Coast to coast bike ride

A KEEN cyclist from a Warrington based company has set off on a coast-to-coast bike ride to raise money for the construction of a school in Africa.
Chairman of Daresbury based CCTV specialist The AD Group, Nigel Petrie, started his Biarritz to Barcelona bike ride yesterday (Wednesday).
He will cover a staggering 630 kilometres in total, including crossing the towering Pyrenees Mountains.
Nigel is hoping to raise enough money to build a much-needed school in Gambia, a small West-African country that became independent of Britain in 1965.
Around £14,000 is needed to make the project a reality, with Nigel hoping to raise enough money to shave a substantial chunk off that total.
It is estimated the ride will take him around eight or nine days to complete, with him funding the trip himself without any separate back up or support. Nigel said: “A good education is so important in terms of a child’s future and something which in Europe we often take for granted.
“The plan for Gambia is to use the funds raised to allow ‘Schools for Gambia’ to build a structure on an existing site on the south side of Farafenni town in the Baddibu District in the North Bank Division – a poverty stricken area.
“When finished the school block will consist of three full size classrooms, an office and storerooms and be known as a Lower Basic School. The building will then be handed over to the Gambian Government to run and to employ teachers. Currently, the nearest Lower Basic School – which children transfer to when they are seven – is too far for the kids to walk to. As a result many youngsters simply drop out of education altogether, something that ‘Schools for Gambia’ is keen to prevent at such a young age.”
Anyone wishing to sponsor Nigel can do so by sending a cheque made out to “Schools for Gambia” to Nigel Petrie c/o Plas Eliseg, Llantysilio, Langollen, LL20 8DE, or by donating online to
www.m ycharitypage.com/nigelpetrie