A keen cyclist from Rhyl will mark his 40^th birthday by cycling from London to Paris in aid of our hospices

Father of two, Andy Lowrie, who is a shop manager for Co-op, wanted to do something special to celebrate his landmark birthday whilst also doing something positive for a good cause.

He said: “I know Tŷ Gobaith well, having raised funds for them in the past with my teams at Co-op.

“I have visited the hospice several times to see the amazing facilities and care they offer local families with seriously ill children.

“I’ll be turning 40 in May and wanted to take on the London to Paris challenge whilst I still can.”

Andy (centre) with his pals Adam and Bryn point the way to Paris

Sacrificed the football

Andy will be joined on his 280km ride by his brother-in-law Adam Judge and friend Bryn Roberts, but their usual summer activity together has been postponed this year.

Andy continued: “We’d normally go on a lads football break somewhere together to watch a big game, but we’ve sacrificed that this year to take on the ride.

“We’ll make up for it next year by going to the Euros in Germany.”

The three day ride will take them from Greenwich Park in London to the foot of the Eifel Tower in Paris with just a short break out the saddle to cross the Channel on the Newhaven to Dieppe ferry.

Andy getting some practice in along the North Wales coast

How you can support us

Over the past decade Andy has had a hand in raising over £13,000 for the hospices, which rely on fundraising, sales in their shops and legacy gifts (gifts in wills) for the bulk of the £7.5m per year it takes to run them. 80% of this money is spent on nursing.

Setting off with an organised group on Saturday 30^th June, Andy is hoping to raise as much money as possible and has set up a Just Giving page here where you can quickly and easily sponsor him or search for Andrew Lowrie on the popular crowd-funding site.

Summing up, Andy said: “We’re really looking forward to it and hope the weather is good. But most importantly we hope people can dig deep and support us with a kind donation to this wonderful charity.”