The Hunts Post’s charity bike ride – Two Wheels for Woodlands – is off to a flying start and today we reveal the routes.
In the week since the launch of the Huntingdonshire bike ride, which is being run in partnership with St Neots, St Ives and Peterborough cycling clubs, about 30 cyclists have signed on the dotted line to tackle the courses.
They are helping to support the Woodlands Cancer Centre at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon, which will be the beneficiary of all the profits from the event.
But to ensure we raise as much money as possible towards the centre’s £800,000 extension, we want more of you to sign up and take part in one of the routes, including our new traffic-free route designed specifically with families in mind.
The big challenge is still the 100-mile route, with 60 and 30 miles routes also an option. Two family routes have been set up, one on quiet roads to Abbots and Kings Ripton and Wennington, and a traffic-free circuit on Alconbury Weald where all routes start and finish, thanks to landowners Urban and Civic.
The races and rides will take place on Sunday, June 29 – a week before the Tour de France visits Cambridgeshire.
And if you don’t fancy a day in the saddle, there are other ways to help out.
The Hunts Post is calling on community groups and others to help feed the cyclists as they make their way around Huntingdonshire. There will be two food stops for riders on the 100-mile route, probably in St Neots and St Ives, and one for the 60-mile route, possibly in Ramsey.
Graham Temple, of Wheels in Wheels Events, which is also organising the ride, said: “When a cyclist is riding very hard they use up all the calories in their body every 25-30 miles, so they need to feed otherwise they can hit the affectionately-known ‘bonk’ when the body’s store of glycogen runs out.
“It’s even more important to feed for cyclists who are not as experienced in riding long distances.
“Cyclists like sweet things at the first stop like cakes, fruitcakes and biscuits and they will be craving more savoury things at the second like sausage rolls, pasta and mini quiches. All the things that aren’t particularly healthy.”
INFORMATION: If you are a local WI group, a great cook or business and would like to register your interest in helping make food for the cyclists, email hywel.barrett@archant.co.uk.
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