OUR BONKERS BIKE RIDE TO AMSTERDAM RAISED OVER £40,000!

47 Sussex cyclists took part in our charity bike ride this year, our annual event organised by our Fundraising team Rosie Molloy and Tracey Narvaez.For the first time, however, the ride went overseas in a 320-mile, 4-day event from Brighton to Amsterdam. Local business Accordance VAT, a Starr Trust supporter, was opening a new office in Amsterdam and thought it would be fun to include Amsterdam in the route.This fantastic and challenging bike ride ran from 26th to 30th June during some of the hottest days of the year. 47 determined cyclists set off from Brighton at 6am, pedalling their way to Folkestone, where they jumped on the Eurostar to Calais. From there the teams made their way to Ghent-Tilburg and then in the final leg of the journey, on to Amsterdam where they enjoyed a well earned celebratory party.Most of the participants were well prepared as Team Leader Fran Dirand from Virgin Active had kindly taken groups out around Sussex for training in the months prior to the event. Other lead cyclists, Chris from Virgin Active, Ben from Accordance VAT, Sara from Velusso and Tony from the Starr Trust, kept everyone motivated and made sure there were no stragglers. Luckily for the cyclists Brown from Brown’s Bikes and Bob from Bob’s Bikes were on hand as support mechanics and local bakeries and supermarkets had provided loads of snacks to keep energy levels high.The Bike Ride is now in its 4th year so some of our cyclists had taken part before and were happy to be reunited with familiar faces whilst also making new friends. There was a real sense of support and camaraderie among the group and because the Starr Trust team had been on a recce along the route, everything ran like clockwork.The sponsorship money will continue to come in for another month but so far the ride has raised in excess of an incredible £40,000!Please dig deep as it’s not too late to donate to our cyclist’s fundraising pages below:Team Leader Fran DirandDavid WebbDaniel MaceVeronica HamiltonSimon CheckleyHannah WellerLynn WardillSuzi McCambridgeRich and Alex BatesXander CameronAccordance VATRosie and Tracey told us “this year’s bike ride was easily our biggest challenge yet and we’re so grateful to all the cyclists who took part. We couldn’t have done it without lead sponsors Accordance VAT and The Implant Centre who were amazing and our heartfelt thanks also to all the team leaders who worked so hard. The fundraising runs until the end of July so there’s still time to sponsor one of our cyclists but at £40,000+ we are already smashing our other events”.Many thanks to all those that supported the ride by donating time or gifts:Accordance VATThe Implant CentreVirgin ActivePaul GuyerAquaidEnterprise Car RentalsCycle TransferBrown’s BikesThe Flour Pot HoveTruffles BakeryClif BarsPavilion Gardens CaféReal PatisserieInfinity FoodsCo-OpStorage Mart WorthingAsda Marina