Bristow Pilots Cycle Nearly 300 Miles in Four Days for Charity

Bristow pilots Andy Beattie, Chris Shirt and Rich Cove cycled nearly 300 miles in four days raising more than $18,000 to benefit Action Medical Research for Children.

Beattie completed the ride in 2014 and enjoyed it so much that he recruited Shirt and Cove to join him in the July 2015 ride through the beautiful and rolling countryside of southern England and northern France before finishing in Paris.

“The opportunity to ride in the location of the World War I Battle of the Somme drew me in,” said Beattie. “It’s a challenging ride. We climbed altitudes of nearly 15,000 feet over the course of the four days; 5,000 feet on the first day alone!”

“Cycling through the battlefields and visiting the military cemeteries and memorials was a sobering experience, even 100 years later,” said Shirt. “We cycled further in one morning than the troops advanced in four years.”

“We’re honored to support Action Medical Research for Children,” said Beattie. “If you’ve had the polio vaccine, you’ve been affected by their research. If you or your wife has been into hospital and needed an ultrasound examination, you’ve been affected by their research. Their focus at present is on research for children’s diseases, but this has not always been the case since their founding in 1952.”

“It wouldn't be over the top to say life changing because I have a better attitude to exercise and giving to charity than ever before,” said Shirt. “I'm going again next year!”

For more information about Action Medical Research for Children and its cycling events, visit www.action.org.uk.