AND THEY’RE OFF! PEDAL THE PORTS BEGINS AT ABP GRIMSBY

AND THEY’RE OFF! PEDAL THE PORTS BEGINS AT ABP GRIMSBY

Pedal the Ports, the 1,600-mile tandem relay organised by Associated British Ports (ABP) to support sufferers of motor neurone disease (MND), began this morning at the Port of Grimsby.

Megan and Mark Palmer, the children of Nick Palmer - formerly ABP Port Director of Grimsby & Immingham and the inspiration for Pedal the Ports as he himself is suffering from MND - rode the bike from Grimsby’s famous Dock Tower on the fundraiser’s inaugural leg.

From Grimsby, the tandem headed to ABP’s Ports of Immingham, Hull and then Goole. From tomorrow, it will continue its journey around ABP’s 21 ports, to Troon, Ayr, Silloth, Barrow, Fleetwood, Garston, Swansea, Port Talbot, Barry, Cardiff, Newport, Plymouth, Teignmouth, Southampton, Ipswich, Lowestoft and King’s Lynn, before arriving back in Grimsby on Saturday, 5 July, where a celebratory port-community open day will take place.

John Fitzgerald, ABP Port Director, Grimsby & Immingham, said: "After six months of planning and fundraising, it was brilliant to see the tandem leave Grimsby this morning on the first leg of its epic journey. We have already had a huge amount of generous support from our employees, customers and friends, but the bike still has a long way to go and there are many challenges yet to face. Having Megan and Mark as the bike’s first riders obviously added another element to what was, in itself, an emotional and very memorable event for the staff at Grimsby & Immingham, who worked with Nick and wish him well."

He added: "MND has no cure and scientists are not yet sure why it strikes, which is why we need to support research into this dreadful disease."

ABP has received a great deal of support from its customers in its efforts to raise funds. Graypen/GP Shipping, a provider of tanker-agency and port-agency services with 15 offices at different ABP ports, has donated £21,000 to the fundraiser (one for each of ABP’s ports). The company’s managing director, Nick Cutsforth, handed the cheque over this morning before the bike left Grimsby.

Throughout June, a blog, featuring the stories and reflections of those taking part in Pedal the Ports, will be posted at www.abports.co.uk/pedaltheports

6th June 2008

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