neaco’s Matthew Enticknap was one of a group of 15 cyclists who rode 170 miles in one day to complete a Coast to Coast route from Morecambe to Bridlington in aid of the Ryedale Special Families charity. The team of riders from Ryedale and beyond have smashed their original fund raising target of £3,000 and have raced on to a fantastic final total of £8,883.93. NEACO were pleased to play our part with a donation of £170.
The ‘Way of the Roses’ bike ride started at 6am on the Irish Sea coast at Morecambe, leading on through the Lune Valley and the Forest of Bowland before riding up into the Yorkshire Dales National Park for what can only be described as a very hilly 70 miles of cycling. Topping out at over 1,325ft/404m, the group then descended into Ripon and through the flatlands of the Vale of York before climbing up onto and through the Yorkshire Wolds to finish on the North Sea coast at Bridlington at 7:30pm. They recorded a total ride time of 10 hours 30 minutes and an average speed of over 15mph.
On the day the group were supported by Tim Davies and Jamie Strangeway, both members of the Malton Wheelers Road Club, who took the helm of the support vehicle and provided hot and cold food and teas and coffees along the way at various pre-determined checkpoints.
Commenting on the ride, organiser Darren Felgate said: “I would like to offer my thanks to everybody involved with the ride. In particular my employers, Malton based insurance brokers McClarrons Ltd for the kind sponsorship of the ‘Team McClarrons’ jerseys, Big Bear Bikes of Pickering for the use of their van to transport the bikes and luggage and to Ryedale Special Families for the use of their minibus to transport the riders. Also, I would like to express my thanks to the individuals and local businesses such as neaco, Inturf and Townsend Harrison Ltd who kindly sponsored ‘Team McClarrons’ and helped us smash our sponsorship target and raise so much money for such a great and worthy local charity. Finally my thanks to Paul Hickman for driving the minibus and to the team of 15 riders for putting in the training before the ride and therefore ensuring that everybody was able to complete the ride and enjoy the day”.
Rob Davies, Funding Coordinator of Ryedale Special Families commented: “We were astounded when we heard how much the group had raised. Well done to every single one of you, it is a phenomenal achievement and one for which we are extremely grateful. The money will be used towards the funding of our family activities programme which comprises 25 sessions per year, designed for families to have for fun but also to help develop mutual support between different groups of parents. It will also contribute towards the running of our weekly youth group which caters for up to 40 members aged between 13 and 23.”
Ryedale Special Families provides care and support to over 450 Ryedale based families who have children with disabilities and/or special needs. Further information about the charity is available here: http://www.ryedalespecialfamilies.org.uk/