15th July 2010

Well done to Team LPA who all successfully cycled from London to Brighton to raise money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) - an excellent charity whose work must have benefited directly or indirectly most people in the country.  Team LPA comprised of LPA Niphan employees plus Claire Clough from LPA Channel.   Debbie Brooks                                                   Tim Wright Rachel Newman                                                 Gary Newman Ivan Newman (riding a handcycle)                        James Ackland Keith Howell                                                      Paul Curtis Keith Maynard                                                   Claire Clough Greg Howell    Some of LPA Team at the start line   There were 27,000 entrants cycling the 54 mile route which included 3 major hills, the last being the renowned climb up the South Downs to Ditchling Beacon – the final challenge before finally reaching Brighton, with tired legs after riding 46 miles.   Start times are staggered every half hour, commencing at 06:00 and finishing at 10:00.  The team left Saffron Walden at 04:30 in order to get to Clapham Common for our 07:00 start time.  The weather was overcast for the entire journey which meant a chilly start for everyone, not helped by slow progress due to the “sheer volume of traffic” queues of riders as we rode through the suburbs of south London.  The roads did clear once in the countryside and the keen and fit members were able to get up to speed.    Ivan, a paraplegic, entered on his handcycle and put up a phenomenal effort to propel his bike by arm muscles only along the route which is much more hilly than the roads of East Anglia where he trains.  His efforts made conventional riding look effortless, by comparison.  After a break to allow his arm muscles to recover, Ivan tackled the 1 mile climb at 1:8 up to Ditchling Beacon which he conquered with no assistance – very well done!!     James had a lucky escape when a cyclist came off in front of him at high speed down a hill and James’ bike went over the wreckage.  Amazingly, James hit terra firma but escaped with only an oil impression of a chainwheel on his sleeve and sprocket gouges to his arm underneath.  Otherwise, he had no other scrapes but he did reduce his speed thereafter!   The fastest part of the route was the steep hill down into Brighton town from the South Downs, where the fastest (uncalibrated) speed recorded was over 46mph.  The first team members crossed the finish line along the promenade at Brighton at about 11:45, whilst the more sedate members were still only half way and reached the finish at 15:00.      After some celebratory liquid refreshments and fish & chip in Brighton, the team had an uneventful drive back to Saffron Walden, arriving back at about 10pm.  After an enjoyable day out raising money for charity, everyone returned home only to report back for work as normal on the next morning.  Thanks to Saffron Walden County High School for the kind loan of their minibus, to LPA Haswell for the use of their Transit van and to our drivers, Kevin Hasler and Tomasz Wojtania, who gave up their Sunday (Father’s Day) to enable us to complete the ride and raise money for the BHF.   Thank you to all our corporate sponsors :   2 Recycling Ltd Anglian Fasteners Ltd Applied CAE ARC (UK) Systems Ltd Crayford Castings Ltd Deacon Screws LPA Group PLC Taylors Foundry Ultra Precision Products Ltd LPA is still collecting its corporate and personal sponsorship monies but the current total is over £2,500 – thanks to all our supporters, on behalf of the BHF.   If you want to sponsor a good cause and can help us increase this total, LPA has a donation page set up by the British Heart Foundation to receive both corporate and personal sponsorship : http://original.justgiving.com/lpaniphan. If you are making a personal contribution, please remember to select “Gift Aid” because this will cost you nothing extra but the Government will add another 25p for every £1 that you have donated.       Greg Howell 28/6/10

Corporate Colours at Clapham Common!