The ride covered over 375 miles and took over 30 hours of cycling.
Gill Raikes MBE FInstF (Dip) chief executive of Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals Charity also joined us at the starting line when the riders to set off at 9am on Thursday 3 September.
The Royal Brompton & Harefield Hospitals charity is very close to all of our hearts following on from the life-saving surgery the hospital performed on our colleague Vanessa Bradley. The ride took place on the second anniversary of her pioneering surgery, and Vanessa made up part of the support crew.
Vanessa was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension (PH), a disease that affects 4,000-5,000 people in the UK, in 2005. After seven years of taking various drugs and undergoing other therapies to manage her symptoms, Vanessa was told that even with these drugs her life expectancy was 10 years at most. Following this news Vanessa was referred to the Harefield Hospital in Middlesex where, in September 2013, she underwent a double lung transplant. This surgery saved Vanessa life. Six months after the surgery, and after having to endure gruelling physiotherapy, learning to talk, eat & walk again, Vanessa returned home. Shortly after this Vanessa returned to work. Vanessa’s story can be found here – http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2015/mar/08/whats-it-like-to-be-a-human-guinea-pig-for-a-lifesaving-surgical-procedure
Graham Lines, head of operations at Hitachi Capital Business Finance said: “This has been such a great and innovative way of fundraising. It is testament to our colleague Vanessa that so many people have felt moved to make donations and that her colleagues have worked so hard to make this happen. We would like to thank everyone who donated, we are delighted to have surpassed our £20,000 target including matched funding from Hitachi Capital. The support from our Brokers to sponsor the team has be exceptional. The team were a fantastic group to join on this ride, we have had a lot of laughs and raised transformative amount for the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals Charity.
Picture: The Hitachi ‘Capital to Capital’ Cycle team with Vanessa Bradley (Centre)