Rider ‘Flash’ has very personal motivation for charity bike ride to Portugal
He lives in Portugal these days, but has never forgotten his South London roots – and is about to undertake a 2,000km bike ride to prove it.
Sixty-year-old Gary Blesson, known as Flash, had the toughest of starts in life, having been found as a baby, abandoned by his mother, who was working as a prostitute.
He was lucky enough to be adopted by a loving family, but that grim start to life is part of his motivation for undertaking a ride from Westminster to Portugal next month to raise money for The Childhood Trust – London’s child poverty charity.
Starting out on August 3, Gary will set off for Miranda do Corvo, in a journey expected to take at least 15 days. The first leg of his journey will take him from London to Dover, before taking the ferry and heading down through France, into Spain, and then into Portugal.
The journey will be extremely exhausting, with Gary climbing The Pyrenees mountains on his route, and taking rest wherever he can find it for the night along the way.
Gary said: “I was born in South London into a very desperate situation. My birth mother was a prostitute, and I was found abandoned by the police.
“After spending some time in hospital, I stayed in a couple of foster homes until I was adopted by a family in Putney. While I have had a wonderful life and have always had a positive outlook, I am aware of the situations that too many children of London are born into, having had that experience myself.
“Having grown up in London, it is really important to give something back to the children that need it. I feel incredibly lucky to have been given the opportunity that I was given after my adoption, and want to use this to do good and help others.
“Over the years I have taken part in a number of fundraising events such as the London Marathon and several triathlons, but this is the biggest and hardest challenge I have ever done.”
Gary has been a keen cyclist since the age of 22, having found it was a huge help to his mental health as well as his physical health.
He said: “Cycling is so important for my mind, it puts me into a much better place in my head. I was late to finding the sport – I bet if any of my friends from school saw me doing this, they wouldn’t believe me. It really is amazing what you can do once you click into something, you can start from nothing like me.”
Gary’s love of cycling has led to his career, in which he now runs the cycling camp Delucci Retreat in Miranda Do Corvo, Portugal, where he has lived for the past 14 years.
Neha Mahendru, of the The Childhood Trust, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Gary. His story is truly inspirational, and we hope it encourages others to get out and improve their fitness, and see where it can take them, both mentally and physically.”
If you would like to donate to Gary, please visit: https://childhoodtrust.
Pictured top: Gary doing what he loves most (Picture: The Childhood Trust)
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