Greater Manchester cycling fundraisers take on 12-day challenge

A team of cycling fundraisers from Greater Manchester have set off on a 1,450 mile journey from the Coliseum theatre in Oldham, to the Colosseum in Rome, to raise money for charity.

The Blazing Saddles set off on Wednesday 19th July on the trip across Europe, which is expected to take 12 days and includes 59,000 feet of climbs.

Formed 10 years ago by a small group of Oldham-based firefighters and friends – including Julian Hodges, Head of Product Marketing at Sharp UK – Blazing Saddles aimed to marry the troupe’s passion for cycling with their desire to raise money for charities close to their hearts.

Following the success of their initial event – which saw the group complete 176 miles in a day visiting all the Fire Stations in Greater Manchester and raising funds for Firefighters’ Charity and SANDS – Blazing Saddles went on to complete bigger and more challenging events.

2014 saw the Pure Three Peaks challenge (cycling between and climbing the three peaks), in 2016 the team cycled to Oldham from Kranj in Slovenia (a town twinned with Oldham) and in 2018 they cycled from Oldham to Gibraltar. This year marks the group’s first challenge in five years after a pandemic-related hiatus – and is their biggest one to date.

Julian Hodges, Head of Product Marketing at Sharp UK and Blazing Saddles troupe member, said:

“Cycling is a true passion of mine and has been for over 12 years. There is a real mix of excitement and anticipation about our latest challenge and I have been in preparation for the past 9 months. There are no short cuts, you must spend as much time in the saddle as you can! The Alps will be the real challenge but reaching the final destination is always a real buzz, especially knowing our families will there to meet us. I’m incredibly grateful for my team at Sharp for their sponsorship, and the other amazing donations and  support  we have received that will help us reach our goals.”

With over £20,000 already raised for the Coliseum to Colosseum, Sharp UK has lent its support to Julian and the Blazing Saddles towards their £30,000 goal for their chosen charities, which includes Firefighters’ Charity, SANDS, Back Up (Spinal Injuries), Parkinson’s UK and Arts Emergency.

As with their previous trips, the challenge is completely self-funded with all proceeds going directly to the charities. Since its 2013 launch, the group have raised over £100,000 for several charities. For further information about the team and to support their latest challenge, visit their fundraising website.

Watch highlights of their previous challenge below: