17 cyclists from four organisations rode 100 miles and raised £1500.00 for charity.
The group was made up of nine students and three staff from Priory School alongside a former headmaster Mick Truman (from Priory) who joined up with representatives from West Suffolk College, Eastern Education Group and West Suffolk Wheelers.
The team started off at the Bury St Edmunds school last week and it took them 12 hours to reach their destination of Darsham near Saxmundham.
After an overnight stop, the group then began their journey home and managed to make it back to the school at 5.30pm, nine and a half hours after setting off.
Before the journey started, two members had to pull out with injuries and after experiencing kindness, much needed pizza, angry drivers, road blocks and walks along public pathways, the team came through the school gates to rapturous applause from friends and family.
So far, they have raised around £2500.00 – with £1500 going to the chosen charity called Suffolk MIND – and the rest of the money will be used to fund next year’s effort.
Tom Parkington, a teacher at The Priory organised the event. He said: “It all went amazingly well – and it was nice to have this collaboration with everyone.
“I’d say the highlights were the atmosphere within the group, the great views of the countryside and the support we had from people, shops, sports clubs and pubs along the way. The bad side was hearing negative comments from other road users.
“Another frustration happened on day one. We were in touching distance of the finish before encountering a roadblock. We had to walk along a public footpath – and although it was annoying, it was also quite humorous.
On finishing he added: “It was great to see everyone at the end. You could see the pride in the faces of the parents and the students got a real sense of achievement. They all got a medal for completing the ride.” m/f
Chris Steele is the group head of sport at West Suffolk College and Eastern Education Group. Chris said: “It was brilliant to be part of this fantastic collaboration. We are already planning future charity rides. We want to get the college and group more involved in this. We’d love to do a staff ride and we are all talking about doing something in France. Who knows – it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that we will one day ride a stage of the Tour de France.”
This was the 29th year that this cycle ride has taken place.
To donate funds you can visit: https://www.justgiving.com/page/priory100milecycle?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=019
