Over 700 cyclists from around the county and beyond, gathered at Crix in Hatfield Peverel to take part in Ride for Helen Essex 2023 sponsored by Bellway, raising over £21,000.00 for Helen Rollason Cancer Charity!
The annual bike ride, now in its tenth year, has become a firm favourite on the Essex cycling calendar and is one of the biggest and best cycling events in the region. The Charity welcomed riders of all ages and abilities, with a choice of cycling routes; 6 miles, 15 miles, 30 miles, 50 miles and 65 miles. Those enjoying the beautiful countryside routes included families with small children, seasoned road cyclists and even a Unicyclist and penny farthings!
Graham Miller from Witham, a HRCC volunteer and participant said: “What a fantastic event! Great routes, encouraging marshals and all in aid of a wonderful charity. I have taken part before and will certainly do so again. It was great to see the event from both the volunteer side as well as a participant, the events team work incredibly hard to ensure those taking part have a good time, our marshals on the route are also all volunteers, we would love to see new ones come along to support next year. I can’t wait for 2024!”
Other comments from some of our participants:
“Local event very well organised and everyone was very friendly.”
“It was my first Ride for Helen, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. On site parking was good, being so close to the start / finish. I found good direction signs and the marshals were very good. Overall, I really enjoyed the occasion.”
“Local event for me, good cause, great route & friendly team at the start/end.”
“Well organised, no queues to get ride number. Good route & marshals at busy junctions.”
“Well organised, good signage on route, Great food and drink on offer.”
Helen Rollason Cancer Charity Head of Fundraising and Marketing, Zoe Jay said; “What a fantastic turnout with over 700 supporters attending our annual Ride for Helen Essex raising in the region of £21,000.00 for the Charity! This event alone will fund 420 counselling appointments or 420 reflexology sessions for our clients.
We’d like to thank Ian and Alison Twinley for allowing us to hold our event every year at Crix, East of England Co-Op, Spokes Cycle Repair, all the supermarkets who donated water and bananas, and our water stop hosts at the Prince of Wales in Broxted, Western Arms in Silver End, The Blue Egg in Great Bardfield and Bocking Church.
A massive thank you to everyone who joined us; to our riders, volunteers, friends and family who gave up their Sunday to help out; the day would not have been such a success without you all!
We are now looking forward to our next annual cycling event taking place on Sunday 10th September which will be travelling through the Essex and Hertfordshire countryside. The Ride will start and finish at The Forgotten Gardens of Easton Lodge in Dunmow. This event will consist of a 100 mile and a 50 mile ride.
We hope to see you there for another fantastic fundraising event in aid of Helen Rollason Cancer Charity!”
You can register by visiting https://www.helenrollason.org.uk/event/cycle-for-cancer/ or calling 01245 380719 today.
If cycling isn’t your thing but you’d still like to get involved, why not volunteer on the day? We have lots of fun and exciting roles for you to get stuck into – call us on 01245 380719 for more information or email fundraising@helenrollason.org.uk
Helen Rollason Cancer Charity is dedicated to supporting people whose lives are touched by cancer. We support men and women with all types of cancer at all stages – whether newly diagnosed or longer-term, throughout treatment and after treatment is completed. We receive no Government or NHS funding and rely solely on donations, fundraising and money raised through our charity shops to continue operating our Support Centres. For more information please visit www.helenrollason.org.uk
