Leading charity Action Medical Research has extended the deadline for last minute registrations for its 23rd annual Action 100 bike ride to Monday 23 August, 2004.  The ride runs from Bath and Bristol to Chobham on Sunday 29 August, 2004.
 
“We have had a phenomenal response and now have over 400 riders registered,” said Jennifer Reid, Regional Fundraiser for the charity. “But we have also sent out many more registration packs that haven’t yet been returned.  The ride is for a phenomenal cause.  Medical research has enormous potential to give everyone a better, healthier future but we never have enough money to do all the research we’d like. Research is incredibly expensive, so every pound we raise really makes a difference.”

The Action 100 bike ride challenges ordinary cyclists who are prepared to cycle 100 miles for Action Medical Research.   Last year, 323 cyclists raised over £40,000.
 
Cyclists have all day to complete the ride on which they are fully supported with plenty of refreshment stops, a pub lunch at Theale, and hot showers and beer available at the finish in Chobham.  St John Ambulance and Avon Valley Cyclery (for bike repairs) patrol the route to support riders. Return transport to Bristol and Bath is provided for both cyclists and their bikes.
 
The ride was originally designed to persuade 100 riders to raise £100 each for the charity, which uniquely funds medical research projects at the point of breakthrough. The ride has since developed into a major annual event in the South, attracting more than three times as many riders.

Anyone wishing to take part in the Action 100 Bike ride on Sunday August 29 should contact Roy Clarke on 0117 970 6348 or visit www.action100ride.org.uk.

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Notes to editors
A leading national charity, Action Medical Research is improving the health and quality of life of everyone through its medical breakthroughs.

The Charity was founded in 1952 as the National Fund for Poliomyelitis Research, in response to the polio epidemic that was sweeping the country at that time. In the intervening years we changed our name to Action Research and have made breakthroughs in numerous other disabling diseases and conditions. We became known as Action Medical Research in September 2003.

Our support has been crucial in the development of life-saving polio and rubella vaccines, the artificial hip operation, ultrasound scanning in pregnancy, new treatments for epilepsy, and discovering the link between taking folic acid and preventing spina bifida.  Action Medical Research is currently looking for answers to a wide range of medical problems that affect all age groups. These include research into premature birth problems, pre-eclampsia, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, stroke, dyspraxia, Parkinson’s disease and osteoporosis. www.action.org.uk
For more information regarding the charity please contact Rob Orme rorme@action.org.uk the Action Medical Research press office on 01403 327404.
Please contact Jennifer Reid at Action Medical Research on 0117 9724 772 or email on jreid@action.org.uk for further information regarding the ride.