On their ‘Woods to the Waves’ challenge, the team will set off from Chorleywood, Hertfordshire, on Saturday 26 September, aiming to reach Dartmouth in Devon eight days later on Saturday 3 October.
Along the way, they will travel through Reading, Dummer, Romsey, Christchurch, Osmington Mills, Lyme Regis and Exmouth.
Their fundraising target is £40,000, with the challenge inspired by 12-year-old Chorleywood resident Betsy Griffin, who became blind after developing a brain tumour when she was just two years old. It was Betsy’s suggestion to support Brain Tumour Research and Keech.
The challenge also has a deeply personal meaning for team leader Dean Tanner. Dean’s daughter Alanya, who had complex special needs, died aged 11 in 2009. Dean says that he received huge amounts of support from people around him during difficult times, and now wants to give something back by helping others.
Dean said of the team:
“We’re definitely not athletes, there are seven of us in our 50s and three in our 60s, so this is going to be a challenge. The Quadfather is a heavy, gearless, four-wheeled cycle that was never designed for hills. We’ll be doing our best on the flat and downhill, and anything uphill may involve getting off and pushing.”
The Quadfather seats four people and was bought by Dean as a wreck for £1,000. After a year spent restoring it, the team is now preparing to put it through its most ambitious journey yet.
To mark the countdown to the challenge, the team took the Quadfather to Madame Tussauds on 16 September and rode it in front of a crowd of A-lister waxworks. The specialist engineering department of the London attraction has helped with the repairs to the unusual vehicle.
Anyone who wishes to support the challenge can donate via the team’s fundraising page.
Donate here