Retail team get on their Bikes Against Bombs

A team of 24 grocery, wholesale and convenience industry colleagues, including SLR’s Antony Begley and Helen Lyons, are set to cycle 300km in Bosnia to raise funds for landmine charity MAG.

From 10 to 15 June 2022, 24 intrepid grocery, wholesale, convenience and on-trade experts will cycle across the western Balkans in just four days. Among the cyclists will be SLR Publisher Antony Begley and Sales & Marketing Director Helen Lyons.

Starting in Dubrovnik, southern Croatia and finishing in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the team will be crossing 300km of hilly terrain in a country which is still heavily contaminated with landmines.

This year’s Bikes Against Bombs fundraising challenge raises money and awareness for the Manchester-based landmine clearance charity Mines Advisory Group (MAG). Since 2015, over 90 senior leaders and executives from across the industry have taken on incredible cycle challenges for MAG.

The Bike Bosnia challenge is the sixth overseas ride and will be powered by leading healthy snacking brand Graze.

The fundraising challenge is the brainchild of Neil Turton, MD of Sugro, and Tom Fender, Development Director of TWC. Over 90 people from the sector have cycled across Vietnam, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Laos. In 2021 the team also completed seven rides across seven UK cities.

Sarah Tavener, Head of Philanthropy at MAG, commented: “Bikes Against Bombs has been an outstanding industry initiative which has already helped generate an extraordinary £730,000 for MAG. The continued support of the convenience and wholesale sector is hugely appreciated, and every pound of support we receive really does make a significant difference.”

Key sponsors of the challenge include The Wholesale Company, IT Retail Systems, and Kwickeshopper.

Antony Begley added: “With war in Europe very much at the forefront of everyone’s minds, it’s clear to all of us the devastating impact that it can and does have on innocent civilians.

“While our thoughts are all with Ukraine, it wasn’t so very long ago that eastern Europe was torn apart by another conflict and, unfortunately, the legacy of the war that marked the break-up of the former Yugoslavia is still affecting innocent people today in the form of landmines.

“That’s why we will be cycling hundreds of kilometres across Bosnia in June, most of it uphill. We will be raising much-needed money for MAG that will help reclaim vast tracts of land that are still unusable all these years later – and remain mortally dangerous for men, women and children.”

Find out more.

If you can support Helen or Antony and help save innocent lives, please do!