Blackburn building surveyor proves his pedal power for charity challenge

A building surveyor will prove his pedal power when he takes on a triple cycling challenge this summer.

Andrew Ainsworth, 48, is nationwide building surveyor for flexible business space provider, Bizspace, based at their Glenfield Park Business Centre in Blackburn.

The keen cyclist, who has worked for Bizspace for eight years and is responsible for surveying work at their almost 100 centres throughout the UK, will complete a hat trick of events in July, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Care.

First up is a 170-mile coast to coast ride from Morecambe to Bridlington on July 15. A fortnight later Andrew saddles up again as part of the Bizspace relay team in the JLL Property Triathlon North, completing a 20km course. And just two days after that he will take on the Prudential RideLondon – another gruelling 100 miles.

“I’m particularly looking forward to the coast to coast ride,” Andrew, said.

“I’ll be doing that with a group of five friends. We always come up with an annual challenge to do together and this is it for 2016. It suits me well as I enjoy cycling, but some of the lads have taken it up from scratch.

“The first day will be 70 miles and is over very hilly terrain. We stop overnight in Ripon and then day two is a flatter route over 100 miles. It should be great fun and it will be good to get the longest event completed first.

“For me, 20k isn’t a long distance, but I’ll be aiming to go flat out as fast as I can. The challenge will be to pace myself to get the best possible time for the team.

The Prudential RideLondon event was developed as a legacy of the 2012 London Olympics and is hailed as a “world class festival of cycling”. The 100-mile ride from London to Surrey will be broadcast live on TV in the UK and internationally.

“I’m sure there will be a fantastic atmosphere at both the triathlon and RideLondon. I think I’ll be feeling tired by the last event but I hope the crowd will keep me going!

“I know a few people who have done it before and have said it’s a great event. It’s quite unusual to be able to ride such a long distance on closed roads.”

Andrew is aiming to raise more than £750 for Macmillan Cancer Care.

Bizspace will have several staff members taking part in the full JLL Property Triathlon, at Salford Quays, Manchester, on 29 July, as well as a relay team, with three individuals completing the three disciplines. The cycling course takes in five laps of a course around Salford.

Bizspace’s sales and marketing director, Emma Long, added: “Andrew is a fantastic sport and is always among the first to get involved with our fundraising challenges. We’re sure he’ll be a fantastic asset to our triathlon team, but this time he’s taking it a step further with a long distance ride either side!

“Andrew is an inspiration who shows just what you can achieve if you set your mind to it, and all the team is supporting him.” To sponsor Andrew, visit his online donation page, justgiving.com/andrew-ainsworth3.