Features
All about cycling
Pull on your cycling shorts and Pedal4Charity!
If you enjoy cycling but feel more motivated when you have a particular challenge in mind, why not take part in Pedal4Charity, a special fundraising event to be held on Sunday 13 September in aid of Woking and Sam Beare Hospices.
The 18-mile cycle ride, which begins and ends at The Cricketers in Horsell, attracted over 135 participants last year and, between them, they managed to raise a whopping £13,000 plus for the local hospices - not bad for the first time around. But the event wasn't just about putting in lots of effort and raising money - it also involved lots of fun, with local people of all ages enjoying music fun and entertainment including a tug-of-war.
This year, the organisers are keen to make the event bigger and better than before and they hope that even more people will dust off their bikes and enjoy a ride around the area to raise money for such a worthy cause.
The entertainment programme for the day will be expanded to include more side shows for children, a 25-piece brass band, face painting, morris dancers, barbeques, and an eclectic mix of live music - all hosted by a professional master of ceremonies.
Organiser, Ron Neale, is keen to stress that everyone is welcome to join in on the day: "The event begins at 10am and goes on throughout the day until 8pm. We hope that people of all ages will come along and enjoy the atmosphere - blessed as we were with great weather last year, we have our fingers crossed that the sun will shine on us again this time around. But we aren't taking any chances - thanks to Horsell Common Preservation Society, we will be able to put up a large marquee to weather-proof the occasion on the green in front of the pub. The most important aspect of the day, however, is to raise much-needed funds for the hospices."
For further information about the event, please contact Ron Neale on 01483 760686, email ron@neale.com or visit the website www.pedal4charity.co.uk If you would like to find out more about the work of Woking and Sam Beare Hospices, please visit www.wsbhospices.co.uk
Woking workers encouraged to get on their bikes
Businesses and organisations in Woking are being encouraged to take up the Woking Cycle Challenge this summer, and get as many of their employees as possible to give cycling a go.
The challenge is one of the initiatives being implemented by Cycle Woking, a partnership project between Woking Borough Council and Surrey County Council, which aims to get more people cycling within the Borough over the next three years.
This initiative, which comes hot on the heels of the Tour Series cycling event held in Woking at the start of June, challenges members of local workforces to get on their bikes for a minimum of just ten minutes. Participants can choose to ride wherever they feel comfortable (e.g. the Basingstoke Canal cycle path) and whenever they like over the two-week challenge period (29 June to 12 July 2009).
And to give people added motivation, organisations, departments and work teams in Woking will be competing against each other to see who can get the most staff to ride a bike. With the competition being held over six categories, determined by how big or small the workplace is, all everyone has a good chance of success.
There are plenty of prizes for people to win including a Specialized bike (worth ?537!), cycling gear, workplace treats and loads more. There are even 200 cinema tickets to give away to people who haven't ridden a bike in over a year and to those people who encouraged them to get back on a bike.
To take part, workplaces simply register on the challenge website which can be reached at www.wokingcyclechallenge.org.uk A promotional pack will be provided to each workplace to make it easy to promote the challenge to staff. There are also 30 'incentive packs' containing repair kits, a cycle computer, reflective ankle bands, etc to give away to workmates who are keen to take part in the challenge.
Speaking about the initiative, Cycle Challenge Co-ordinator, Ian Richardson, said: "There's a good reason why you never forget how to ride a bike and I'm sure the Cycle Challenge will inspire many people to hop on a bike and give cycling a go again. Cycling is a cheap, fast and healthy way to travel around Woking, and there are also some really pleasant places to ride."
For more information and to register go to www.wokingcyclechallenge.org.uk or contact Ian Richardson at ian.richardson@ctc.org.uk.
