Moto staff across the UK cycled an amazing 15,584 kilometres as part of this year’s Help for Heroes Hero Ride and raising £22,000 – all without moving from the spot!
Staff at 45 Moto sites took part in Hero Ride: The Moto Challenge – a 24 hour static bike challenge over two weekends – to show their support for the 100 wounded veterans who collectively covered 18,500 miles in this year’s Help for Heroes Hero Ride.
Veteran Justin Henderson, who rode with the 100 on Hero Ride, joined the team at Moto Wetherby to provide inspiration and extra pedal power on his recumbent bike.
The 40-year-old was devastated when, while stationed in Germany with the Royal Logistics Corps, a freak accident left him with a broken back and limited mobility. His fractured L5 vertebra has since been replaced with a prosthetic vertebra and now, medically discharged from the army, he works as part time at the Help for Heroes Recovery Centre – Phoenix House in Catterick.
“At the time of my injury, I never thought I’d be on a bike today, never mind taking part in such a massive cycling challenge!” said Justin. “But when I saw Hero Ride last year and met some of those taking part, I gave myself the challenge of getting fit enough to join it in 2015.
“Joining the team at Moto Wetherby meant I could get in a bit of extra training,” said Justin, “It was also a great opportunity to chat to people from all over the country, as they stopped off for a break, about how Help for Heroes has supported me on my road to recovery.
“What a great two weekends. The first weekend was fantastic; I got to fundraise with the team for their Moto static ride challenge and clocked up 144 miles. On the second weekend I was fundraising for my own Hero Ride and completed 180 miles. The Moto family took me under their wing and made me feel very welcome.”
Chairman of The Moto in the Community Trust, Brian Larkin said “We are delighted with the Moto Hero Ride Challenge and very proud of all the Moto staff around the UK that took time out of their busy jobs to take on the challenge. We wanted to find a way that our staff could support the Help for Heroes Hero Ride and our static bike challenge did just that and engaged our customers too. We look forward to making the Moto Hero Ride Challenge an annual event.”
