Vaughan Martin, 60, has no plans to retire. A consultant anaesthetist at Bath’s Royal United Hospital, Vaughan will this summer take to his bike for the sixteenth time for UK charity Action Medical Research. Vaughan is one of hundreds of cyclists who will cycle for the 25th Action 100 bike ride from Bristol and Bath to London on Sunday 27th August 2006.

Vaughan, who resides in Keynsham, first rode the 100 mile fundraiser in 1984, cycling the ride for ten consecutive years. The 2006 Silver Jubilee event marks Vaughan’s sixteenth cycle over the last 22 years, and will mean he has clocked a total of 1600 miles for the charity.

“I take about 6.25 hours in the saddle, plus an hour for refreshment stops, to complete the ride, which is actually faster than when I first took part in 1984,” said Vaughan. “As a doctor the charity remains very close to my heart. For an organisation which receives no government funding, Action Medical Research has enabled scientific practice to advance leaps and bounds. The Action 100 bike ride is the charity’s biggest cycling fundraiser, so it is crucial that it is well supported.”

Since helping to discover the polio vaccine, (its original aim), Action Medical Research has diversified and now funds a vast array of research projects up and down the country. Its most current appeal is the Touching Tiny Lives campaign, which aims to ensure vulnerable babies like the premature get the best start in life.

Ev Milker, Ride Chairperson, is ambitious for the 2006 event. “If we could recruit 750 riders this summer and beat last years £62,000 fundraising, this would be a fantastic way to mark the Silver Jubilee. But to make this possible, we need all the support we can. Sign up on your own, with your partner, friends, work colleagues, whatever. We need all of you!”

Riders can sign up online at www.action100ride.org.uk or by calling (0117) 973 6993, or by emailing registration@action100ride.org.uk.

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