UK-wide charity bike ride for Cardiff business owner

 Two friends from Cardiff have embarked on a 1300-mile cycle ride, aiming to raise £10,000 in support of three charities.

Liam Jones, owner of Cardiff independent fashion store Overseas Apparel based in The Morgan Quarter, and best mate Josh Walker have embarked on this challenge to celebrate eight years in business.

Liam Jones, owner of Cardiff independent fashion store Overseas Apparel and best mate Josh Walker

The pair set off from John O’Groats on Saturday, April 20 and are cycling the length of the UK down to Land’s’ End, and back up to Cardiff, in just 22 days.

The nominated charities, Cardiff Dogs Home and 2 Wish, are two local charities close to Liam’s heart after spending time at Cardiff Dogs Home and previously fundraising for 2 Wish.  

The third charity Liam is fundraising for is international humanitarian charity UNICEF, supporting children and young people across the globe.

Overseas Apparel, which is found at 34 Royal Arcade, is no stranger to fundraising attempts. In 2020, the team raised over £5,000 for Wires, a charity which gives support to those affected by the Australian bushfires which saw 25 people die and thousands made homeless.

Last year, they ran the Cardiff Half Marathon with the OSA run club. This run club was set up by Liam as a social running group aimed at bringing the community of Cardiff together and offers people the chance to exercise together and meet others.

For their latest challenge, more than £2,500 has already been raised through three fundraising streams.

One of these streams features a '£3 downhill raffle', with two of its prizes generously donated by neighbouring businesses, Wallys and Welcome Things, showcasing the tight-knit community bond among tenants in the Morgan Quarter.

Donations have also been made through a dedicated GoFundMe page and OSA clothing line ‘it’s all downhill from here’ where 100per cent of profits go to the nominated charities.

Overseas Apparel, which is found at 34 Royal Arcade, is no stranger to fundraising attempts.

On their motivations behind this challenge, Liam said: “This is all in celebration of us turning 8 years old; 8 years of challenges, setbacks and memories that will be with me and my customers forever.

“My plan was to do 100 miles for every year we have been going but that only took us from the top to bottom of the UK, so why not just ride home as well – it’s only another 400 miles.”

Marika Jones, centre manager at the Morgan Quarter said: “We are thrilled for Liam and the whole of the Overseas Apparel team to have achieved eight years in business.

Everyone here at the Morgan Quarter would like to wish them the best of luck and we look forward to congratulating them on their return.”

Liam and Josh are scheduled to return on Sunday, May 12 and will be hosting an event at their store to celebrate their achievement.  

For daily updates on their challenge, visit Overseas Apparel Instagram @over_seas_apparel.

To find out more about the Overseas Apparel cycle ride and their running club, head to their website: https://overseasapparel.com/home

For more information on the Morgan Quarter visit www.morganquarter.co.uk