Jack Gallagher recently sat down with Scunthorpe United Assistant Club Secretary Adam Grice and First Team Coach Nick Daws, to discuss their upcoming charity bike ride, in aid of Prostate Cancer UK…
The yearly event, which sees cyclists make the journey from Yorkshire to Holland has come about for the third time in Grice’s case, but for Daws, it’s a maiden trip - taking place between June 9th and June 11th.
Grice said: “I’m looking forward to it a lot.
“It’s the third and probably the last time I’m going to be doing it. I’ll have the three medals and a lot of money for charity, so it’s probably my time to bow out after this one.
“I’ve done it twice before. In the first year I did it in a total of 13 hours, last year 11, so I’m trying to get even fitter this year and better that. However, it’s not about doing it in a certain time, it’s about raising a lot of money for charity and having a good time.
ND: “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s going to be great fun, there’s going to be a wealth of experienced riders who have done it before, and there’ll be newcomers to it.
“It’s going to be a challenge, but not something I’d go into without being prepared for - that’s probably the competitiveness in me.
“I know it’s something that Adam has done for the past few years and he’s done incredibly well to raise the funds for Prostate Cancer UK.
“He probably won’t think it, but he in some ways an inspiration.”
The charity is one of close affiliation to everyone connected with Scunthorpe United, and the Football League for that matter.
Both expressed their delight at raising money for Prostate Cancer UK, and explained the importance of work which they carry out.
AG: “Prostate Cancer UK is a fantastic charity that Scunthorpe United have had a lot to do with in recent years.
“They were shirt sponsors last year, and they’ve been an official partner of the Football League for the past three years.
“It’s not just Prostate Cancer UK and Scunthorpe United, it’s Prostate Cancer UK and the whole Football League.
ND: “I spoke to the Chairman in the summer, and suggested to him there would be something I’d like to do in order to enhance the profile of the club and it’s charitable image.
“We decided before the decision was taken to do the Football to Amsterdam ride that we’d support Prostate Cancer UK again. It was important to carry on the good work done by the club, which included of course the Chairman himself with Jeff Stelling’s walks.”
Grice and Daws have each got a ambition in terms of the amount they would like to raise, but at the same time stressed the value of every donation made.
AG: “As a group we’ve a target of £4,000. The charity advise you to try and raise £1,000 per rider, so that’s what we’re going for.
ND: “We’ve got to achieve £600 individually to fund the ride, because we’ve got to get the ferry across for the second leg. We’ve also got an overnight stop in Amsterdam, with myself and Adam having a flight back to Leeds/Bradford airport afterwards.
“We’d like to as a foursome crash through what was achieved previously, go beyond it and raise as much as we can.”
Iron First Team Coach Daws also has his own personal ambitions too, having made cycling a big part of his day-to-day routine over the past year.
ND: “I had a consultation on a long-standing knee issue and I thought I’d give something exercise wise a go, to see whether that would rectify it.
“Getting back on the bike after a few years was a catalyst for it really. Back in May after the season finished I decided to get back on the bike and crack on.
“What I decided to do personally was see if I could commute to work occasionally. It’s 23 miles and, as we sit here now, I’ve managed to do 74 return commutes.
“I’ve set myself a personal challenge of doing 1,250 kilometres a month from June until May, and I’m coming up to nine months of successfully achieving that.
“Having been a professional sports person for so long, you need a goal and something to achieve. I can’t get out there and fight for three points so I’ve got to set myself a little target, and so far it’s gone well.”
Grice paid his thanks to the several companies who have go involved with both the production and sponsoring of the personalised jerseys, which will be worn for the entirety of the ride.
AG: “Last year we had the personalised jerseys, made by Godfrey Sports in Nottingham, which replicated the 2015-16 home kit.
“It was a success, so I’ve decided to do it once more. So far I’ve got Gem Sports Management, who I deal with for the hotels for the first team - they’ve sponsored a vast amount, so a big thanks goes to them.
“Coolcare Logistics, a transport company in Doncaster have agreed to sponsor the jerseys, so they’re paying for the full four jersey’s which the team will wear. They will replicate the home kit of 2016-17.”