The peddle power of nearly 1,200 Basingstoke cyclists has raised a whopping £60,000 for a Basingstoke charity.
St. Michael’s Hospice’s Big Wheel event took place on Sunday, July 28 and was a huge success, with riders from all over Basingstoke saddling up for a sponsored cycle of either five, twenty five or fifty miles.
Councillor Keith Chapman, the Mayor of Basingstoke and Deane, set off all three rides from Down Grange, with participants being cheered on by the team of hospice staff and volunteers.
The hardworking cyclists were rewarded for their efforts by receiving free leg and back massages, courtesy of hospice complementary therapists, and refreshments provided by the Basingstoke Rugby Club.
Pat Darty, Events Coordinator for St. Michael’s Hospice said: “We would like to thank all the cyclists and their supporters who came along and took part on Sunday together with our sponsor Computer 2000 and all the fantastic volunteers who helped make the event such a huge success. We are hoping that the event will raise over £60 000 towards vital Hospice services and would encourage people to return their sponsorship by October 8 to be in with a chance of winning one of the top three fundraiser trophies.”
The money raised from Big Wheel will help to provide important care facilities for local people, completely free of charge. These services are provided in the Hospice In-Patient Unit and Day Care facilities, but also throughout the community through the Hospice at Home service.
The money raised by the Big Wheel riders is the equivalent of running the Hospice at Home service for three months so the cyclists have made an incredibly important contribution to the local community care facilities.
The Hospice was really delighted with the response as in the run up to the event numbers were not looking as high as in previous years.
The Hospice would also like to thank Computer 2000, Sainsburys Depot, Shoosmiths, Basingstoke Rugby Club, Raynet, St. Johns Ambulance, MJ Events North Hampshire Road Club, SERV, and Action Bikes for their fantastic support of the event and help making it such an enjoyable day for local cyclists.
