ruralnet|uk’s Chief Executive, Simon Berry, free-wheeled down the hill to John o’ Groats at around 3pm on 7 June with a huge sense of relief and respect for those who had done the Land’s End to John o’ Groats trip before him.
Simon undertook the 10-day challenge, covering 1,069 miles, to launch ruralnet|uk’s Participation Fund which will be used to enable rural volunteers working for their community to access ruralnet|uk’s online services and attend the annual conference.
His arrival coincided with the activation of ruralnet|uk’s ‘JustGiving’ account. If you’ve been meaning to make a donation but haven’t got around to it yet you can now Gift Aid it here: www.justgiving.com/simonberry
He blogged the experience, live from the saddle and his story in words, pictures and video clips can be seen here: www.ruralnet.typepad.com/endtoend/
Eight co-riders supported Simon at different stages of the ride, others met him for lunch along the way. The blog received 5,000 hits and he received dozens of texts and calls of support along the way. Although, he arrived at John o’ Groats alone, many people had helped him get there.
Once pledges have been collected Simon expects to have raised £1,000 for the Participation Fund. Full details will be given on the blog.
Simon and ruralnet|uk would like to thank all those who supported him on this challenge.
Editors notes
1. ruralnet|uk is a rural regeneration charity (no 1089238) pioneering innovative uses of ICT for the benefit of rural communities. See: www.ruralnetuk.org/index.htm
2. The ruralnet|uk annual conference is this year sponsored by Regional Development Agencies: East Midlands Development Agency (emda). The event will be held on 11-12 October 2006 at Center Parcs Conference Venue, Nottinghamshire. Last years event was attended by 230 delegates with 28 exhibitors, and a mobile post office and farmers market demonstration. Bookings for ruralnet|2006 are being taken on 0845 1300 411 and online at: www.ruralnetuk.org/conference/index.htm
3. Experts Online is a core ruralnet|online service, available to any subscriber who joins the network. Go to www.ruralnet.org.uk for further details or to subscribe to ruralnet|online.
Comments