Families smash charity bike challenge
SIX months ago only two members of the Wise and Evans families had any experience of cycling, but that didn’t stop them from riding 125 miles in memory of a lost loved one.
Fast forward to the present day and they’ve got plenty to celebrate after successfully completing the challenge and raising over £13,000 for The Christie – completely smashing their original target of £4,000.
The group of siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins pedalled from Marple Bridge to Trearddur Bay in Anglesey in memory of Margaret Wise, who sadly lost her battle with cancer in February 2015 at the age of just 58.
The charity challenge was the brainchild of her daughters, Megan, 29, and Polly, 33, and they managed to rope in eight other family members, including Libby Evans, Mark Evans, Freddie Evans, Chrissy Evans, Molly Evans, Ieuan Evans and Richard Wise.
A number of other family members, including Margaret’s husband Paul, took on supporting roles with everyone assigned their own responsibility, such as nutritionist, bike maintenance and treasurer.
They chose Treaddur Bay because the family own a flat there so it is a regular holiday destination and it’s where Margaret’s ashes are scattered.
Paul said: “Everyone was extremely proud and ecstatic at their achievement, especially as six months ago only two of the 10 riders had sat on a road bike or done anything other than causal riding.
“Obviously they were a little weary at the end but some of them managed a dip in the sea.
“Between them they only suffered four punctures and one snapped chain. There were some other technical difficulties due to poor mobile phone coverage near the overnight stop, but they managed to pull through.
“The weather was mixed en route, which necessitated some putting on and off of warm clothing.
“The Sunday morning started cold and drizzly, but they arrived in Treaddur Bay with some nice sunny skies.
“So far the donations have far exceeded our expectations at £12,100 plus £1,700 gift aid, thus smashing our target!”
To make a donation visit justgiving.com/fundraising/milesformargo.