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The team behind a major charity fundraiser at The University of Nottingham are to take part in the Gem 106 Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride (GNBR) 2011, in a bid to step up their preparation and recruit more cyclists.
Eleven members of staff, led by Vice-Chancellor Professor David Greenaway, will be cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End in August to raise money for the University’s Sue Ryder Care Centre for the Study of Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care.
Having already collected over £80,000 towards their target of £150,000, the Great Notts Bike Ride has been earmarked as an opportunity for the Life Cycle Team to train and encourage members of the public to get involved in their fundraiser.
People will be able to sign up at GNBR to take part in one of two public rides on Saturday September 3 in support of the Life Cycle challenge. There is a community ride from University Park to Sutton Bonington Campus or the Retford to Sutton Bonington leg of the Life Cycle. These initiatives provide people with the opportunity to get involved and raise money for life-changing research.
Students at the University, who are members of NUBike, the University’s Cycling Club, have also organised a 200 metre sprint competition on two WATT bikes at the finish line of the GNBR.
Challengers can race against each other and the fastest cyclist of the day will win two tickets to a play at The Royal Centre, Nottingham.
Look out for the Life Cycle team during and after the Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride. They will be wearing distinctive yellow and blue shirts, produced by students who have set up their own company —
www.corporatecyclingjerseys.com — with the help of the University’s EnterpriseLab.
The Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride is the latest event in the team’s preparation, after six team members completed the 222.5 kilometre ‘Coast to Coast’ bike ride. The team took just 18 hours and 57 minutes to travel from Workington to Tynemouth, over three days earlier this month.
After the ride, Chief Estates Officer and Life Cycle Team member, Chris Jagger explained: “The C2C weekend proved to be an excellent team building event and a reality check on our training progress for each of us.
“We also had a taste of what the steepest road climbs are like (not nice!) and clothing combinations to carry for daily variations in weather conditions (don’t believe the weather forecasters). The close bond with my saddle is certainly a new experience for me.”
Looking forward to the Life Cycle, Professor Greenaway added: “When I first thought of cycling from John O’Groats to Land’s End, I asked a few colleagues what they thought of the idea. Some told me I was crazy; others said they would like to do it with me. The second group won!
“This is not something you do just for fun and we needed the right cause to keep us motivated. We picked the Sue Ryder Centre for Research on Palliative and End of Life Care because its work has the potential to touch the lives of so many people.”
Members of the team will also be at the Carnival of Cycling at Nottingham Trent University on Saturday, to encourage more people to sign up for the rides. The lively, fun event will celebrate all forms of cycling and is for everyone whether you are a road, track or mountain biker; a serious enthusiast, a complete novice, or a family looking for a great day out.
The Life Cycle will begin on August 26. To support the Vice-Chancellor and his team, find out where the money will go or see a provisional route, please visit:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/lifecycle. This site will be regularly updated during each step of the team’s journey.
—Ends —
Notes to editors: Please see the full list of staff taking part below:
• Professor David Greenaway — Vice-Chancellor
• Professor Karen Cox — Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Staffing and Community
• Professor Alan Ford — Dean of the Faculty of Arts
• Mr Chris Jagger — Chief Estates and Facilities Officer
• Professor Nick Miles — Provost & CEO, University of Nottingham Ningbo China
• Dr Andrew Noyes — Professor of Education
• Mrs Kate Robertson — Director of Development and Alumni Relations
• Professor Chris Rudd — Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Knowledge Transfer and Business Engagement
• Professor David Walker — Professor of Paediatric Oncology
• Mr Steve Wright — University Driver
• Professor Neville Wylie — Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus
More information about the Sue Ryder Care Centre for the Study of Supportive, Palliative and End of Life Care can be found at:
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/NMP/Research/SPC/index.aspx The Centre led by Professors Jane Seymour and Karen Cox has a special collaborative relationship with the charity Sue Ryder Care, and is pleased to be able to share the name of this key provider of palliative and neurological care. For more information about the charity, please visit
http://www.suerydercare.org/ The University of Nottingham, described by The Sunday Times University Guide 2011 as ‘the embodiment of the modern international university’, has award-winning campuses in the United Kingdom, China and Malaysia. It is ranked in the UK's Top 10 and the World's Top 75 universities by the Shanghai Jiao Tong (SJTU) and the QS World University Rankings. It was named ‘Europe’s greenest university’ in the UI GreenMetric World University Ranking, a league table of the world’s most environmentally-friendly higher education institutions, which ranked Nottingham second in the world overall.
The University is committed to providing a truly international education for its 40,000 students, producing world-leading research and benefiting the communities around its campuses in the UK and Asia.
More than 90 per cent of research at The University of Nottingham is of international quality, according to the most recent Research Assessment Exercise, with almost 60 per cent of all research defined as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’. Research Fortnight analysis of RAE 2008 ranked the University 7th in the UK by research power.
The University’s vision is to be recognised around the world for its signature contributions, especially in global food security, energy & sustainability, and health.
More news from the University at:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/news The Gem 106 Great Nottinghamshire Bike Ride 2011 will take place on Sunday June 19 at the National Water Sports Centre, Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham. Over 4,000 riders took part in last year's event and the 30th birthday ride looks like being bigger and better, with up to 5,000 riders expected. For more information, please visit:
http://www.greatnottsbikeride.com/Introduction.aspx The Carnival of Cycling is taking place at Byron House, Nottingham Trent University in Nottingham City Centre from 10am to 4pm on Saturday June 18. It has been organised by Ucycle Nottingham, the city's cycling initiative from UK charity Sustrans, The University of Nottingham, Nottingham Trent University, the University Hospitals Trust and Nottingham City Council. More information about this free event is available at:
http://www.pedals.org.uk/carnival_of_cycling