Blind Dave preparing to Escape from Colditz this weekend
Blind Dave Heeley is just days away from his most audacious fundraising challenge yet - escaping from the notorious Nazi prison camp Colditz.
The West Bromwich Albion fan and his team of 14 are leaving The Hawthorns on Thursday lunchtime and will be at the gates of the German castle on Friday.
On Saturday, after a tour of Colditz and interviews by German television, Blind Dave will follow in the footsteps of the heroic Allied prisoners whose exploits inspired the film The Great Escape.
On Monday morning the Mayor of Colditz will officially start the race back to Blighty.
The 64-year-old and six cyclists will then ride 800 miles back to The Hawthorns through Germany along the River Rhine into Holland aiming to arrive in the Midlands on Sunday, April 24.
Riders are invited to ride with Dave and the team from The National Cyclists Memorial in Meriden, Warwickshire, to The Hawthorns.
Dave, whose fundraising exploits earned him an OBE earlier last year, was hoping to raise £75,000 when he originally planned to do the trip in 2020 but the pandemic caused him to cancel his meticulous plans twice.
He told the Express and Star: "After the war Colditz was turned into an eye infirmary so it all made sense, 2020 was the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Colditz and with me being blind I'm the total opposite of 20/20 vision.
"So we wanted to raise £75,000 but because of the pandemic and the cancellations we will just try and raise as much money as we can for the Albion Foundation."
He added: "My friend Dave Sinar had phoned me up from Colditz in 2019 and told me where he was, as soon as he said it I thought, we should escape from Colditz and ride back to The Hawthorns."
He added: "Sadly in the intervening years Dave was killed on the road so this whole fundraising challenge is dedicated to him, he would have loved every moment of this challenge."
Dave's team has been further depleted in recent months due to unfortunate accidents with one rider breaking his neck and another breaking her wrist.
There will be seven riders on six bikes, with Blind Dave on a tandem, along with his Pertemps sponsored support team which will include two of his daughters.
Dave's previous endurance challenges include running seven marathons in seven days across seven continents and braving the sweltering heat of the Saraha Desert completing the Marathon Des Sables.
The various challenges have netted local charities millions of pounds of the years and Dave is hoping the Albion Foundation will get a healthy cash injection because of his Escape From Colditz.
He said: "The Albion Foundation do such a wonderful job supporting young people with disabilities, or youngsters who need support with their education."
Dave and the team will be leaving The Hawthorns at 1pm on Thursday.
