I completed the Reading City leg of the 2012 Ride for Research event last weekend; riding about 21 miles. Thank you to all those who sponsored me. I exceed my personal fundraising target of £200 – today it stands at a little over £350. It’s not too late if you would like to sponsor me – just visit my sponsorship page.
I can’t pretend that it was a strenuous event – a cycling app on my phone tells me that we were moving for only 1 hour 59 minutes and stationery for 5 hours 23 minutes! I find this hard to believe as it was definitely tiring but I guess it captured accurately the unique nature of Ride for Research:- it is more than just a cycle ride. We planted four trees in four different locations, meeting up with the Mayor of Reading, local tree wardens, local environmental volunteers, and professional members of the Arboricultural Association. We also toured the laboratory and field trials of the Bartlett Tree Expert Company to learn about cutting edge research into tree health.
The event is held to raise funding in support of research into tree health and to raise the profile of tree health issues. So far this year we have raised in excess of £5000, thanks to individual fundraising by riders and donations from corporate sponsors, with another event (this time in Birmingham) yet to go.
Later this year we will be looking into setting up a charity dedicated to supporting Ride for Research called Fund4Trees. You can keep up to date with news on a website: www.Fund4Trees.org.uk
Gabriel Hemery
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