Blazing saddles: Bridge-to-bridge cyclists gearing up to establish annual charity challenge
PIONEERING PELOTON: Half of the bridge-to-bridge cycling fundraising team. From left, Geoff Rawson, Angie Rawson, Martin Coffey and Adam Walsh
By Simon Bristow, Co-Editor
The organisers of a bridge-to-bridge cycle challenge are bidding to make it an annual event reinforcing the Sailors’ Children’s Society’s nationwide reach with the backing of growing numbers of businesses.
Adam Walsh, CEO of John Good Group, completed the inaugural event in 2023 as the sole cyclist covering 212 miles from the Severn to the Humber in one day.
For this year’s event he will be joined by three more businesses and seven new riders. Plans are coming together to increase the peloton to 20 or 25 next year, and then the brakes will really come off.
Natasha Barley, CEO of the Sailors’ Children’s Society, said: “We’re already looking at another step up next year because more businesses are showing interest, and not just locally because we are a national charity with supporters all over the country.
“The vision is to grow it year on year. The more riders we get, the more prestige we will build and the more money we will raise to help the families who rely on us. It will become a key fixture in our calendar and it started as a fantastic gift from Adam.”
The society, which is based in Hull and is 203 years old this year, works nationally to support disadvantaged children from the Royal Navy, merchant navy, offshore wind industry, fishing fleets and inland waterways.
Adam took up his post in 2022 and was hooked by the links between the charity and a business whose founder first went to sea in 1813, became master of his own ship in 1826 and opened his chandlery in the Old Town of Hull in 1833.
Adam said: “We are steeped in maritime and the work of Natasha and her team resonates so strongly with the heritage of the group. Our business relies on those seafarers, and the work the society does to support families aligns so closely with what we do.”
This year John Good Group has partnered with Boluda Towage SMS Ltd, Drax and MS3 to assemble a team of eight who will set off from the Severn Bridge first thing on Saturday, September 14 and aim to reach the Humber Bridge on the afternoon of Sunday, September 15. Sponsorship has come from Eastern Airways, DFDS, Spectrum and Ken Ellerker Cycles.
Among the riders will be Simon Clarke, commercial director of Boluda Towage SMS, and Martin Coffey, the firm’s operations manager.
Martin said: “I got involved because the company is closely associated with John Good Group and we have always been strong supporters of the society. We also have some keen cyclists and it seemed a good opportunity for us as a business to raise some extra money for the charity.”
Angie Rawson, an accounts assistant at Boluda SMS, will also be taking part and has recruited husband Geoff as a guest rider. Both are members of the Hull Thursday Road Club, which dates back to 1908, and Geoff is the current president.
Geoff said: “We do a lot of cycling every weekend and in the evening. We ride all over East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and the furthest we have done is Newcastle and back in two days. That was 135 miles.
“We also have cycle holidays. We will be in Mallorca in October and we’ve completed the Paris Roubaix, a one-day ride from the north of Paris to the border with Belgium. It’s said to be the hardest sportif in Europe and is known to cyclists as ‘the Hell of the North’.”
Adam sees the ride as a test for the team and for the route, which will take them past Gloucester and Cheltenham, round the south of Birmingham, past Leicester, Loughborough and Nottingham and then via Newark and Gainsborough to the Humber Bridge.
He said: “Last year it was just me in one day. A few people said they would have come with me if they’d known I was doing it so this year there are eight of us. We’re pretty confident. All but two of the riders are pretty accomplished and have decent miles in their legs. The two new ones have been putting the work in. They’ll find it tough but I’ve no doubt they will get through.”
“One of the things we’ll be doing is considering whether the route works as well for more riders, so it’s a big fundraiser and a test event for the future.”
Natasha added: “What they are doing is amazing. It’s a phenomenal challenge that would be beyond so many people physically and mentally. They are going to be pushing themselves to the limit and giving it everything they have got.
“The whole idea is to build up an events calendar that people all over the country can take part in because we support families nationwide. We want more cyclists, and Angie will be helping us to recruit more women.”
To support the Bridge2Bridge fundraising ride visit: https://www.justgiving.com/team/johngoodgroup.