The hills were alive with the sound of cyclists
THE only way was up for 150 cyclists of different ages and abilities who took part in Sunday’s fourth annual ride around the hills of Guernsey.
Organised by Matt Collas of the Only Fools and Donkeys charity, riders were offered a choice of three courses – beginner, classic and the full course which took in six, 14 and 26 hills respectively and covered between 36.4km and 86.7.
Setting off from Footes Lane at 7, 7.20 and 8.15am, riders had ideal conditions for the event – sunny but not hot and some actually spoke about feeling cold at some points.
Riders were treated to burgers and cakes at the Rugby Club on arriving back at Footes Lane, with the first arrivals getting in at about 11.30.
The youngest participants were four junior members of the Velo Club who did the ‘classic’ route, including Humphrey Brimson, 11, who was taking part for the first time, though he had raced before, including riding up Le Val des Terres, which was one of the hills on the route.
‘I would say the last hill was the hardest,’ he said, referring to Route de la Hurette.
‘That hill just kept on going,’ said Freddie Martel, 12.
‘I did the easy one last year with my dad,’ said Atticus Robison, 12. ‘I’ll do the big one next year if I’m fit enough.’
A bout of Covid had put paid to the plans of at least two participants.
‘This year we did the beginner route,' Beverley Godfrey admitted.
‘Last year we did the classic but since I’ve just had Covid I didn’t think I could do it.’
The same applied to her husband, Andrew, who had done the full route a couple of times before but joined his wife on the beginner run this time since he had also had the virus. ‘We share everything,’ he said.
As well as being treated to food the riders all received a free tub of Lube Up! a new anti-chafing cream developed by Guernsey Seaweed. It is donating £4 from every pot sold to the charity.
n The event was sponsored by Skipton International and Rocq Capital.
