
Lewis Moody is leading a 500-mile cycling challenge this summer to raise funds for motor neurone disease, honoring Doddie Weir's legacy. He will be joined by fellow 2003 World Cup winners and his sons, with proceeds going to the My Nameā5 Doddie Foundation.
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The former England captain Lewis Moody has said he is āpicking up the batonā left by Doddie Weir after announcing plans to lead a 500-mile, seven-day cycling challenge this summer to raise funds for the fight against motor neurone disease.
Moody will be joined by many of his fellow 2003 World Cup winners, including Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall and Ben Kay, as well as his teenage sons on a journey from Newcastle to the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham, with all proceeds going to the My Nameā5 Doddie Foundation.
The former Leicester, Bath and British & Irish Lions forward became the latest retired player to be diagnosed with MND, which he revealed last October, with the disease having claimed the lives of Weir and the former rugby league international Rob Burrow in the past four years.
The My Nameā5 Doddie Foundation has raised more than Ā£23.5m to fund MND research, and Moody has committed to continuing the former Scotland internationalās legacy in fighting a disease that results in six new diagnoses each day in the UK alone.
āIām really proud to be aligning my name with Doddie, who was a force of nature as a character,ā Moody said. āI feel like in many ways Iām being brought off the bench to take that baton forward and to try and get this job done. Thatās an easy thing to say, but a very difficult thing to achieve. Whether itās in my lifetime or not, I intend to give my energy and time to a cause that will produce outcomes.
āWhen I speak to specialists thereās a lot of hope and developments in fighting this disease. I donāt know if that would have been the case when those guys were diagnosed.ā
The Lewis XVās challenge will begin on Sunday 14 June at Newcastle, the most northerly Prem club, where Weir played for seven years and where Moody sealed the first of seven domestic titles with Leicester, before continuing to his old clubs Leicester, Bath and Bracknell and concluding at Twickenham, where he will deliver the match ball for the Prem final on Saturday 20 June.

The cycling challenge aims to raise funds for motor neurone disease research through the My Nameā5 Doddie Foundation.
Moody will be joined by fellow 2003 World Cup winners like Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall, and Ben Kay, as well as his teenage sons.
The My Nameā5 Doddie Foundation is an organization that has raised over Ā£23.5 million to fund research for motor neurone disease.
Moody is raising awareness as he was recently diagnosed with MND and wants to continue Doddie Weir's legacy in fighting the disease.

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Lewis Moody in action against Georgia at the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Photograph: Greg Wood/AFP/Getty Images
With more than a dozen former internationals signed up Moody is looking forward to enjoying some healthy competition between the riders, and Tindall has been identified as the man to beat.āāTinsā is surprisingly fit still,ā Moody said. āHe will 100% be up there. I quite like the idea that there will be enough competition to get us through it. Iām sure there will be stints where people decide they need to put the hammer down and blow off some steam.
āIāve never seen Wilco [Wilkinson] on a bike, so heās probably hired a group of people to get him ready! I dread to think how heās going to turn up looking. Is there a bike strong enough to withstand the power that he can put through it?ā
Moody is in a positive frame of mind six months after his shock diagnosis, with the organising and training for the ride giving him renewed focus. āIām good at the moment,ā he said. āThe only noticeable change is in my hand. The other day I noticed a slight difference in my finger strength, opening a bottle top, holding a fork, cutting food. Those little things are a challenge mentally when they present themselves, but within a day you can move past it.
āI donāt want to be in this position, of course, but it does sometimes feel like a strange privilege. Iāve been given the opportunity to have a really clear vision of what I want to do with my time now. And that is to spend it with the people I love. And doing the things I love, and doing it with purpose. Being a part of this campaign gives me more purpose than anything. It brings a smile to my face.ā
For more information on the Lewis XV ride visit uk.emma-live.com/LewisMoodyCycle, and www.myname5doddie.co.uk