Tour de Forces

tour de forces

who are they? 

The Tour de Forces team consists of a group of individuals, all with a very close connection to the armed forces.  The team includes Paul Shearsby, Mark 'Rammers' Ormrod, Charles 'Chunks' Padilla and Marc Roberts.  Completing the line up are their support crew, Stevie Budge Sports Therapist and Sean Aiken Support Vehicle Driver. 

 what are they going to do?                

On the 1st September 2012, they aim to handcycle, cycle and run around the coast of Britain.  Starting in Plymouth, heading up to Inverness and back down the West coast to their starting point in Plymouth.

  why are they doing this?

To raise money!!  The guys have chosen 4 well deserving charities who will benefit from their fund raising.  These are the Royal Marines Association, The Royal British Legion, Semper FI Fund & BLESMA. 

what does this have to do with Invacare?

Invacare were approached by Paul & Mark, asking if we could help make Mark's wish of handcycling around the coast of Britain come true.  We managed to do this by donating a handcycle to Mark, who was badly injured whilst on foot patrol in Afghanistan in 2007, leaving him with life changing injuries.  They changed his life, but not even a Taliban landmine could stop him.  After losing both his legs and his right arm, Mark set himself some pretty amazing challenges, and to date nothing has beaten him. 

This is where we decided to step in and assist him with his latest challenge.  Mark will undertake this task in our Top End Force2 handcycle, making Mark the first triple amputee to cycle around the British coastline. 

how you can help

The guys have set up a web-site which will trace their steps as they prepare for the event.  You can also keep up to date with their progress as their challenge starts and continues.  It also gives details on the help they still need and donations can also be made via this web-site.

We felt inspired by these guys to help, so click on this link and show your support too!!