Will Hawkins, Angus Watson and Charlie Johnson are going to cycle from Bristol to London on June 13th

The Cause 

Two major problems plague people whose spinal chord injuries have put them in wheelchairs - pressure ulcers and urinary tract infections.

The common and unpleasant ailments are caused by motionlessness and by having a catheter tube jammed into you the whole time. If you know someone in a wheelchair who phones you to say sorry, they cannot make a wedding / trip to the football / quick pint etc, it is likely that they are suffering from a pressure ulcer or a urinary tract infection.

Stoke Mandeville Spinal Research  is working to reduce these chronic medical complications and hopefully make them a thing of the past.

Jamie Polk was at Bristol University with me and fellow cyclists Will and Charlie, and has been in a wheelchair since an accident in 2000. He’s strongly involved with the research at Stoke Mandeville and gives it his full endorsement. It would be great if he and others like him were never again laid low by a pressure ulcer or urinary tract infection, so please don’t be embarrassed if you want to donate a large amount.

The Challenge

To replicate the journey of the average Bristol student after university, Will ‘Hawkhead’ Hawkins, Charlie 'Chopper' Johnson and I (Angus 'The Gooseman' Watson) will leave Bristol at 3am on Monday 13th June and attempt to cycle the 165 miles to London in one day. Much of it will be off-road, on canal and river towpaths, following National Cycle Route 4. I did it nine years ago, over three days, and found it tough (http://www.guswatson.com/articles/biking-from-bristol-to-london/). Attempting it in one day is seriously stupid for men of our age, in our condition (I am now officially obese by some measures). So it ticks the ‘is this a tough enough challenge to deserve my sponsorship’ box.