A helping hand
Our cycle fest is coming along nicely, as you might hope given the many weeks that have passed since I last dropped in. We just need a few more bums on saddles.
We’ve been fortunate to gain the support of a big hitter in cycle sport. Paul Loftus, who organizes the famous Fred Whitton Challenge, was oversubscribed for his 2010 event – as he always is – and kindly sent out a ‘Wrynose or Bust’ leaflet with every one of his reject letters. The Fred Whitton is the blue ribbon event in cyclosportive but can accommodate only 1,000 to 1,250 riders – with a bit of luck, a few of those who miss out on the ‘Fred’ this year will take up our challenge instead.
The Fred Whitton is a brute: 112 miles of massive ups and downs, including a pedal over our Wrynose. But the ride’s most astonishing statistic is the £60,000 that it raised last year for charity. This was distributed as follows:
£22,500 to Macmillan Cancer Support
£22,500 to The Dave Rayner Fund
£5,000 to Marie Curie Cancer Care
£5,000 to Air Ambulance
£5,000 to Mountain Rescue
Paul, the event organizers (all volunteers) and the sponsors work very hard to keep costs down, and 10 years after the inaugural event they are running one of the best managed, most cost-efficient sportives in the country. This year I bet they top £80,000.
They are not jealous of their success, either. It is a great tribute to Paul Loftus that he wants to help our Wrynose event achieve the same status. I like to think he sees us as kindred spirits, trying to achieve something worthwhile for our chosen charities while at the same time giving every one of our cyclists a cracking day in some of the best countryside in the country.
So if you didn’t manage to get on the Fred Whitton this year, give our event a try. We may be new to this kind of thing but, like Paul, our hearts are in the right place.
