Cycling To Save Lives

In the build-up to their epic London to Paris ride in September, Team Snap-on took to the streets of London on July 31 as part of the RideLondon festival of cycling

They’re putting their hearts and souls into making a difference in the lives of those affected by blood cancer. Pushing themselves to the absolute limits in a bid to raise as much money as possible for BloodWise, the UK’s largest blood cancer charity.

In the build-up to their epic London to Paris ride in September, Team Snap-on took to the streets of London on July 31 as part of the RideLondon festival of cycling.

Amazing Arabella

In true Snap-on style, the franchise support team were keen to get involved and help raise as much money as possible for this amazing cause. Arabella Trystram, UK franchise co-ordinator, joined the official London to Paris training team as they took on the 46-mile London to Surrey sportive, which followed the 2012 Olympic race route.

Describing herself as a recreational cyclist, Arabella achieved a personal best by completing the course in two hour and 56 minutes - averaging an astonishing 18mph.

She explains: “This was a huge challenge for me, but it’s such a worthy cause - sore legs are a small price to pay really.

“The money we’re raising for BloodWise will go a long way to making a difference in the lives of children and adults affected by blood cancer. You can’t put a price on that. I was so proud to fly the flag for BloodWise and Snap-on and wish the official London to Paris team all the luck in the world for their amazing journey.”

The spectacular 46-mile route took cyclists on (thankfully) traffic-free roads, beginning at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in east London and following the same route as the Prudential RideLondon- Surrey 100 for the first 27 miles, before taking a new two-mile route, which then linked up with the last 17 miles through London to the finish in The Mall.

Declaring war on blood cancer

Team Snap-on, sponsored by the Snap-on Tools franchise, is made up of 20 volunteers from across the UK. The team’s official four riders will be taking on the 500km London to Paris ride. Kicking off in the heart of London, the four-day bike ride will take Team Snap-on through the English countryside to rural France and then into the heart of Paris, where hundreds of cyclists will end their journey beneath the Eiffel Tower.

BloodWise has been fighting blood cancers since 1960. It funds world class research and offers expert advice and support to anyone affected by leukaemia, lymphoma, myeloma and other blood cancer related disorders.

Lisa Law, Snap-on’s national franchise manager, says: “We’re so proud to help raise money for such an amazing cause.

Cancer affects so many lives. We’re going to be supporting our cyclists 100 per cent raising awareness where we can. Even our customers are getting involved.”

Flying the flag

The tool giant’s UK franchisees have been joining the London to Paris cycling team on their training rides, raising awareness in their local communities with competitions to win limited edition goodies, collecting for the Team Snap-on sponsorship fund on their vans and even buying their own Team Snap-on cycling kit to fly the flag for this fundraising effort.

As well as the gruelling day-to-day training, the 20-strong training team and their guests, in the form of head office cycling enthusiasts and franchisees alike, continue to participate in numerous charity rides and organised sportives across the country.

In total, the team expects to cover more than 20,000 miles during training. Anyone else’s legs aching at that thought?

Watch out for the Team Snap-on jerseys on roads near you and please lend your support to this amazing charity and team of inspirational riders