On Sunday 5th September 2021, the PPS Charity Bike Ride returned with the longest ride yet and raised £1878 for Dove House Hospice in Hull.
After being forced to cancel the annual event in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic – the team were determined to come back with a new challenge for those brave enough to take it on.
Why Dove House Hospice?
Colleagues at our East Yorkshire branch nominated Dove House Hospice as the charity for this year’s ride as it is a charity close to their hearts.
Dove House Hospice has been caring for people in Hull for almost 40 years. Patients and families are at the heart of everything they do, whether they are caring for people at the end of their lives, providing therapies to help people with life limiting illnesses improve their quality of life, or giving much needed bereavement support to grieving families.
They work tirelessly for people in our community and we wanted to play our part by supporting them in return.
The ride
The 55-mile route started at PPS Sheffield in Dinnington at 9am on the Sunday morning. The riders reporting for the challenge were: Andy Martlew, Jen Kershaw, Ashley Whitaker, Leland Heslop, Ethan Noble, Chris Speight, Craig Simper, Dave Batley and Kev Wilkinson. With a mixture of nerves, excitement and determination they set off East.
The route took them through some stunning rural villages, over the River Trent, past a pet cemetery, up 3 hills (yes there are hills over that way!) and of course, over the iconic Humber Bridge.
(If you do want to have a nosey at the finer details of the route they took, just message Andy Martlew – he will happily talk about cycling anytime.)
After 2 punctures and 4hours 31minutes riding time at an average speed of 12.3mph, the team arrived at Norman Walker near Hull. On a day that was hotter than expected they were thrilled to have completed this year’s challenge.
Well done and thank you
A massive well done to all 9 riders for putting themselves up for the challenge, going outside their comfort zone and completing it in style! Thank you for taking part.
Thank you to Paul Thomas, Richard Ambrose, Andy Kershaw, Nick Forth and Pete Martlew for supporting the riders on the route.
Thank you also to Simon and Kerrie Biggs for the finishing buffet at Norman Walker – the team were certainly ready for it!
Last, but most definitely not least, a huge thank you to everyone who has sponsored our team. It gave them the drive to take on the challenge and makes a difference for those in our community being supported by Dove House Hospice. Our final fundraising total was £1878.