Cyclists gear up for church friends’ trek

Hundreds of churches and chapels across Kent will be visited by fundraising cyclists and walkers this Saturday.

Ride and Stride, the annual Friends of Kent Churches sponsored bike ride and walk, is being held from 10am until 6pm.

Participants are invited to get sponsored and visit as many churches as possible on the day by bike, or by walking.

Last year in Kent the ride raised more than £130,000, including gift aid, with 745 churches and chapels involved. The idea started in Suffolk in 1982, and now 36 counties take part.

Altogether more than £29 million has been raised nationally since the first ride, £2.5m of that in Kent..

Half the sponsorship money raised goes to the church or chapel of the rider’s choice, with the other 50% going to the Friends, who use it to help the most needy churches and chapels in Kent.

For cyclists the day starts when they clock in at their first chosen church from 10am onwards, before they head to the next stopping point on their chosen route and so on.

Some cyclists aim to visit as many as 50 churches on the day. About 740 Kent churches are expected to be visited this Saturday.

Sponsor forms are available from most Kent churches.

For more information of how to enter and the churches involved log on to www.friendsofkentchurches. co.uk