On Saturday 26th June 2021, our very own Matt Cox, Commercial Manager at A-Trax, cycled 150 miles across England in a phenomenal 11 hours, 59 mins and 43 seconds. He was taking part in an organised challenge called Coast to Coast in a Day. Starting at the crack of dawn from the picturesque village of Seascale in Cumbria his journey took him through the Yorkshire Dales and North York Moors before finally finishing in the seaside town of Whitby

With many challenging moments Matt powered through even the most vertiginous of valleys, hills and dales to finish in the top 10% of riders. No mean feat considering the route has a total ascent of over 4,500 metres (that’s nearly as high as Western Europe’s highest mountain, Mount Blanc) and includes one of the steepest roads in England, the infamous Hardknott Pass with a lung-busting gradient of 1 in 3 (about 33%).

Matt used the opportunity to fundraise for Parkinson’s UK and in doing so raised a fantastic £960 through his JustGiving page. This figure was generously matched by our MD, Shaun Edwards, with a company donation bringing the total to £1920!

Shaun said: “As a business we believe in supporting the efforts of our staff especially when the focus is on giving something back to the community. This was a supreme effort by Matt for a cause that is close to my heart. It was great to be involved to help Parkinson’s UK continue to do their great work.”

Katie Thomas, Regional fundraiser from Parkinson’s UK said, “After a year of being told what we can’t do, we’re focusing on what we can do. Thanks to the generous support of people like Matt and Shaun, we can fund the right research into the most promising treatments. This donation will make a real difference to people with Parkinson’s, and the people in their lives. Matt and everyone at ATG and A-Trax have helped make this fundraising challenge a huge success. Thank you so much for fundraising for Parkinson’s UK and making a difference to the Parkinson’s community.”

Reflecting on his achievement Matt explained that the inspiration behind the venture started back in 2019 with some speculative banter between cycling friends about who would be the first to cycle across England. Matt blinked first and entered the event in 2020, which was subsequently cancelled because of COVID 19. However, his desire to see it through never wavered so when 2021 was confirmed, he was more than ready to get back in the saddle.

“Parkinson’s has affected my close family and I knew is affecting the Edwards’ family, so it seemed a natural choice to choose Parkinson’s UK as my charity for this event,” he explained, “it’s been amazing to find out how many of my social media contacts are also affected by this horrible disease, either directly or indirectly, so raising funds and awareness can only be a good thing.”

When asked about the appeal of an event of this nature he said, “I constantly like to test myself and there is nothing like the motivation that sponsorship brings, this was a pretty big challenge undertaken with less preparation than I would have liked. So to complete it in the top 10% and without any issues has given me a bit of over confidence. I just hope that feeling dissipates before I sign up for something really stupid!”

When he does, we’ll be sure to let you know. Watch this space!

If you or someone you know have been affected by Parkinson’s UK offers support via its hotlines and local groups.
To find out more visit: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk