Babble, the British cloud technology company, has today announced its sponsorship for the Doddie Cup 555 Ride, a 555 mile cycle raising funds for the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which invests in Motor Neuron Disease research.
The partnership comes as part of Babble’s commitment to charity fundraising – last year, the company raised over £1.2 million for charities including the Prince’s Trust and the Buffalo Foundation.
My Name’5 Doddie is a foundation set up by the late Scottish international rugby player, Doddie Weir, who was diagnosed with Motor Neuron Disease in 2016. This is the fourth year the ride has taken place, aiming to raise over £500,000.
Riders, including former Scotland captain and teammate of Weir, Rob Wainwright, and World Cup winning England captain Martin Johnson, will have just 48 hours to deliver the match ball from Principality Stadium in Cardiff to BT Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh for Scotland’s Six Nations match vs Wales on Saturday 11th February.
Before the ride gets underway on Thursday 9th February, HRH The Princess Royal will hand over the match ball at Gloucester Rugby on Wednesday 8th.
Matt Parker, Babble’s CEO, will be among those taking part in the gruelling ride. Riders last year averaged just six hours sleep across the 48 hour ride, as the team maintained a speed of 15mph to deliver the match ball on time.
Ahead of the ride, Matt Parker said: “We are so proud at Babble to have the opportunity to support the work My Name’5 Doddie are doing and sponsor the ride. Our charity work is a hugely important part of our mission, so it is a privilege to partner with a foundation that has already achieved so much. The ride itself is a challenge I’m personally looking forward to – I have no doubt I won’t enjoy the pain, but it will be fantastic to share the experience with some rugby legends and many who were so close to Doddie.”
Rob Wainwright, founder of Doddie Aid and Weir’s close friend, said: “It’s not long until we put our pedals where our mouths are and start riding 555 miles in only 48 hours, raising funds for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation to invest in MND research.
“Support from companies like Babble is crucial to the success of this ride and is so appreciated by everyone in the MND community. It’s great to have Babble’s CEO, Matt Parker, joining the ride too and hopefully he enjoys the wind, rain, lack of sleep and never ending hills as much of the rest of us do!”
All donations make an important difference and can be made through Team Babble’s page here.