Cyclists add own twist to 30 rides fundraiser

Day one, on 29 August, started with a breakfast for the group of 116 participants, including 55 first-timers – all wearing distinctive yellow jerseys – at The Kiln.

It ended with an east coast ride to Ian Brown’s Cycle Shop, the owner of which organises the challenge, after those taking part had ridden for at least an hour a day for 30 days – and some for 30 miles a day for 30 days.

‘The challenge went very well,’ said Mr Brown.

‘Just over half of the riders that took part this year got together at Bordeaux and rode the last mile or so to the shop where we had some of the Friends of Les Bourgs and one of the governors, John Guille, who came to welcome our riders and congratulate them.

‘It’s a challenge for the participants for sure and I admire them.’

He said many of the riders set themselves personal challenges to test themselves even further.

‘Some people do 30 miles a day and others tried climbing 30,000 feet,’ he said.

‘People put their own slant on it and all credit to them, but all in all it’s a commitment that people have to ride for an hour a day for 30 days.

‘They’ve worked so hard throughout this last month to complete the challenge and raise money for Les Bourgs while doing so.’

Mr Brown added it had not yet been calculated how much had been raised in total, but was mindful that it was more than likely going to be less than previous years.

‘People have had financial backing from friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbours across the 13 years,’ he said.

‘People are really resourceful and inventive and go that extra mile, so to speak, but this year is completely different to previous years because of Covid, so I’m aware of the difficulties of raising money.

‘The socio-economic effects in Guernsey mean that there is unemployment and people are on less hours, less wages, and working from home so the opportunities to fundraise have just not been the same, so we’re realistic what we’ll raise this year.’

Last year, riders raised £75,000.

‘To be honest, if we got half of that, I would personally be delighted and I’m sure Les Bourgs would be as well,’ he said.

‘We need to be realistic and not overly optimistic – it’d still be a large chunk of money and I’m just glad we got to do it at all and the riders enjoyed it with good weather.’

Since 2008, the total accumulated funds raised by the event stands at £750,000.

The final amount raised this year will be announced on 16 October.

The month-long 30/30 cycle challenge will return next year.