John Andrew, the owner of Direct Golf and Bike-Shed.com, completed a 110-mile charity bike ride in anticipation of the Open Championship, benefiting the Seve Ballesteros Foundation.
John Andrew, the owner of Direct Golf and Bike-Shed.com, completed a 110-mile charity bike ride in anticipation of the Open Championship, benefiting the Seve Ballesteros Foundation.
Joining Andrew on the trek from West Yorkshire to the Wirral was Direct Golf managing director Neil Bell and stock controller Jonathan Brown.
The trio set off early in the morning of July 13th, one week before championship Sunday at Hoylake. They departed from the Huddersfield Bike-shed.com store and traveled along the towpath of the Leeds to Liverpool ship canal, and then continued through Blackburn to Wigan, where they spent Sunday night.
After getting some rest, the crew took off again at 8am, passing by Aintree to Liverpool, where they caught a ferry across the Mersey, which allowed them to follow the coastal path to Hoylake. They rode into Royal Liverpool at 2pm on Monday afternoon, where they posed for pictures for the media that had gathered for their arrival.
A map of their route can be seen here.
The ride was very special for Andrew, as it marked his 30th anniversary as a member of the Professional Golf Association. Andrew, who currently is a Class AA-qualified PGA professional, said, “I can’t believe it’s 30 years since I joined the PGA. The years have flown by.”
“I really wanted to find a special way to commemorate the anniversary,” Andrew said. “And, with the Seve Ballesteros Foundation a charity that’s very close to my heart, this was the ideal opportunity to raise some valuable funds for them and mark the achievement while combining two of my big passions: golf and cycling.”
When all donations are received, the ride is on target to raise £10,000 for the Seve Ballesteros Foundation. The charity aims to preserve the legacy of Seve Ballesteros, who died in May 2011, following a battle with brain cancer.
Ballesteros set up the foundation in 2009 with the aim to contribute to brain cancer research. Additionally, Ballesteros was committed to help youth golf development around the world. The foundation aims to introduce children to golf, while using the game to promote social development through the practice of sport and by learning from the foundation’s founder, who embodied humility, perseverance and respect.
In 1991, John Andrew started Direct Golf with one small shop in Huddersfield, but the company’s reliance on offering the lowest prices possible have been very popular with the UK golfing community. Direct Golf now has 20 branches nationwide, and it is one of the largest specialist golf retailers in the UK and Europe.
Andrew launched the first Bike-Shed.com store in Huddersfield this year. The massive store took over art of the company’s Direct Golf outlet, holds over £150k of stock to supply the demand for UK’s rapidly growing cycling community.
To support the Direct Golf/Bike-Shed.com charity ride with a donation to the Seve Ballesteros Foundation, visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/hoylake.
Visit Bike-Shed.com and direct-golf.co.uk for more information.
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