Friends to cycle to Spain for charity

Spencer Hodge will be spending his 23rd birthday in the south of France - having cycled hundreds of miles to get there.
Friends Spencer Hodge and Daniel Clark preparing for their ride from Worthing to AlicanteFriends Spencer Hodge and Daniel Clark preparing for their ride from Worthing to Alicante
Friends Spencer Hodge and Daniel Clark preparing for their ride from Worthing to Alicante

He and best mate Daniel Clark, 32, have set themselves a challenge to ride from Worthing to Alicante to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Spencer said it was a spontaneous idea to cycle from their home town to the south of Spain.

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He explained: “We have put our sense of adventure and hobbies together for this amazing challenge. Cancer is very close to our hearts. We both have people in our lives that have been affected by cancer and would love to raise as much money as possible for this great cause.

“Dan’s mum has suffered, my nan has suffered. Everyone knows someone who has had cancer. Catching it early is the key and every little bit helps towards beating it.”

Spencer is duty manager at Splashpoint Leisure Centre in Worthing and Daniel works with children at Hillcrest Care in Horsham.

They will set off on Wednesday from the Rose and Crown, in Montague Street, Worthing, where supporters will gather from midday.

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Spencer said: “We are going 1,163 miles, starting off with a cycle from Worthing to Newhaven. The ferry will take approximately four hours over to Dieppe, where we will stay overnight. We will set off in the early hours from Dieppe, travelling around 100 miles to Rouen.

“We will continue our journey south west, where we hit the French coast on July 22, my birthday. After that, we continue south along the coast and have our last stop at Bayonne, before the Pyrenees mountains.

“Temperatures could exceed 30 degress celsius, possibly the toughest time of year to take this on.

“After this, we start our journey upwards through the mountains, where, depending on weather conditions, it could take one to two days crossing the border to the town of Pamplona.

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“We will then go southwards past Zaragoza, stopping off at a small spanish town called Tereul. The next day we set off to the city of Valencia and we will then work south-westwards towards Alicante, our final stop, reaching there approximately on August 2 or 3.

“We hope to raise at least £2,000 but on our way to beat that target. The help and support we have is amazing. Terry Gough giving us bike maintenance sessions was a fantastic help, Amy Thorley for preparation of the cycle and training, and Paula Spencer Snell, who has battled with cancer and really helped us push this cause and make this known to people.”

Follow the day-to-day blog on the Facebook page Worthing2Alicante and visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/clarkhodgechallenge to make a donation.

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