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Cyclists Gear Up for Ryan Challenge

It’s a year ago today since Lincolnshire teenager Ryan Smith suffered a serious head injury after colliding with a van while riding his bicycle without a helmet.

Since then Ryan (17) has made good progress in his recovery, and now a foundation set up in his name is to benefit from the fund-raising efforts of staff at chartered accountants Duncan & Toplis.

Two Duncan & Toplis employees will tackle a cycling tour of Lincolnshire and beyond next week, stopping at all 10 Duncan & Toplis offices on 31st July and 1st August.

Supported by 13 of their colleagues who will join them at various stages, Oli Phillips (25) and Sam Mosedale (26) will ride the 201-mile route to promote cycle helmet safety and raise funds for the Ryan Smith Foundation.

Ryan’s father Mark Smith from Chapel St Leonards will also take part in the marathon ride, which has been named D&T Riding for Ryan’.

Oli and Sam will set out from the Lincoln office of Duncan & Toplis at 7am on 31st July and cycle to offices in Louth, Skegness, Boston, Spalding and Stamford.

The following day they will start early once again for a tour of Stamford, Melton Mowbray, Grantham, Sleaford and Newark before returning to Lincoln.

Colleagues 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) will be joining the intrepid pair along the way.

They expect to cover 201 miles during their ride and they’re hoping to raise £2,010 for the Ryan Smith Foundation.

Oli Phillips, a trainee accountant at Duncan & Toplis, said: “I’m a keen cyclist and I fancied setting myself a challenge after I finish my accounting exams this month.

“We heard about Ryan so thought we could raise awareness of the need for cycle helmets during the ride. There are lots of other cyclists working for Duncan & Toplis who we wouldn’t normally get the chance to meet or ride with so we’re looking forward to getting to know some colleagues from other offices.”

Oli added: “This challenge will be the first time I have ridden more than 50 miles in a day, so I’ll be interested to see how well we will both cope. I’m expecting the first couple of stages to be quite smooth but the final 20 miles I imagine are really going to test our technique and abilities.

“I’m hoping we get a lot of support at each office we stop at and with luck the weather will be kind to us as I don’t fancy cycling in a thunderstorm!”

Ryan’s father Mark Smith will also join Team D&T during the whole of the first day’s cycling. “I am nervous but also excited to be taking part in the ride. I have taken part in a handful of other cycling events and would class myself as a mid-range cyclist, but I just hope the younger lads will have patience along the way.

“It is obvious that Ryan will not be the same boy he used to be before his injury, but nevertheless he is making remarkable improvements and as he recovers we are seeing more of the old Ryan coming through.

“We are grateful and humbled by the support that Duncan & Toplis has offered me and the foundation. I am hopeful that we will continue to partner up to raise awareness of cycle safety.”

The charity cycle ride is being sponsored by Queensgate Financial Management, Bishopsgate Corporate Finance, Datcom, DoubleRed photography, Ticklebelly Lane Bakery, Loopwheels, Kaplan Financial East Midlands and Shooting Star PR.

The Lincolnshire Technology Hubs set up by the county’s broadband campaign onlincolnshire are providing GoPro cameras to enable the cyclists to film while they’re riding and upload clips to YouTube and other websites.

To make a donation and support the team please visit http://www.duntop.co.uk/ridingforryan.pdf.

To follow the team’s progress keep an eye on @CycleTeamDT on Twitter, visit the Facebook page D&T Riding for Ryan, and search using the hashtag #ridingforryan.

Photocalls

Members of the media are welcome to drop in at any point for photos and interviews.

The itinerary is expected to be as follows:

Thursday 31st July

0700 – 0930 Lincoln to Louth

0945 – 1145 Louth to Skegness – lunch

1230 – 1430 Skegness to Boston

1445 – 1655 Boston to Spalding

1715 – 1915 Spalding to Stamford

Friday 1st August

0700 – 0930 Stamford to Melton Mowbray

0945 – 1145 Melton Mowbray to Grantham

1230 – 1400 Grantham to Sleaford

1415 – 1615 Sleaford to Newark

1630 – 1745 Newark to Lincoln

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

For media information please contact:
Jez Ashberry
Shooting Star PR
01522 528540
07780 735071
jez@weareshootingstar.co.uk
[Duncan81ridingforryan]


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