We're cycling for Fairy Bricks this Saturday
Posted by Huw,
Our charity ride to raise money for Fairy Bricks is this Saturday!
We can't ride together this year, so eleven of us will each ride 100Km in our local areas for a combined total of 1100Km, which is about the same distance we rode in 2018 when we cycled from London to Billund.
We're experiencing temperatures of over 30c in much of Europe at the moment but thankfully things are forecast to cool down a bit by the weekend.
Nevertheless, it will be a tough ride. so we really hope you'll sponsor us to raise much-needed funds for the charity that was recently burgled. You can do so at GoFundMe and find out more about the work Fairy Bricks does on Facebook.
You can read more about the riders and what motivates us to support the charity after the break, and also read an article at Billund Online about the event.
Ed Diment is a lifelong LEGO fan who joined the LEGO community in 2003. Ed became a professional LEGO builder in 2011 with his business partner, UK LEGO Certified Professional Duncan Titmarsh through the company Bright Bricks.
Ed has been a keen cyclist for many years and was one of the original Bikes to Billund riders. Ed is also chairman of the board of trustees of Fairy Bricks.
"Being involved in Fairy Bricks has been an immensely rewarding experience. Seeing the charity's growth the past few years has meant seeing it help an increasing number of children bringing happiness and thereby health to very deserving recipients of the LEGO sets we distribute. This is only possible with the fantastic help of the charity's supporters. Thank you all.“
Huw Millington lives in the south of England and has been an AFOL since 1995. He runs the popular LEGO fan website Brickset.com.
He's a regular cyclist in the rolling hills of Hampshire but 100Km is more than he usually cycles at the moment, so it will be a challenge.
"It's always heartwarming to see the feedback Fairy Bricks receives from the children that are on the receiving end of the charity's work. It's clear that the simple act of giving a sick child LEGO makes a huge difference to their wellbeing. I'm therefore keen to help raise funds again to enable it to continue its good work.“
Ralph ’dö’ Döring has been an AFOL for over 30 years. His passion for LEGO started with the arrival of Classic Space and has not left him since.
With a fully packed bike and a tent Ralph has been travelling the St. Jacobs trail for over 2500 km, been to Canada, survived a Transalp and visited the rolling hills of southern England countless times. In 2018 he had the honour to join the Bikes to Billund riders for Fairy Bricks.
"I remember my Mother giving me 6801 Moon Buggy as a gift while I was in hospital getting my appendix removed. It is still such a vivid and wonderful memory. What can be more awesome than Fairy Bricks bringing this joy to sick children in hospitals?“
James Pegrum currently lives in hilly south west of England. His hobbies include cycling, LEGO and history. Having combined the later two hobbies he was part of the formation of Brick to the Past in 2013.
He's a keen cyclist and enjoys the physical challenge of long, hilly, rides along with the opportunity to support charities. He was part of Bikes to Billund tour in 2018.
Jesper Vilstrup has always been fascinated by LEGO bricks and the LEGO mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. His passion started as a boy with the LEGO Technic Tractor set (851).
In 2001 a dream came true when he was offered to join the LEGO Group. Over the years he has worked in several positions within marketing, communication and digital. In 2015 he became CEO of the LEGO House which according to him is the best job in the world.
“My job offers me the possibility to work with LEGO fans from all over the world. I am always up for a great challenge - especially when it’s about doing something good. Therefore, I was honoured to join the last leg of the Fairy Bricks Charity race from London to Billund in 2018 and really proud to be able to help the Fairy Bricks again this year.”
Caspar Bennedsen is a long time AFOL. He joined the fan community in 2005, and has since made his hobby to his full time job, as a LEGO Certified Professional.
Together with LEGO, cycling is another big hobby - 3 years in a row, he has joined the charity race "Team Rynkeby" where he collects money for the Danish Children's Cancer Foundation. In 2018 and 2019 he cycled from Denmark to Paris (1400 km in 8 days) this year the tours was from Jutland to Copenhagen (600 km in 4 days).
Next year he'll join the team again and bike to Paris!
In 2018 Caspar joined the last leg of the Fairy Bricks Charity race from London to Billund.
"I'm proud to help Fairy Bricks through both of my big hobbies! Let's all join in, and help Kevin and the rest of the team at Fairy Bricks give fantastic experiences to sick children!“
Joe Perez is a Chartered Surveyor from Bristol, England. He has been a lifelong LEGO fan and an active member of the fan community since 2007. From 2013 – 2019 he was a professional LEGO builder working for Bright Bricks.
In recent years Joe has rekindled his interest in cycling and now regularly goes mountain biking and road riding as much as he can.
“Fairy Bricks do so much to improve the wellbeing of children in hospitals, the joy of playing with LEGO is universal and always puts a smile on your face. I am delighted and very proud to part of this charity ride, and what better way to support this wonderful cause by combining two of my favourite hobbies.”
Gary Davis is a human factors consultant and a trained LEGO Serious Play facilitator. He has been a fan of LEGO since about 1965 but became more deeply engaged in the LEGO Community around 2000 when LEGO Star Wars was launched. Gary is an enthusiastic Fairy Bricks supporter because of the joy they bring to children in hospital and elsewhere.
He helps in many Fairy Bricks fund-raising activities and participates in play-day events in hospitals. He also builds LEGO models for Fairy Bricks, including the ridable LEGO bike for the original Bikes-to-Billund trip in 2018, and a 2m-long LEGO model of the Evelina Children’s’ Hospital in London. He wasn’t a regular cyclist until COVID-19 prevented his usual sport of swimming, so he faces this fund-raising bike ride with some trepidation.
Jonathon Goldsworthy recalls playing with Lego as a child, but his enjoyment of the hobby really started in his mid 20s, when he discovered Technic. It then extended to all themes when his daughter was born. Again, while he cycled a lot as a child, he only started cycling “properly” about 7 years ago. Jonathon enjoys the challenge of cycling further, faster or both.
“Helping the wonderful Fairy Bricks, is making me want to try for my longest ride yet.”
Elspeth De Montes is a late entry to the Dash in a Day Team after noticing a lack of female representation in the team (although plenty of shaved legs were already present). As a regular cyclist of shorter distances, she will complete her 100km as a non-stop ride from her home in the Yorkshire Dales on a single speed bike. No Gears = More Sweat. The oversized LEGO shopping bag will probably not be taken on the challenge....
Elspeth is a long term supporter of Fairy Bricks and welcomed the opportunity to fundraise by sweating on a bike!!
Martin Clarke lives in France and is the ambassador for RLUG LUG’est. He has played an active role with the French AFOL Community, participating in several Lego exhibitions each year and displaying his MOCs.
His other passion is cycling, regularly clocking up 100km a week in the Jura mountains. He is more than happy to ride 100km plus in a day in support of Fairy Bricks.
Please sponsor us at GoFundMe and help keep the charity afloat in these challenging times.
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6 comments on this article
You've all got some nerve to do that in this weather, I wish the best for you all.
Supposed to be wet, thundery and sunny with temperatures reaching 28 to 30-c on Saturday, three conditions I'd rather not cycle in myself. Stay hydrated and good luck :D.
Wishing you the best of luck from Down Under!
If you are planning on passing by my way Huw shout and I'll bring you refreshments!
Temperature is such a relative thing, those are normal mild temps in these parts this time of year. By no means "ideal" for outdoor activities, but we're used to it. You guys should "up the ante" and switch out your $10,000 carbon fiber bikes for one from Walmart xD Now THAT would be an impressive 100 Km ride! All jokes aside, this is such a great cause and it's nice to hear about good people doing good things. The world needs more of this :)
You are very close to your goal. Best of luck to all of you in those extreme temperatures. It's forecast to be a reasonable 20 degrees here, so I'll do a symbolic 20 K on my bike for solidarity and, really, just for fun. Stay hydrated and safe!
@jondenial said:
"Temperature is such a relative thing, those are normal mild temps in these parts this time of year. By no means "ideal" for outdoor activities, but we're used to it. You guys should "up the ante" and switch out your $10,000 carbon fiber bikes for one from Walmart xD Now THAT would be an impressive 100 Km ride! All jokes aside, this is such a great cause and it's nice to hear about good people doing good things. The world needs more of this :)"
Carbon fibre!?!? Mine doesn’t even have gears lol