21st May 2024
Open GI’s cyclists L-R: John Stephenson, Josh Cooper, Jane Cetinel, Ben Legg, and Rob Bennett
Twelve intrepid cyclists from a Worcester company will be undertaking a test of endurance, embarking on a 125-mile (201km) route in a single day for charity.
The group, who all work at Open GI’s office in Blackpole, will set off at 7am on 5 June, arriving approximately 12 hours later at the business’s Winchester location.
Along the way, they will ride through Cheltenham, before climbing the challenging Cotswolds escarpment and tackling the various hills of the Cotswolds and North Wessex Downs along the way to Hampshire.
The team members on two wheels are raising money for Alzheimer’s Society, Open GI’s UK charity for 2024 and one that has personal connections to a few team members, after family members’ diagnosis.
Josh Cooper, Head of Digital Services for the insurance technology business, will be embarking on the challenge very much thinking of his father, who has dementia.
“We still get a lot of good days,” Josh says, “but it’s been hard as he is aware that something is wrong, and he can’t follow group conversations particularly well.
“Raising money for such a worthy cause is really important to me and the countless other families going through the same.
“It’s going to be a very tough and testing day, but the sense of achievement from riding such a long distance and making a valuable contribution to a special charity will far outweigh that.”
Joining Josh will be Group CEO Simon Badley, along with employees Rob Bennett, Jane Cetinel, Robert Fitzsimons, Ben Legg, Glyn Marples, Ed Phillips, John Stephenson, Nick Sturdy, Chris Williams, and Oli Wilson.
Various team members have taken on several training rides together ahead of the big day, with hopes the weather will stay fine for the challenge itself.
