The land of cigars, revolution, Che Guevara, vintage Chevrolets.. oh and “our Col”
Yesterday Colin Lisle completed his epic trek through Cuba to raise money for the Fence Club. The challenge cycling 380km over five days, raising over £30,000 for the Fence Club in the process. His daughter Francesca Lisle director of Lisle Licensing recounts his astonishing journey.
About a year ago, my dad announced that he wanted to do some sort of an epic Challenge in order to raise money for the Fence Club.
He decided fairly early on that he wanted to do a bike ride, However His original destination was cancelled due to a lack of support and the company organising the challenge moved him onto Cuba. My initial thoughts were – not an obvious choice for a bike ride!
Anyway as always, Dad did his research and decided to do this challenge with a reputable company – Charity Challenge who usually work on things such as the BBC’s children in need.
It wasn’t until Dad was due to leave for Cuba and we received the details of the trip that it dawned on me that he really was pushing himself out of his comfort zone with this one.
Without singing his praises too much Dad has kept himself super fit and healthy in recent years, in the gym several times a week really putting me to shame but he isn’t a regular cyclist nor is he accustomed to travelling with strangers or on his own on group holidays so this really was a massive unknown territory for him.
As I write this, I believe he has passed a whopping £30,000 – an unbelievable achievement!!
He trained hard, even did a practice run earlier at Toymaster, and he felt he was truly prepared for what was ahead of him
The challenge was 380km across 5 days. After day 1 Dad was keen to share how well organised the event was with two guides, a mechanic and a doctor accompanying the group as well as a bus following across the five days with their luggage and spare kit etc.
I think it would be fair to say that day one was a bit of a shock to the system and a lot more challenging than expected mainly due to the incredibly poor road surfaces and pot holes which make the UK look like Europe not to mention the hill climbs which were apparently overlooked.
However, he did it and I think it was good preparation for what was to come as apparently day one was supposed to be one of the easiest of the five!
Across the five days the group travelled from Playa Jibacoa to Trinidad passing through some lovely towns and villages with plenty of history and culture along the way even a Cigar factory!
One thing Dad has repeated over these five days is just what a poor country Cuba is, with even the Doctor who was accompanied them – this was his second job which he chose in the tourism sector as his main job as a locum he earns a small amount of just a few pounds a week.
As always Dad has made friends with a great bunch on the trip even two ladies from a charity called Charlie House who the Fence club have previously donated to, which made it all the more special.
He set up a WhatsApp group made up of family and friends both personal and industry as well as his Facebook page which I’m sure the daily messages and motivational comments kept dad going, and all of us at home entertained.
I am totally in awe of my dad, whilst I may be biased, he truly is a very special man who has not only pushed himself to his limits at 73 years of age but done so whilst raising a staggering amount of money for charity. As I write this, I believe he has passed a whopping £30,000 – an unbelievable achievement!!
Well done Dad, we are incredibly proud of you and yet again you have surpassed all of our expectations
On behalf of the Fence Club, thank you so very much. I have seen firsthand what this amount of money can do to change a family or a child in need’s life and this will go a long way.
We can’t wait to celebrate with you at the annual Fence Club Christmas Ball in a weeks time. That’s if you can still walk then.
It’s not too late to donate, head to Colin’s JustGiving page and give to this worthy cause.
