Albion fan is set to ride close to 1,000 miles for AITC
In a bid to raise money for Albion in the Community, Graham Robinson will be cycling from the top of Scotland to Land’s End in Cornwall.
Despite venturing to the north of England and living over 200 miles from the Amex Stadium, a part of Brighton & Hove Albion will always live inside Graham.
The teaching assistant currently resides in Salford, Manchester but has continued to support the club from a distance.
Graham has been a fan of the Albion since 1987 and highlighted the club’s promotion that year as one of his fondest memories of supporting the Seagulls. During our interview, he went into further detail about why he wanted to raise money for AITC.
“In my job, I work with children with special educational needs and others from more disadvantaged backgrounds in a mostly working-class city. I feel that I can relate to those that AITC wants to support.”
Although Graham regards himself as a regular cyclist, this will be one of the toughest challenges he’s faced on the saddle, as he’ll be cycling the length of two countries.
“The ride is a JOGLE (John O’Groats to Land’s End) and will come to close to 1,000 miles, which will be spread over 14 days with me having three rest days at regular intervals. On average, I’ll be riding around 65-70 miles per day,” the fundraiser explained.
“I’ll be starting it on Wednesday the 28th of July and finishing on Friday the 13th of August. Along the way I’ll be stopping in Dornoch, Aviemore, Pitlochry, Dumfries, Shap, Chorley, Market Drayton, Tewkesbury, Weston-Super-Mare, Tiverton, Okehampton, Truro and, of course, Land’s End.”
This challenge has been on the horizon for Graham for some time now, as his challenge was postponed on numerous occasions. The rider initially attempted to complete the challenge in January 2019, however, an unfortunate death in the family prevented this.
A year later, Graham intended to attempt the 1,000-mile challenge but the emergence of coronavirus and the resulting travel restrictions, the fundraiser was forced to delay his challenge yet again.
However, he’s thrilled to finally get his cycling adventure underway and would strongly encourage other like-minded Albion supporters to raise money for AITC.
“I would most definitely recommend that my fellow Albion fans do their best to help AITC as, in my experience, I’ve heard so many good things about what they do in Sussex and what an asset it is for the club. It will represent a huge source of motivation for me during the inevitable tricky moments at times on this trip.”
If you would like to support Graham in his fundraising efforts, please visit his Virgin Money Giving page here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-display/showROFundraiserPage?userUrl=GrahamRobinson24&pageUrl=1
Furthermore, if you’re interested in raising money for AITC, please contact fundraising@bhafcfoundation.org.uk or visit our website bhafcfoundation.org.uk.