On Sunday, the 29th of May, one of our supporters and friends, Karo Bonas will take part in RideLondon in aid of Spread a Smile. The 100 mile ride, starting in Embankment and taking place across a loop of London and Essex is one of the UK’s largest cycling events, with over 15,000 riders taking part on the day.
Karo is the Head of Portfolio and Programme Management Practice at Opticore IT, who are wonderful supporters of Spread a Smile and Karo joins some of his colleagues who have also undertaken challenges for us in recent months.
Karo says he first become aware of the charity when his best friend’s son, Louis, was at Great Ormond Street Hospital four years ago, receiving treatment for cancer. Given the severity of the situation, the family were reluctant at first to participate in the Spread a Smile visits but Karo says ultimately the service Spread a Smile provided was life changing. Seeing how much the visits changed the atmosphere of their stay brought Karo and the rest of Louis’ loved ones a great peace of mind. Having children of his own, Karo said that seeing the work Spread a Smile does is hugely important to him, and hopes that through raising these funds we will be able to support even more critically ill children and families.
Karo says that he was more experienced in mountain biking when younger, and that training for the event has been a significant challenge. He has been riding 150 miles a week in preparation for, both solo and with his team of four, and that he has one more long 50 mile ride left before the big day! Karo says that he is aiming to finish in under 6 and a half hours, but would realistically be happy with just finishing.
We’re incredibly grateful to Karo, Opticore IT, and all of those who are riding on Sunday in aid of Spread a Smile, and wish them the best of luck for the event! Some of our team will be along the course to cheer on competitors, so please say hello if you see us, and give our riders a big shout if they pass you.
If you’d like to take part in one of our challenges representing Spread Smile, you can find more information here: https://spreadasmile.org/challenge-events/