Liz Bates of The Bike Shed in Kings Heath thinks the charity event, which has raised around £250,000 for the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice and Macmillan Cancer Support in the county since it began nine years ago, will benefit from the hype surrounding Chris Froome’s yellow jersey success, just as it did following Sir Bradley Wiggins’ win last year.
“We’ve certainly been riding the quest of the cycling wave here at the shop since Wiggo took the title 12 months ago,” explained Liz, “and then that was immediately followed by all those British medals at the Olympics, which of course was just fantastic for the sport and all of us associated with it.
“Cycling’s never been so popular and this annual ride, in which a team from the shop will be cycling for our seventh year, is such great fun that I’d urge anyone who’s been inspired by the Tour win to dig out their old bike from the garage, or invest in a new one, and join Jim and some of the players who hope to be riding in the event this year!”
Those sentiments were echoed by Sue Bownass from the Friends of Cynthia Spencer Hospice who is keen to see yet more records broken for this special anniversary ride; “I’ve seen lots of people pedalling out on the roads recently, making the most of the warm weather, so it would seem that cycling is really flourishing, both as a sport and as a leisure pursuit,” said Sue.
“Last year our biggest turnout of almost 1,100 riders of all shapes and sizes, ages and abilities raised just shy of £55,000 for our two charities, which was incredible. So while it’s a tough challenge, I’m confident that we’ll have a great turn out from Franklin's Gardens and the people of Northamptonshire to help make our tenth event the best ever!”
Cycle 4 Cynthia is taking place at Althorp, by kind permission of The Earl and Countess Spencer, on Sunday, September 22nd, with riders again being able to choose from 5, 25 or 50 mile routes. Entry is £15 for adults, £7.50 for children and £35 for families (rising after September 6th) and participants are then encouraged to raise as much money as possible in sponsorship. Online entry and sponsorship forms are available by visiting www.cycle4cynthia.com
Meanwhile, if you would like to enter a business team or would like to offer your support as a sponsor, marshal or volunteer on the day, please call Sue at the Friends on 01604 678088.
