Two keen cyclists from chartered accountants Duncan & Toplis have totted up the takings from their marathon cycle ride and almost doubled their initial fund-raising target.

Oli Phillips (25) and Sam Mosedale (26) cycled over 200 miles in two days in the summer, visiting all 10 Duncan & Toplis offices, and have now presented £3,752 to the Ryan Smith Foundation, which aims to raise awareness of cycle safety and the importance of wearing a helmet.

17-year-old Ryan Smith from Chapel St Leonards near Skegness suffered a serious head injury in July last year when he was involved in a cycling accident while not wearing a helmet.

He left hospital in Tadworth, Surrey on 1^st September and attends St Francis School in Lincoln. His aim is to be walking again by Christmas.

Oli and Sam, who work at Duncan & Toplis’ Lincoln office, had initially hoped to raise £2,010 –£10 for each mile of their journey. Thirteen colleagues from the company also cycled with them on various legs of the journey.

Ryan’s father Mark joined them on day one of the ride and said: “We’re so grateful to Oli and Sam and to Duncan & Toplis for all their support. We now understand the logistical implications for families and the cost of travelling to different hospitals, and the expense is enormous.

“The money Oli, Sam and their colleagues raised has helped us to support other families in a similar position and we’ve also begun an extensive education programme: so far we’ve visited 90 schools and colleges to promote cycle safety, high-visibility clothing and the importance of wearing a helmet.

“I hope we can do another Ride for Ryan next year. Oli and Sam are fantastic and they were great company during the ride. We’d really like to continue fund-raising with them and maybe organise a ride from London to Paris next year – not only is it a great fund-raiser, it’s also a fantastic way to raise awareness of the foundation and the message we’re trying to put across.”

Oli Phillips added: ”It’s been a great experience and very rewarding, and now it’s a pleasure to meet Ryan at last and see for ourselves the brilliant progress he’s made since his accident.

“The Riding for Ryan Challenge was hard work but well worth it and we’re already looking forward to the next one!”

Riding for Ryan was sponsored by Queensgate Financial Management, Bishopsgate Corporate Finance, Datcom, Double Red Print, Ticklebelly Lane Bakery, Loopwheels, Kaplan Financial East Midlands and Shooting Star PR.

A GoPro camera was loaned to the team by onlincolnshire and the footage can be viewed on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ltg4FoJSmLU&feature=youtu.be

A gallery of photographs from the event can be found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/duncantoplis/sets/72157645759392957/

In total staff at Duncan & Toplis have raised £5,252 for the Ryan Smith Foundation after a golf day raised £1,500 for the organisation.

Notes to editors

• Duncan & Toplis was established in 1925 and has since grown into one of the largest independent firms of chartered accountants in the Midlands.
• The firm was named ICAEW East Midlands Medium Accountancy Firm of the Year in March 2014.
• Duncan & Toplis appears in the top 40 UK accountancy practices list published by Accountancy Age.
• The company has 10 offices throughout the East Midlands: in Grantham, Boston, Lincoln, Louth, Melton Mowbray, Newark, Skegness, Sleaford, Spalding and Stamford.
• Duncan & Toplis offers a wide range of services to small to large-sized family businesses, from accountancy, audit and tax to payroll, human resources and computer services.
• The business employs around 350 staff, of whom 85 are currently engaged in professional training.
• The Ryan Smith Foundation has a website – http://ryansmithfoundation.org – and a Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/ryansmithfoundation
• The other Duncan & Tolis colleagues who took part in Riding for Ryan were: Tim Godson (Lincoln), Leigh MacDonald and Jon Jackson (Louth), Sarah Clyde and David Kime (Boston), Sue Higham-Diggle (Spalding), Edwin McClarty, Andy Howett and Debbie Chambers (Grantham), Sabrina Horton (Skegness) and Tony Shearer, Simon Shaw and Ian Phillips (Newark).

For media information please contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
[Duncan88ridingforryan]