Two employees from the Farnham branch of Rudridge have completed the challenge of a lifetime and raised £3,200 by cycling from Paris to Geneva in memory of a much-missed former colleague.

Paul Duke and Peter Burrell set of from Paris on 4 September and rode through Sens, Semur-en Auxois, Dijon and Lons-le-Saunier, before arriving in Geneva on 7 September. The route, which covered over 320 miles, involved hairpin bends and punishing climbs, including the notorious 1,323m Col de la Faucille ascent which has regularly featured in the Tour de France.

The pair took on the challenge to raise money for the Stroke Association and in memory of Tony Marshall, who died suddenly after a short illness last year. Tony was a Senior Sales Executive and had been a popular member of the Rudridge family for 14 years.

Paul Duke, General Manager at Rudridge Farnham, said: “It was an extremely tough challenge, but we’d been training hard and all that work really paid off. We’re both very proud to have completed the ride and have done something amazing to honour Tony’s memory. The Stroke Association is a fantastic charity and we were aiming to raise £1,200 for them, so a huge thank you to all our family, friends, colleagues, customers and suppliers for helping us to smash that target.”

Donations can still be made by visiting Paul and Peter’s Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/rudridgepeteandpaul.

Picture caption: L-r: Paul Duke and Peter Burrell at the Eiffel Tower in Paris.