IOW Tours helped Ronan McCann, Manager of the Yates’s in Newport, Isle of Wight get on his bike and ride from Portsmouth to Bournemouth, via the Isle of Wight to raise over £7,000 for the charity “Help for Heroes”. He was joined on his ‘Tour de South Coast’ by the managers of nine other Yates’s and some head office personnel to complete the 35 mile ride in around 8 hours on Sunday 28 June 2009.
The cyclists were waved off by the Reverend David Butler the veterans’ representative from the Portsmouth Royal Naval Association. Their trip took them from the Portsmouth Yates’s across to the Isle of Wight, where the cyclists rode around the Island to Yarmouth, caught a ferry to Lymington and then cycled on to the Bournemouth Yates’s where they received a rapturous reception from customers and staff.
Ronan said, “It was a great day – the weather was hot but fortunately there was some cloud cover to protect us from the sun. All 24 of us finished – some faster than others! It was certainly reassuring to have the support vehicle riding along side us, kindly donated free of charge from Isle of Wight Tours. I’ll never take a hill for granted again! It was worth it though – we’re all delighted to have raised so much money for such a worthy cause.”
Help for Heroes is the chosen charity for Yates’s during June, its 125th anniversary month, when collectively the pub chain hopes to raise £125,000 to donate to the charity.
Mark Lewis and Shirley Winn Directors & Owners of IOW Tours Ltd were pleased to be asked by Ronan for the use of their 16 seat mini coach as a support vehicle to help this charity event for Help for Heroes. Mark Lewis who was the driver of the mini coach that day said “it was a great day out and everyone did an excellent job, they all worked very hard to raise money for such a worthy cause”.
SOME PHOTO'S FROM THE DAY
Ronan McCann with Reverend David Butler at Yates in Portsmouth
"And there off" The yates's team leave Portsmouth and cycle to Wightlink Ferries
On the ferry traveling to the Isle of Wight
The team make thier first pit stop after a long ride up Wootton Hill
Just leaving Fairlee Service Station in Newport, about 6 miles into the journey
Another pit stop at the New Inn, Shalfleet (Typical Pub Managers)
Ronan & Chris from Yates's (IOW) leaving Wightlink Ferries in Lymington
And here they are arriving at Yates's in Bournemouth
They all did a great job and enjoyed a well deserved pint in Bournemouth
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