capital to coast raises £250,000 for charities
Howard Lake | 12 July 2011 | News
More than 1,300 cycling enthusiasts took part in a 60-mile adventure through the English countryside on Sunday, 10 July, in aid of three amazing causes. Now in its 16th year, the Capital to Coast Cycle Challenge for Charity raised £250,000 for Norwood, the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and the Down’s Syndrome Association.
Participants had the choice of either a 60-mile route from Thames Ditton to the Hove seafront, a circular 60-mile Hove to Hove route, or a shorter 30-mile route from Haywards Heath to Hove. They included eight-year-old Harry Salisbury from Redhill, Surrey, and Twickenham resident Tobias Jellinek, 76 – the youngest and eldest C2C riders respectively.
First past the post was Keith Chapman, 54, from Oxshott, Surrey, who crossed the finishing line in just three hours and 32 minutes. The last riders to complete the course were Andy Colville, 25, from Sandhurst, Surrey, and Geoff Taylor, 26, from London, who rode on a BMX and side-cart while dressed in full-body ‘morphsuits’. “It was a brilliant day, even if we did finish a few hours behind schedule,” said Andy. “I am really feeling the pain in my legs, but have just booked in for a sports massage!”
Capital to Coast took riders through a beautiful scenic route along picturesque country lanes, including Box Hill and the dreaded Devil’s Dyke. They were provided with plentiful free refreshments and mechanical support throughout and, on completing the challenge, could take advantage of the food stalls and sports massage tents and relax while listening to music and commentary provided by DJs from media partner Juice FM.
Ian Tate, Business Development Manager for Challenges at organising charity Norwood, said: “The Capital to Coast Cycle Challenge for Charity is always a great day out for friends and family and this year was no exception. The weather was excellent and the atmosphere was fantastic. All the money raised from the challenge will go to three vital causes providing life-changing services to some of the most vulnerable people in society.”
Jon Feuchtwanger, who lives at Ravenswood, a residential community for people with learning disabilities in Berkshire run by organising charity Norwood, was part of a team who took part in Capital to Coast on tandem bikes.
Jon, 62, has a mild learning disability and, due to a communication impairment known as dysphasia, is non-verbal. However, through the help of his speech and language therapist, he said: “I like bike rides. They are so much fun. I have met so many special people. Bike rides are happy times.”
Next year’s Capital to Coast Cycle Challenge for Charity takes place on 24 June. To sign up and receive an early bird discount visit www.capitaltocoast.org.uk
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.