Topsham, Devon, January 15, 1997 Nello Ghezzo, restaurateur and proprietor of Nello's Ristorante, Topsham (first prize winner 1996 Pasta and Pizza Restaurant of the Year in national awards sponsored by Galbani) and Marc Millon, wine, food, and travel writer and the author of The Food Lover's Companion France, The Food Lover's Companion Italy, The Wine Roads of Italy and other books, will be cycling from Topsham, Devon across France and Northern Italy to Venice to raise a substantial sum of money for cancer research. Their Ride for Life is set to take off at 10.00 am on Thursday, June 12, 1997 and will entail no less (and maybe a few more) than 16 full days of cycling. The Ride will be reported "live" as it progresses on the World Wide Web on the Ride for Life Web site currently under construction.
The main beneficiaries of Nello and Marc's Ride for Life are The Imperial Cancer Research Fund, which accounts for a full third of all cancer research in the UK, and FORCE, an Exeter-based cancer organisation that does magnificent work both in the field of research as well as in care and treatment for patients in the West Country. It is hoped to raise at least £10,000 for these beneficiaries by means of a range of exciting fundraising activities and events, as well as through direct individual and corporate sponsorship of the Ride itself.
Venice is a destination that has strong personal associations for both Marc and Nello. Nello was born on the fringe of the Venetian Lagoon, and Marc has spent a considerable amount of time in Venice, where his mother Lorina Kim lived for some years. She died last year from cancer, and that sad loss is his personal motivation for the Ride and for raising money for cancer research. The distance -- some 1,300 miles/2,080 kilometres -- makes this a not inconsiderable physical challenge, especially the crossing the Alps. However, Nello and Marc have been in training for months for the Ride, and they are confident that they will be fit and ready for the challenge.
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