The reason for the ride

On August 7th 2006, Olly Tuckwell suffered very serious injuries when a vehicle drove into the path of his motorcycle at Lydeway, near Devizes. He was flown by the Wiltshire Air Ambulance to the Royal United Hospital in Bath.

Here Olly's injuries were found to be so severe that he was immediately transferred to Frenchay Hospital in Bristol. Later he was transferred to Bristol Royal Infirmary and then to the Royal National Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases in Bath. He was finally discharged, after more than six months, on February 18th 2007 and continued to receive treatment as an out-patient for many more months.

While Olly was still unconscious, his friend Eleanor Henley, now Townsend, promised him that if he survived she would run a half-marathon to raise funds for the Wiltshire Air Ambulance. She later decided that a sponsored cycle to the hospitals that helped Olly would have more meaning.