St Ives and Ramsey supermarket staff hit the road for charity

THEY’RE OFF: Staff, family and friends from two supermarkets got on their bikes to raise money for charity.

The intrepid group braved heavy rain to complete a 25-mile lap of Rutland Water and raise money for the Ramsey support group of Parkinson’s UK Huntingdonshire and Community Action Today in St Ives (CATS).

Seven riders from the Anglia Co-operative foodstore in Constable Road, St Ives, were joined by the manager of the Newtown Road store in Ramsey, Peter Murray.

Although the ride went off without a hitch, St Ives store manager Jonathan Quinn’s mountain bike broke just before the start and he had to hire a cycle.

And Diane Carter, community champion at the St Ives store, twice got lost – but eventually the group completed the lap in two-and-a-half hours.

The ride was the first in a series of fundraisers staged by the St Ives store in aid of CATS, a day centre for adults with learning difficulties.

Jonathan said: “We’re also getting behind CATS with a fun day and our Pick Up A Penny campaign. We raised �80 with the ride and although we got soaked at one point and it was a tough ride, we’re pleased with how it went and felt it was well worth doing.”

Peter raised �85 for the Ramsey Parkinson’s support group. He said: “Both stores have done sponsored cycle rides in the past for local charities, but we decided to do it together this year.

“The wife of one of our regular customers suffers from Parkinson’s, so I wanted to help the local support group. It was a good day out and I hope both stores will do a sponsored ride together again next year.”