About Me

Hello all. I am Matt and I am a cyclist who loves pushing the boundaries.... I have been cycling since I was 13, always on a road bike and through out my youth it was always a Raleigh. For my 21st I got a state of the art Raleigh 10 speed, which I rode everyday. 

Whilst I served in the British Army I always remained fit and cycled mainly fatties (mountain bikes) to and from work with a little bit of dirt thrown in, but was never bitten by the MTB bug.

It was not until  2000 that I re-discovered my love for fast road bikes and duly went out and bought my first TREK 1000 whilst serving in Germany. When my family and I returned to England in 2002 I held a static post that allowed me to get some serious road time in. I completed

several challenging rides and raised money for the British Legion. In 2006 along with some work colleagues, I took part in the London to Brighton Cycle which was fun, this time raising  money for the British Heart Foundation. In my final 2 years with the forces, when I did travel, my bike always went with me and I started to train for events and one day sportiness.

As a family our favourite holiday destination was and still is, thanks to our memories, Tossa De Mar and Cala Llevado on the Costa Brava. A cycling paradise where Lance Armstrong has a base and where cycling is a religion. You can go out on your own and soon be riding in immersed in a multi - lingual peleton. I would recommend this region to any serious cyclist. The scenery is breathtaking just like the cycling.

In 2007 our lives were turned upside down when our eldest daughter, Emily Rose, developed a wild form of cancer and passed away following a very short illness. Emily who was just 22 years of age, had been treated at the Royal Marsden in Sutton. Following superb support from both the hospital and a fantastic CLIC Sargent social worker called Sarah, as a family we decided we wanted to do something in Emily's name to raise funds and awareness for CLIC Sargent, to help others. With support from our best friends, Russ & Pam, as well Emily & our youngest daughter, Jessica's friends, the idea was do charity events that would be fitting and raise lots of money to help others.

Following the first event, The Emily Rose Prom, organised by Emily's work colleagues at New Look, the first cycle ride was EMBO LEJOG. This was a 10 day bike ride from Lands End to John O'Groats. The start date was 2nd June 2008 what would have been Emily's 23rd Birthday. Thanks to the Medway Messenger for making us their charity for the year, this bought in an amazing amount of sponsorship from across Medway and beyond. One company, CB&I combined with National Grid sponsored the bike ride to the tune of £21,000.

With other events involving Emily and Jessica's friends and the local community, in total £56,000 was raised for CLIC Sargent within the first year.

THANK YOU ALL

Following the LEGOG as a family we sat down to plan the next bike ride - Chatham to Gibraltar 2009. Again I was joined by Russ & Olly (Veterans of LEJOG) and Ray to make up the team that would ride from Chatham, down through scenic France & Spain to Gibraltar. Again support from all our friends flooded in and with other individual events including Icelandic challenges, marathons and sky dives, another £20,000 was raised in Emily's name.

Due to my own commitments, 2010 & 2011 have not seen a flagship cycling event. However the fundraising  still prospers through continued support from Emily's great friends, being inspired by her to reach their own personal goals.

So that brings us to where we are now, planning this event  - The EMBO Cycle Ride Across America. This  ride is from San Diego California to St Augustine Florida. Again the aim is to raise awareness and funds for CLIC Sargent.

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy the Blog.