A SOUTH east Cornwall cricketer has raised £1,000 for the National Health Service by completing a cyber cycle.
Tideford cricketer Chris Anderson undertook a virtual cycle ride on a static bike at his Saltash home to all 70 Cornish cricket clubs.
It took him 20 hours over four days, and he ‘rode’ a total of 700.7 km (435.4 miles) to complete the round trip – the equivalent of driving from Bodmin to Newcastle-upon-Tyne!
‘This was just one of my “crazy” spur of the moment ideas,’ explained Chris.
‘Little did I know that I’d be crossing a virtual finish line, pads on with bat in hand, feeling like everyone was in the room with me, cheering me home. I’ve never felt anything like it before!
‘I took my final “comfort” break just before 11am on Tuesday so that we could respect the minute’s silence that day for those NHS staff who’d tragically lost their lives recently.
‘This was so powerful. It made what we were achieving, to raise money for the NHS, just so much more real. Suffice to say that that moment propelled me to the finish line!’
Chris added: ‘During the challenge, people shared their stories of why the NHS is so important to them. I thank them as this gave me even more encouragement to just keep going – the attitude that epitomises the NHS in my view.
‘I’m truly thankful and honestly overwhelmed by the incredible support shown by people throughout the journey.
‘We made the magical 100 per cent target (£678) an hour into the final day. What a feeling!
‘But people’s generosity continued long after I had finished, and we have now gone and hit the £1,000 milestone.
‘Donations are still welcome at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/chrisanderson1984’
Chris continued: ‘The watching audience (on the Facebook livestream) and I entertained ourselves with games of eye-spy and Q&A sessions. I also accepted mini challenges of singing a rival football team’s theme song (Chris is a Plymouth Argyle and Manchester United fan and had to sing the entire Chelsea song!) and I completed the last 1km dressed in full cricket batting gear, for top-up donations!
‘This really helped to “lose” a few kilometres along the way.
‘A huge thank to everyone for their support. To have made something so positive happen in a time of uncertainty is incredible! Hats off – well, helmet off!’