Farm Africa cyclists Ride London to help end hunger

11 August 2014

Farm Africa cyclists brave rain and gales to help end hunger 

More than twenty intrepid cyclists braved driving rain and gales yesterday to power their way over an arduous 86-mile course through the streets of London and the Surrey hills.

The courageous riders were taking part in the Prudential RideLondon 2014, a tortuous ride along the route of the 2012 Olympics long-distance cycling course.

Even in the most forgiving weather, the route is hugely demanding, and Sunday's riders were confronted by appalling conditions that made finishing even harder, despite the organisers’ decision to cut the route from 100 to 86 miles.

But, swept along by the good will and incredible support of cheering crowds who braved the stormy weather, the Farm Africa team put in an astonishing effort. Many had been training for months to get ready for one of the toughest events in the UK’s fundraising calendar.

The team's effort was no less remarkable with the riders' combined total reaching the wonderful total of £9,694.50.

Among the Farm Africa riders was a team from the National Farmers Union (NFU), inspired by their outgoing President, Peter Kendall, who earlier this year cycled over 1,000 miles in just ten days to raise funds for Farm Africa and three other farming charities. The NFU's RideLondon 2014 team raised a really impressive £3,178.50 from the ride.

Also riding as a team were seven colleagues from Haberdashery, a London-based creative design agency. Their riders weighed in with a hefty combined fundraising total of £2,598.22. One of the Haberdashery riders, Joe Wentworth, looked back on a hugely satisfying and rewarding day that started in driving rain and finished in brilliant sunshine on the Mall:

“It was incredibly hard work at times when we were cycling through torrential rain, while climbing the Surrey hills, but the difficult conditions only increased the sense of achievement at the end. It was brilliant to be cycling with work mates, and I’m sure that any future challenges will be put in perspective after we've got through this! And of course I’m delighted that together with my Haberdashery colleagues we've raised so much money for the important work Farm Africa does.”

Farm Africa would like to extend its heartfelt thanks to every RideLondon 2014 cyclist who put themselves through so much, in training and on the day. The money they raised will be put to good work to fund our work which is literally changing lives on the ground in eastern Africa.

Riding for Farm Africa in RideLondon 2014 were:

Paul Bradley, Sam Charleston, Mac Cox, Gemma Fitzpatrick, Gary Freedman, Martin Haworth, Kamyar Keshmiri, Robert Lasseter, John Mercer, Jennifer Pakuls, James Quin, Rupert Rees, Ben Rigby, John Rigby, Tom Sales, Daniel Siden, Tom Sutton, Joe Wentworth, Keston Williams and Richard Wordsworth.

Find out how you or your company can get involved in raising money for Farm Africa.