Eleven employees from a Yorkshire housebuilder raised £7,000 for St Leonard’s Hospice after cycling 140 miles in three days.
The cyclists, who work for Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, took on the coast to coast (C2C) route from Whitehaven on the west coast of Cumbria to Sunderland on the north east coast to help raise funds for the company’s nominated charity.
After 12 punctures, a few broken chains and lots of sore muscles – but thankfully no accidents or major injuries – the cyclists agreed it had been a tough challenge but all for a great cause.
Team co-ordinator and Persimmon Homes Yorkshire quantity surveyor, Simon Winship, said: “We all had a great but exhausting three days.
“We were blessed with fantastic weather, blue skies all the way, so that helped, and we had tremendous help from our support vehicle, which was provided and driven by one of our sub-contractor, Westlea Transport Ltd. His role proved pivotal as it made sure we had cold drinks at each of our break stops and the vehicle was perfect for storing our bikes at night.”
The team was made up with individuals from various departments including sales, construction and design, and each one spent around eight to nine hours in the saddle, tackling between 40 and 55 miles a day.
Simon added: “Each day our route passed a number of our Persimmon Homes developments which gave us all an extra boost and in one day alone we cycled 55 miles.
“The flats were an absolute breeze, but when you factored in some of the hills things became really tough. But we were all there for one another, ensuring we all reached the end safely. Some of the team are already talking about taking on the challenge again.”