Cutting tool specialists get on their bikes to support The British Heart Foundation

Three keen cyclists from WNT and Plansee took on the might of the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors to cycle coast to coast in four days to raise funds for The British Heart Foundation.

Following the famous Wainwright's Walk route, covering a total of 220 miles, with almost 7,000 m of uphill pedalling, in 32.5 hours of cycling and hiking they hope to raise a couple of thousand pounds (http://www.justgiving.com/Tony-Pennington).

The three, Tony Pennington, managing director WNT UK, Claude Sun, managing director WNT Germany, and Werner Kofelenz, head of group finance of Plansee Group Austria, left the west coast starting point at St Bees, West Cumbria, on Friday, 10 June with a 'gentle' 33 miles of cycling and hiking ahead of them.

Day two brought a minor disaster when an accident resulted in a cracked carbon composite frame for Tony Pennington. A substitute bike was hired, but, weighing in at 32 lbs, it was not an ideal swap for an ultra-light mountain bike. Undeterred, a further 46 miles was covered that day.

Day three saw 56 miles covered, with the North Sea coast within grasp. Day four saw another set-back for Mr Pennington, however. After 81 miles and with Whitby Abbey in sight, the pedal crank on his second bike broke, which saw Claude Sun and Werner Kofelenz pushing him the last four miles to Robin Hood's Bay.

"When we conceived this idea, it sounded quite straightforward, but the reality was far from that," Mr Pennington said. "Covering 220 miles in four days over extremely difficult terrain was a true challenge of our mental and physical strength. The consolation is that with two broken bikes, four punctures, one torn tyre, five crashes... and hundreds of sheep to avoid, we will have raised a significant sum of money for The British Heart Foundation."

Image: Left to right -Tony Pennington, Claude Sun and Werner Kofelenz reach Robin Hood's Bay.

Author
Andrew Allcock

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