The ride, organised jointly by St Andrew’s School and Farnham Round Table, will see more than 1,000 cyclists of all ages and abilities depart Castle Street on Sunday morning, on 16, 25, 50 and 75 mile routes through the Surrey and Hampshire countryside.
It is the first ride proper after scaled-down events in 2020 and 2021, and cyclists can still sign up online at www.farnhambikeride.org.uk – places cost from £20 (under-16s free), with all proceeds split between St Andrew’s and the Round Table.
Rachel Morris, Farnham’s three-times Paralympic medallist, launched this year’s ride at St Andrew’s School in Farnham earlier this month and will be taking part in this year’s ride, alongside her fellow Alice Holt parkrunner and St Andrew’s office manager Carolyn Wickham.
Rachel, who won gold and bronze handcycling medals at the Beijing and London Paralympics before winning a further gold in rowing at the Rio Games, set out to persuade her friend Carolyn to tackle the 50-mile route.
And after some arm-twisting, Carolyn has relented after taking receipt of an electric bike for the day courtesy of the Electric Cycle Cafe in Downing Street, Farnham. This she hopes will give her the best chance of keeping up with Rachel’s handcycle!
Having now retired from competing professionally, Rachel now spends her time promoting the use of sport and getting people outdoors to improve mental health. She works closely with organisations such as Children In Motion based in Elstead (www.childreninmotion.co.uk).
The Farnham Charity Bike Ride is once again being supported by an array of local businesses, with ME Estate Agents sponsoring the medals, Tootsies Day Nursery supplying flapjacks and brownies, while The Bicycle Cave will be on Castle Street for last-minute repairs and EF Sport Therapies for post-ride massages!
Castle Street will be closed to traffic from 5am to 5pm on Sunday to allow the event to proceed safely.