Leg waxing is Tour de Sez rider’s way of reaching target
HAVING his legs waxed for the first time has accelerated one Tour de Sez competitor’s fundraising over the £2,000 target.
Merrick Bramley, 41, took up cycling last year and this September will take on the gruelling 700-mile bike ride in aid of the Sarah Groves Foundation.
‘The riders have to raise £2,000 to cover the costs and raise money for the foundation and we were thinking of different ways to do that,’ he said.
He had no idea what to expect, but said it was certainly a ‘strange’ feeling immediately after having his legs waxed by Willow Tree beauty salon owner Stacie Bourgaize, who did it free of charge.
The important thing was that it brought him over his fundraising goal, meaning he can now focus on the individual challenge.
‘I started cycling 12 months ago so it is a bit more of a personal challenge for me,’ he said.
‘I used to play a bit of football but it started to hurt my knees and a few of my friends who are into cycling encouraged me to give it a try. It was something different and a way to push myself.’
The FCG Tour de Sez, which is the Sarah Groves Foundation’s main fundraiser, will see dozens of cyclists riding from St Malo to Amsterdam this September.
‘The tour will comprise 85 riders and 15 support staff and we are confident of raising, before costs, well over £200,000,’ said Vic Groves, Sarah’s father.
‘The reason for our success is that several riders have been highly creative in thinking outside the box in respect of their own fundraising.’
Other key events in the foundation’s 2018 schedule are the Freewheeler music festival at Bruce Russell’s in June. the 24-hour Cyclathon to mark what would have been Sarah’s 30th birthday later that month, and the 2018 Magical Days in the Park in July.
