Britain’s biggest independent commercial vehicle hypermarket, Anchor Vans, has raised £535 for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) with a sponsored cycle ride along the famous Coast 2 Coast (sea to sea) cycle route from Whitehaven on Britain’s west coast to Tynemouth in the North East.
Anchor’s managing director, Simon Joyce and CEO Graham Joyce completed the challenge in October, covering 145 miles in three days from the Irish to the North Sea alongside Graham’s brother Philip Joyce and family friend Peter Foray.
Simon said: “I love taking on challenges such as these, raising awareness and much needed funds for deserving causes. The challenge was tough. We had some very long days on the road, and some demanding climbs to deal with. None of us had cycled any of the route beforehand. But it was brilliant – the four of us really enjoyed the challenge and are happy to have raised so much for the RNLI.”
The cycling charity Sustrans developed the C2C route in partnership with others, and it was opened in 1994. Today many thousands of cyclists pedal it every year, or complete shorter sections of it.
About Anchor Vans
With more than 25 years’ industry experience, family-owned Anchor Vans is an award-winning company which was named as UK Van Dealer of the Year. It has undergone a sustained period of growth and recently doubled the size of their Padworth base with the acquisition of almost three acres of adjoining land.
Development works on the new ‘super site’ have already begun.
Simon Joyce says: “This recent expansion is testament to our resolve to strengthen what we offer both regionally and nationally. We’re particularly proud that our training and career progression opportunities have led to such a high staff retention rate, with many employees staying with us for more than 10 years.”
About RNLI
The RNLI saves lives at sea through 24-hour lifeboat search and rescue, flood rescue, water safety education and seasonal lifeguards on Britain’s busiest beaches.
Since 1824, RNLI crews and lifeguards have saved more than 142,200 lives. 