A two-man Optician team has raised nearly £1,400 for Blind Veterans UK after cycling for 24 hours around the Brand’s Hatch GP motor racing circuit.
Optician editor, Chris Bennett and CooperVision’s Paul Maxwell took on the feat as competitors in Revolve24. While other competitors rode the event as teams of up to eight the duo decided to ride solo chalking up over 100 laps each.
The team thanked its supporters from around optics with donations from Adaro, Verve, Hoya, Rodenstock, Specsavers, Grafton, Scope, Many from CooperVision staff and Martin Smith Opticians. Carl Zeiss Vision also pledged £250 offline.
Donations can still be made at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chrisbennettoptician.
The ride proved much harder than expected said Bennett: ‘Brand’s Hatch is far from flat with the hill at Druid’s proving a difficult climb from the start. By the small hours of the morning we were dreading it coming around again. The rest of the course was pretty undulating making the event pretty arduous.’
Stacey Jones from Blind Veterans UK provided rider support from the pit lane for the entire 24 hours.
The money raised for Blind Veterans UK will fund projects for ex-service people suffering visual impairment. Read a full report at www.opticianonline. net/opinion/optician-rides-for-blind-veterans-uk.