The Sponsors have landed

Greetings to the latest Arctic Rider blog,

In the past few weeks I've made some great progress in my preparation for my Iron Butt challenge.

Firstly, I've finally set a date for my ride which is going to be Tuesday 5th of July... so only 139 days to go... wow that's not long at all until I set off.

Secondly, I had a great meeting with film maker Andy Qualtrough who came to meet me in Newcastle. We had a good chat about how to make the film as wide reaching as possible and how we are going to film some of my pre-trip activities such as planning, the bike being serviced, and the annual monkey-meet biker trip at the Ace cafe in London. Its going to be a great watch indeed.

I've also had from great news on the corporate sponsor point of view. In the past few days I've managed to secure two new corporate sponsors.

I'm delighted to confirm that Puddle Ducks North East are going to be a sponsor of my Iron Butt challenge. Puddle Ducks provide baby, toddler, and child swimming classes and my daughter Islay, who my ride is all about, has been attending classes at Puddle Ducks since she was just 4 weeks old (and not long after she left hospital). Puddle Ducks also already do some amazing work with the charity Tiny Lives Trust. Big thanks to Carolyn and the team... great to have you on-board.

I'm equally pleased to announce that SportsBikeShop.co.uk will also be sponsoring my Iron Butt challenge. If you are a biker you need to check out their store which has great products and equaly great prices. Big thanks to owner James, Chris and the team for their support.

Support from companies not only gives more money to the charity but also helps boost my profile to a wider network which in turn I hope will raise even more money! All good for Tiny Lives Trust and the great work that they do.

I'm also very please to announce that my employers, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, have agreed to match the next £175 of donations for my ride... so if you are thinking of donating then what better time than now to make it count for double!

My running total has make great strides and I'm now at  45% of my target for my ride. If you'd like to donate you can do so at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/thearcticrider

Thanks for reading and supporting my Iron Butt challenge.

Ride safe,

Gordon