Berkhamsted Cycling Club flying high following donation

Berkhamsted Cycling Club (BCC) have donated £1,000 to Thames Valley Air Ambulance from the proceeds of their annual Berkhamsted Spring Classic Reliability Ride.

The ride, which took place on Sunday 8 March, before lockdown, involved more than 100 riders completing circuits of either 60 or 100km in length. Money from the entry fee was donated to the Air Ambulance this month.

BCC Chairman Mike Plowman said: ‘One of our members, Trevor Hill, had a nasty crash last year and was rescued by Thames Valley Air Ambulance. Since then it’s been a cause that has been particularly close to our hearts and we were really proud to be able to give them this donation.’

In total, BCC have donated more than £2,100 to Thames Valley Air Ambulance since Trevor’s crash in autumn 2018.

Katie Eyton, community fundraising manager at Thames Valley Air Ambulance, said: ‘This is a truly amazing amount of money and we are humbled by the overwhelming support we are receiving from our community who have so generously donated during this unprecedented time. The spring and summer months are an important and busy time for our charity, so it won’t come as a surprise that we have been impacted by the cancellation and postponement of many fundraising events due to the coronavirus pandemic – we are just so grateful that this event was able to take place and a huge thank you to Trevor and the members of the BCC for your ongoing support, we could not do what we do without you.’

BCC’s reliability ride marked the second time this event was run. Reliability rides are a British cycling tradition, the earliest dating back more than a century when cyclists would complete a long loop in early January without external support, as a way of proving the durability of themselves and their machines. Berkhamsted’s relatively new event is part of the ‘Chiltern Classic Reliability Series’ of events, which take place each year.

It was the last major BCC event before the club went into its own form of lockdown, cancelling its group rides with members cycling alone or cycling indoors.

Image by Trevor Hill