Three tennis-mad coaches from Bristol will be rolling back the years to mark the 127th Wimbledon Championships with a non-stop 127-mile bike ride from the city to the capital this summer.
Lewis Fishlock, Head Coach at Rodway Hill Tennis Centre, cousin Ian Matthews and Alex Murray, who is a level one tennis coach, will depart from Bristol on the morning of Saturday 6th July, arriving at the iconic SW19 venue before the end of play that day.
The trio are hoping to raise £6,000 for Cancer Research UK in the process and for the whole journey will be dressed as some of tennis’, and Wimbledon’s, most iconic champions, such as John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg.
And the trio are already training hard for their ride, cycling over 50 miles a week.
They are also working with Gloucestershire council’s cycling expert John Davies to devise the best route, nutrition and training regime as they look to increase the distance to over 70 miles in the coming week.
The fundraising effort is inspired by Ian’s twin brother Steven, who was diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer last year. This prompted the friends to take on the Three Peaks Challenge last year, raising over £2,000 for the charity.
And this year Lewis, who was voted Coach of the Year 2012 by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) at the British Tennis Awards, wanted to combine his love of the sport and his desire to fundraise and begun planning a ride from Bristol to the capital.
Lewis said: “I live and breathe tennis and last year missed out on taking part in the Three Peaks and wanted to do something, and Wimbledon just seemed to be an obvious choice”
“We thought the fancy dress was a nice touch as everyone recognises a picture of John McEnroe, Pat Cash or Andre Agassi and it just makes it that extra bit special.”
“If I’m honest the 127 miles thing was a complete coincidence but I realised it when I was researching the route and once I found that out it just seemed even more perfect to do it.”
To donate money for Lewis, Ian and Alex’s ride please text the code UCBS99 with an amount (e.g. £5) to 70070 or visit http://www.justgiving.com/wimbledonyoucannotbeserious