Potholes, punctures, wild dogs and heatstroke — staff cyclists are braving it all as they pedal the globe raising funds to help save children’s lives.

Environmental Manager Gavin Scott and former medical imaging scientist Daniel Rodriguez and his partner Lili, are embarking on their own rides in support of Life Cycle 4 and Children’s Brain Tumour Research at the University.

A veteran of previous University Life Cycles, both as rider and back-up team, Gavin is taking part in the gruelling endurance bike marathon, The Transcontinental Race from London to Istanbul. He is pedalling 2,300 miles across Europe in just a fortnight.

It’s a one-stage race in August with no support or back-up, no specified route and live GPS tracking to monitor riders’ progress and he has to carry all his essential equipment with him. Riders choose where, when, and if at all, to rest. “It’s going to be one big adventure and one big opportunity,” said Gavin.

Meanwhile, Daniel, pictured with his partner Lili, have already set off on their ambitious challenge cycling from the UK to Japan. It’s a year-long, self-supported and self-funded ride across Europe and Asia for Daniel who was inspired by his own work at the University’s Children’s Brain Tumour Centre.

“For the last three years I have been working as a researcher at Nottingham on a multicentre project to improve our understanding of child tumours through the analysis of magnetic resonance images. I have seen the high impact which these tumours have on children. It is going to be challenging to do so many hours in the saddle but we’re looking forward to highlights like the Pamir Highway which crosses through Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia.”

You can keep up with Daniel’s ride, called A Tale of Two Bikes, and regular updates here:
ataleoftwobikes.weebly.com and you can sponsor them here: www.justgiving.com/ataleoftwobikes

You can also support Gavin here:
www.justgiving.com/Gavin-Scott6