A group of keen cyclists from Swindon’s business community are hoping to raise more than £10,000 for diabetes research after completing a gruelling four-day bike ride to Paris.
Among those taking part were Katie Went, a partner in law firm Bower & Bailey’s Swindon office, along with 12 friends on bicycles and two in support vans.
When the partner of one of her friends was diagnosed with diabetes, Katie decided to ride to Paris to raise money for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). With £6,000 already raised online the team are hoping to surpass their target of £8,000.
Katie reluctantly took up cycling to stay fit after suffering for years with a long-term knee injury. With the support of her partner, also a keen cyclist, she soon started enjoying the sport.
Katie said: “We trained hard for a year and we're well on the way to raising meaningful funds for JDRF. Having trained for half marathons in Cardiff, Gloucester and Bath, this was much harder and more time-consuming than I anticipated.
“Bower & Bailey have been extremely generous, knowing that the money will be going to people who really need it.
“It was an absolutely amazing experience and worth all the hard slog. I admit to being choked up when we saw the Eiffel Tower but my highlight was cycling round the Arc de Triomphe high-fiving my friend with another friend filming and car chaos all around us.”
Katie specialises in all aspects of family breakdown, with emphasis on the financial consequences. A trained collaborative lawyer, she was instrumental in setting up a regional branch of Resolution for Wiltshire and Gloucestershire (now North Wilts) and has been its treasurer ever since.
Pictured: The team after their arrival in Paris
