Keith’s Nile Bike Ride Raises Thousands for Charity

An Ipswich man has raised over £4,400 for the British Heart Foundation after completing a 250 mile bike ride that took him across an Egyptian desert.

Keith Everitt secured significant sums of sponsorship in the months leading up to the event, including generous donations from Ancient House Press as main sponsor, where he works as Operations Manager and Scriv’s, his local newsagents in Holbrook.

He says: “The experience was definitely life-changing for me. My 33 fellow cyclists ranged in age from 16 to 63, of varying levels of fitness and many had very personal reasons for doing the ride, having lost loved ones through heart problems.

“The challenges were getting up at 5.30am for three of the four mornings of cycling and riding through the surprisingly hilly desert in temperatures of 90 degrees F. The route was certainly off the beaten track and often through very impoverished villages.

“As each day finished there was a major sense of achievement which grew as we clocked up the miles, ending with a total of 278. On the last day there was a real sense of togetherness as we all cycled closely together and it was very emotional as we went through the finishing line.”

The current total raised by the whole team is £120,000.

Ancient House Press employs 105 people and has a prestigious customer portfolio ranging from Government departments to large household names. Last year it installed a new £2m Mitsubishi Diamond 3000 Tandem Perfector 12 colour press and achieved both ISO 14001 accreditation and FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Chain of Custody certification.

The British Heart Foundation is a leading national charity, fighting heart and circulatory diseases. It funds research, education and lifesaving equipment and produces a range of materials to help people of all ages understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle.