Pedal Power Boosts Blood Cancer Charity

 A team of cyclists fielded by South Yorkshire company Dransfield Properties Ltd has raised £10,635 for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research after taking part in the sixth leg of their Tour of Europe Cycle Ride.

The 12 strong team covered 320 miles cycling from Rome to the Croatian port of Dubrovnik in September last year – riding across the notorious Italian Apennine Mountains.

The cycle ride team has raised more than £30,000 for their chosen charities through their 2012 tour and presented a cheque to LLR’s Grimsby and District Branch Committee member Caroline Draper – whose husband Dean is part of the peloton.

Caroline said: “We are delighted to have such a fantastic amount raised by the charity. We know how hard fundraising is at the moment and it is wonderful to have the support of the cycle ride team.”

As well as Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research the cyclists have helped to fund a brand new hydrotherapy pool at the Ryegate Therapy Block in Sheffield – part of the Children’s Hospital.

The new pool project is also being supported by another local Sheffield company Henry Boot and is due to be completed later this month. (January)

Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties Ltd, based in Barnsley,  said: “We have supported LLR since the very first charity bike ride we organised in 2007; it is a fantastic charity supporting and funding highly specialised research and work which makes such a huge difference to young blood cancer patients in our region.

“The 2012 tour was a really tough ride across the Apennines, we’re all middle aged riders and we’re covering around 100 miles every day so it’s a big challenge for us all.”

The cyclists are all from Sheffield, Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire and have been covering a leg of their Tour of Europe since 2007 when they peddled from London to Paris.

In 2008 it was Paris to Lyon followed the next year by Lyon to Marseilles; in 2010 the riders picked up the route in Marseilles and headed to Portofino followed by a three day ride in 2011 to Rome where the 2012 route started.

This year the riders will be starting their ride in Dubrovnik in September and heading for Ljubljana in Slovenia – they’re aiming to cover a leg of their tour every year to be being back in London by 2020.Since they first started cycling in 2007 the team has raised more than £250,000 for charity.

For more information about Dransfield Properties visit www.dransfield.co.uk

Pictured left to right are cyclists John White, Alec Cammish, Mark Dransfield, Dean Draper and Tim Downing presenting their cheque to Caroline Draper from LLR.

For further information:- contact Amanda Holmes on 01226 360644 or 07747 621902

NOTES TO EDITORS

Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research is a charity dedicated to improving the lives of those with blood cancer including leukaemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Around 30,000 people, from infants to adults, are diagnosed with a blood cancer in the UK every year. 

We receive no government funding and rely entirely on voluntary support. In the next five years we need to raise £120 million to continue our lifesaving research. Further information, including patient information booklets, is available from beatingbloodcancers.org.uk or on 020 7504 2200.