Project Brighton: Local Community takes on a Bonkers Bike Ride Challenge for charity!
Local supporters and businesses came together and used their pedal power to raise money for Brighton charity The Starr Trust, which supports young people of Sussex in art, sport and education. Now in its third year, this Pier to Pier Charity Bike Ride ran from Garth Pier in Bangor, North Wales, back to our own West Pier in Brighton, travelling through both stunning landscapes and difficult terrain.
This fantastic and challenging four day bike ride ran from 11 July to 15 July during some of the hottest days of the year. Seventeen determined cyclists set off from Bangor, travelling through the striking landscape of Snowdonia, through Shrewsbury, Stratford-upon-Avon, across beautiful Windsor and over the demanding terrain of the Dyke heading back to Brighton’s West Pier for a celebratory Reception Party, kindly hosted by the i360.
With a daily 6am start there was certainly plenty of time for the cyclists to face many challenges, but the Peloton kept focus and enjoyed stunning views, great pubs and cafes en route and fantastic hospitality provided by the Premier Inn hotels. There were broken hub flanges, flat tyres, road closures and motion sickness! On day 1 alone, cyclists spent 9 hours in the saddle and negotiated 3,077 metres of elevation change across the width of Wales! Luckily for the cyclists, Brown from Brown’s Bikes was on hand as support mechanic, and local bakeries and supermarkets had provided loads of snacks to keep them going. Alongside that there was a great deal of light-hearted banter and a real sense of camaraderie among the group and everyone had a brilliant time.
On day 1 alone, cyclists spent 9 hours in the saddle and negotiated 3,077 metres of elevation change across the width of Wales!
On day 4 of the bike ride, friends and family gathered together by the West Pier on a sunny Sunday afternoon to cheer on their loved ones as they arrived on the seafront. The celebrations began on the deck of the i360 with plenty of yummy food from West Pier Pizzeria and a very well deserved rest for the team!
The sponsorship money will continue to come in for another month so a final count of how much was raised wasn’t available yet, but will be on the Starr Trust website soon.
Rosie Molloy, one of the event organisers told us, “we are really grateful to all the cyclists who took part and would like to thank The Brighton Implant Centre for being our main sponsor and Enterprise Car Rentals for donating our support vehicles. We are thrilled to have so much backing from the local community, and some great business relationships and friendships were formed over the 4 days. We can’t wait to begin planning next year’s ride”.
The Starr Trust supports young people living in the BN postal code area, aged 10 – 18 to fulfil their potential in Art, Sport and Education. They provide financial grants up to £5000, training and development of skills, connections and mentoring.
To find out more visit starrtrust.com
