Michael Takes on LEJOG for Fighting All Cancers

Most of us dream of a holiday on the beach with a cocktail in hand when planning our annual leave but Michael Boaden, Chartered Surveyor and Registered Valuer here at youngsRPS, will be spending his summer holiday this year cycling from Lands’ End to John O’Groats (or LEJOG as its known in the cycling fraternity) during the first fortnight in September. That’s a huge 1,042  miles (1,675 km) in 14 days!

Michael, who will need to complete approximately, a daily average of 74 miles each day to reach the finish line of the gruelling challenge, is raising money for Fighting All Cancers Together, a charity that provides social and support opportunities to all those affected by cancer in the North East, in memory of friend, and fellow training partner, Wendy Judge, who was suddenly and tragically taken in June 2022 with a very aggressive form of cancer.

The last day to John O’Groats is a relatively short, half day. It’s also quite hilly with an aggregate elevation gain of 16,130 metres (53,000 feet) overall.  It’s not quite twice the height of Everest (8,849 metres), but that’s some climb!

The majority of Michael, and his cycling partner Kirk’s training has been in the company of Wendy’s husband, Andrew, and back in June, Michael and the team also completed Chase The Sun (North),  which entailed leaving Whitley Bay on the north east coast at sunrise (around 4:30am) with the aim to reach Ayr on the west coast of Scotland, 200 miles later, before sunset just after 10pm.  He and his team mates heroically battled through the day competing the whole distance, but sadly missed the sunset on the seafront by eight minutes.

Michael says of his ‘running of the gauntlet’ vacation:

“I love riding my bike and whilst I am not averse to lazing around the pool in the sunshine, I wanted to do something a little different this year for my main holiday.  Kirk and I ride together most weekends and completed the Coast to Coast In A Day challenge a couple of years ago.  I managed to raise over £3,000 from that for Alzheimer’s Research UK, a condition my Dad suffered from in later life.  When we decided that we would look for an even more epic adventure, and having ridden many times over the past year with Andrew, it seemed only fitting for us to do LEJOG in Wendy’s memory.  As well as looking forward to the varied scenery as we ride through the country, I am also looking forward to switching off from work and focusing on something else!!”

If you would like to get behind Michael and Fighting All Cancers Together, please kindly donate through his Just Giving page: https://bit.ly/44r1cRe

We will of course keep you updated with Michael’s progress on our Facebook and Instagram pages.