Help for Heroes sponsored cycle ride May 08
from Tim Wilkes - 1 Royal Anglian from 1974 to 1985

I am asking for your help and support.

I served with 1 Royal Anglian from 1974 to 1985. The battalion returned in 2007 from a tour in Afghanistan. They lost 9 killed in action, 58 wounded in battle and over 70 injured. They were in contact with the enemy most days. I want to help these heroes from the battalion, as well as other injured in the service of our country.

HELP for HEROES is a new charity formed to help those servicemen and women who have been wounded or injured in Britain’s current conflicts. These heroes often find themselves at Selly Oak Hospital and Headley Court Tri-service Rehabilitation Centre. There are some extraordinary people there, both the wounded and their wonderful nursing staff.

HELP for HEROES is strictly non–political; we can leaving the talking to the politicians while getting on with raising a great deal of money to directly support our servicemen and women. In particular, Headley Court needs new facilities and equipment and I want to help them raise the funds required; the target is £5 million.

So in May 2008 I am taking part in the Big Battlefield Bike Ride. With 299 other riders, including some of the wounded from Headley Court, I shall cycle from Le Havre to Calais, visiting some of the First and Second World War battle fields and memorials. We shall ride 350 miles in 7 days. You can find out more at www.helpforheroes.org.uk/bbbr.html

I aim to raise at least £5000. I therefore need your sponsorship, please. I shall even be wearing lycra! I already cycle or run 4 mornings a week and I shall be toughening up the training regime from now on. I shall be increasing my riding time from 30 minutes to an hour. I have just taken delivery of a new carbon road bike, as my mountain bike will be too heavy for the 55+ miles a day I shall be riding in France. I shall update you on an occasional basis to let you know how this training proceeds.

Please do what you can to support Help for Heroes. You can donate and sponsor me easily on the web at www.justgiving.com/timwilkes

Thank you.

Tim Wilkes timwilkes6@hotmail.com

 

Update 6 May 08

In 3 weeks I shall be cycling around the battlefields of northern France for Help for Heroes. Being the persistent guy that I am, I felt it my duty to give those of you who have not yet got around to sponsoring me the chance to do so before the big ride!

Despite the recent announcement by the government that they will be funding Headley Court with £24 million, Help for Heroes still needs to raise £6 million for the much needed hydrotherapy pool. They have already collected a marvellous £4.5 million in 6 months.

My fellow Viking Julian Pollard and I will be riding our bicycles with 298 others from Caen to Dunkirk, visiting a number of battlefield sites on the way. This is a distance of 350 miles, to be covered in 5 days from the 26 May.

You can find out more at www.helpforheroes.org.uk/bbbr.html

I have been following a training regime which has me cycling 4 times a week, working up the distances I ride. I am feeling the benefits now and it becomes easier the more miles I do - honestly! If you feel so inclined, you can read my weekly training blog at http://timwilkes.blog.co.uk

Thank you again to all of you have kindly donated to Help for Heroes so far. What I would dearly like is for those of you who are hesitating before donating, to contact me and let’s see if I can go to France having reached my personal target of £7500. Or you can donate easily at www.justgiving.com/timwilkes

Update Apr 08

Again, a huge thank you to the many of you who have so kindly and generously made donations to Help for Heroes, the fantastic new charity. They have already reached an incredible £3.9 million towards their target of £6 million for much needed facilities and equipment at Headley Court rehabilitation centre. As for my target of £7,500 we are at a marvellous £5,145 as I write, which is tremendous.

 My fellow Viking Julian Pollard and I will be riding our bicycles with 298 others from Le Havre to Calais, visiting a number of battlefield sites on the way. This is a distance of 350 miles, to be covered in six days in late May 2008. You can find out more at www.helpforheroes.org.uk/bbbr.html.

I am now well into my training regime. In fact I am bang up to date as you can read my weekly blog at http://timwilkes.blog.co.uk I am doing an additional ride at the weekends, of longer distances, honing my muscles – though it does not feel like it! For those of you who have expressed an interest in Lycra, my new wardrobe is coming on. There are some pictures on the blog, with more to follow!

 Some of the injured are from the battalion I served in from 1974 to 1985, 1 Royal Anglian (The Vikings). They returned from a tour in Afghanistan last autumn. They lost nine members, had 57 battle casualties and over 70 other injured. The operation awards were announced recently and the Battalion earned an incredible 1 DSO, 6 MCs, 1 QGM, 5 MiDs and 1 QCVS. I want to do my bit by these special heroes and I hope you will help me too!

 Thank you again to all of you have kindly donated to Help for Heroes so far. Let’s now try to reach the new target! You can donate easily at www.justgiving.com/timwilkes

Update Feb 08

First of all, a huge thank you to the many of you who have so kindly and generously made donations to HELP for HEROES, the fantastic new charity. This charity really does seem to have struck a chord with so many people. As you may remember, the target I set in December was to raise £5000 for HELP for HEROES, which is raising money for much needed facilities and equipment at Headley Court rehabilitation centre. Well, between us all we have very nearly raised that amount! So given that there is still three months before the Big Battlefield Bike Ride starts, I thought we might see if we could raise £7500 for our injured servicemen and women.

Some of the injured are from the battalion I served in from 1974 to 1985, 1 Royal Anglian (The Vikings). They recently returned from a tour in Afghanistan. They lost nine members, had 57 battle casualties and over 70 other injured. You can see some of what they got involved in by watching “Ross Kemp in Afghanistan” on Sky One. He spent several weeks with the Battalion. I want to do my bit by these special heroes and I hope you will help me too!

I shall be riding my bicycle with fellow Viking Julian Pollard and 298 others from Le Havre to Calais, visiting a number of battlefield sites on the way. This is a distance of 350 miles, to be covered in six days in late May 2008.

You can find out more at www.helpforheroes.org.uk/bbbr.html

I am now into my training, on my new bike. Bicycles have changed! My bike has a carbon frame and you can pick it up with one finger, it is so light. It has 30 gears. There are skinny tyres the width of your little finger. Brilliant brakes that work efficiently are an added benefit. I have shoes that clip into the special pedals, which means that I can power on the backward and upward stroke. All this means that longer journeys can be carried out faster. Hence the Lycra!

My regime at the moment is to do three morning rides a week, interspersed with two morning running sessions. I do this first thing each morning at 6.30. My rides are of 18 miles, which takes an hour and a quarter, averaging 15 miles an hour. I run for 30 to 40 minutes. I aim to increase my riding distance to 22 miles from now on. In mid March I shall begin including a longer ride of 35 miles at the weekend. It just so happens that is the distance between home and Burnham on Crouch, where I sail. So I shall ride over there, have a shower and lunch, sail in the club race and get driven home! In April I shall increase the weekend ride to 50-60 miles.

Thank you again to all of you have kindly donated to Help for Heroes so far. Let’s now try to reach the new target! You can donate easily at www.justgiving.com/timwilkes

Thank you.

Tim Wilkes timwilkes6@hotmail.com