Carl sets challenge to cycle the length of the Britain for Hope House Children’s Hospices

Carl Huntley, Chief Executive at Base Architects is challenging himself to cycle the length of Britain to support seriously ill local children.

Carl from Shrewsbury, has set his sights on completing his biggest cycling challenge to date in May riding unsupported, across 3 countries, from Lands End to John O Groats. 

He will be aiming to complete the distance of 881 miles in under 6 days with only 55 hours in the saddle! It is one of the most difficult endurance events to undertake in the UK and the current world record on a road bike is 43 hours, 25 minutes and 13 seconds!

Carl, 47, says “I am undertaking this event to support two charities that do incredible work. It is a challenge that I have thought about for over 2 decades and now I have finally plucked up the courage to take it on.

The charity which has two hospices - Hope House in Oswestry, Shropshire and Tŷ Gobaith in Conwy, North Wales provide specialist nursing care and support to more than 750 children and their families from birth up to 25 years, who live with a life limiting illness in Cheshire, Shropshire, North and Mid Wales.   

To make the challenge even more interesting, Carl will be riding a pre-production racing bike designed by HRC Racing Frames and will also be riding solo to make the challenge as carbon neutral as possible.

“One of the most challenging factors is the short time frame which I have set myself in order to complete it – most riders take between 10 to 14 days to ride the route, however, to complete it in under 6 days will mean that I will be riding for between 10 to 12 hours to complete 160 miles per day. Says Carl. “However supporting Hope House will give me more focus when I go through inevitable periods of self-doubt during the challenge, thinking about the support they give to families when they need it most.”

Base Architects, who have offices in Cheshire, Shropshire & Conwy are avid supporters of charities local to them and helping make a difference where they can. They recently supported Hope House with their Final Moments Matter campaign, helping the charity to raise over £500,000 to fund their end of life care services.

Fundraiser Bekki Fardoesaid: “We are so grateful to Carl for undertaking this huge challenge to raise money for the children and families we care for at Hope House. It will be tough, but we have every faith in him and wish him the best of luck!

Carl is raising money for Hope House Children’s Hospice and Severn Hospice equally. You can donate to Carl’s fundraising page here:

https://bit.ly/3HfHflN

“If you have been inspired by Carl then you can sign up to Hope House’s Cycle Challenge in August and choose a 56 or 70 mile route starting at finishing at Hope House to support seriously ill local children and their families,” added Bekki.

About Hope House and Tŷ Gobaith   

Hope House Children's Hospices provide specialist nursing care and support to more than 750 children aged 0 to 25 years, and their families, who live in Shropshire, Cheshire, North and Mid Wales.   

We have two hospices - Hope House in Oswestry and Tŷ Gobaith in Conwy.   

Our dedicated teams support families from diagnosis, throughout the lifetime of their child and beyond. We are here for every mum, dad, brother and sister. At the end of a child's life we are here to make sure their final moments are as comfortable as possible and that their family says goodbye in their own way and in their own time.   

We are also here to comfort families and offer bereavement support, whether we've cared for their child during their illness, or they have turned to us after their child's sudden death through any circumstances at all.   

Three local families a week face the pain of their child dying. We currently raise more than £6.5 million every year and this enables us to help one in every three of those families. 

It is our mission to raise an additional £2.5 million every year by 2025 so we can help every child and family who needs us. Because no one should face the death of a child alone. 

Pictured - Carl Huntley outside the Base Architects offices in Shrewsbury with his Huntley Racing Cycle’s bike.