Kendal man cycles to Turkey to raise money for charity

Graeme Nicholson has set off on his journey from Kendal to Kalkan to raise money for charity.

The charities Graeme is supporting through his challenge are The Lighthouse Community Mental Health Hub’ and ‘Wave Forward’ in Kendal and ‘KAPSA’, a well known and popular Street Animal Welfare Charity in Turkey.

"I came up with the idea during lockdown," he said. "We have a small holiday apartment in Kalkan and rather sooner than expected I had the opportunity to take early retirement on my 55th birthday.

"I’m a keen cyclist and wanted to get a decent bike for Kalkan given that I hope to spend more time there since retiring. I like an adventure and thought it would be a good way of ‘justifying’ buying a new bike…and a great way to ‘celebrate’ my retirement…and after 18+ months of planning, here I am."

Initially, Graeme wanted to raise £333 for each of his chosen charities but having reached those targets already he is now aiming to raise £1,000 for each charity.

Graeme is hoping to arrive in Kalkan on Sunday, May 29 where he will be welcomed by his wife Alison and daughters Libby and Meg. He said: "I’m looking forward to a grand welcome part and actually, I’ve heard this week that our agents in Kalkan are  arranging a welcome party with the Kalkan Mayor involved."

Graeme's daughter Libby said the family were 'incredibly proud' of him and is looking forward to joining him in Turkey at the end of his journey.

Thanking everyone for all the support he has received so far Graeme said: "What can I say about the support I’ve had? I’ve tried not to think about it too much because I get a bit teary-eyed, the support, encouragement, love, and positivity have been staggering and the donations have surprised me too. 

"Words can’t really express how grateful I am to people for their support."