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March 07, 2007

‘allsevens’ celebrates Le Tour, benefits World Bicycle Relief

by World Bicycle Relief

Friends to ride 777 Miles in 7 Days through 7 Countries via 7 Tour de France Prologue Cities; Destination: London Grand Départ on 07/07/07


ST. LOUIS, Mo. (March 7, 2007) – When Chris Davey learned the start date of the Tour de France this year, he knew it was time for him to do something special.

“There is great excitement here in the U.K. about the Tour de France starting in London,” he said. “When I saw that the Prologue is being held on July 7 – 07/07/07 – I decided that I needed to do something around a cycling theme to commemorate the event.”

Davey, 52, of Bath, England, contacted his friend and British expatriate Nigel Taylor, 43, of St. Louis. The two worked together for 10 years at the University of Bath, and have since remained good friends, including challenging each other to a cycling ascent of the legendary Mt. Ventoux in France and the 1,050-mile End to End Tour in the U.K.

“Chris and I started e-mailing each other, and before we realized it, ‘allsevens’ was born,” Taylor said. “It grew out of this desire to push ourselves to the limit in the tradition of the biggest of cycling’s Grand Tours.”

Taylor recruited two St. Louis residents: neighbor Mark Neuman, 48, and co-worker Bert Berla, 24, and the plans came together: The four of them would ride through seven countries in seven days, visiting seven cities outside of France that have previously hosted the Tour Prologue, the traditional opening-day race against the clock. As luck would have it, the route they conceived through Switzerland, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands and the U.K. played into the theme perfectly, coming in at a near-perfect 777 miles.

They didn’t stop there. “As a group, we decided we wanted this to be more than just another ride,” Taylor said. “So we began to research bicycle-related organizations that could benefit from our efforts.”

Taylor and the group chose World Bicycle Relief, a charity currently working to provide bicycles to volunteer HIV/AIDS care workers in Zambia, Africa, as the primary recipient of their fundraising efforts. Davey is also riding to benefit a similar U.K.-based charity, Jole Rider.

“These charities make such a great difference in the world,” Taylor said. “If we can help raise awareness and contributions through our riding, then 07/07/07 will mean so much more.”

The group begins its quest in Basle, Switzerland, site of the 1982 Prologue, on June 30. For more information or to contribute to the team’s charities, visit www.allsevens.org.