A group of hardy cyclists helped turn miles into smiles as they rode from Derby to Skegness in aid of a much-loved children’s charity.
Riders met bright and early at Pride Park in Derby on Saturday to cycle 100 miles to the Lincolnshire resort where the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre is based.
The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre has been going for 131 years and gives five-day seaside stays in Skegness for children who are nominated because they may not otherwise get a break, due to financial hardship or other reasons.
Riders preparing to set off from Pride Park for the SkegVegas100 ride, 2022.
The ‘SkegVegas100’ bike ride is one of the charity’s biggest fundraisers and was back this year after a three-year pandemic-induced hiatus.
This year 38 cyclists pedalled the distance to Skegness to help raise funds needed by the charity to put more smiles on children’s faces.
One of them was Robert Corah, of Selston near Mansfield. A member of Cycle Mickleover, Robert said he has done the ride once before and also recalled staying in a similar organisation to the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre as a child.
He said: “Mum didn’t have a lot so they were able to send us away for a summer break at this holiday centre. I was a little bit emotional when I got to Skegness. I found the ride a little bit tougher than last time, and it meant a lot just to get there and be part of it.
“The weather was absolutely perfect and the ride itself was so well organised with pit stops and food and recovery stations. I was absolutely shattered by the time I got there – the last 20 miles were very tiring. But it was a very exciting day, and I can’t wait to do it next year!”
Cyclists set off on the SkegVegas100 at 7.30am from Pride Park and the first riders arrived in Skegness at around 2pm, where they were greeted by the Mayor of Skegness, Cllr Trevor Burnham, and Alan Grimadell, chairman of the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre. While some riders had taken part in the event previously, there were lots of new faces this year, including several participants who said they had never cycled such a long distance before.
Terry Willis, of Derby, who has organised the event with his son Aaron since it started up in 2013, said: “The SkegVegas100 ride was fantastic. Everybody made the whole distance! We had a new route this year on quieter roads which the cyclists said they really loved. And there was great weather too which really topped off the day.”
Alan Grimadell said: “It was absolutely fabulous to see the SkegVegas100 ride happen again this year. It’s one of our charity’s biggest fundraisers. We are very grateful to these hardy souls for pedalling their way all the way to Skegness so that we can put smiles on the faces of more children. I thank each and every one of them from the bottom of my heart for taking part and making the ride such a success. We’re looking forward to holding the ride again next year so it would be great to see even more cyclists signing up to take part.”
The fundraising total for the SkegVegas100 is still being totted up but online donations currently top £4,300 and more has been pledged offline. People can still donate here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Skegvegas
The Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre would always appreciate donations to help keep its vital work alive. With a million people living in Derbyshire, the charity’s plea is for people to be ‘One in a Million’, donating £4 a month by texting DCHCMILLION to 70085.
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Photos show: Riders gathering outside the Derbyshire Children’s Holiday Centre office in Pride Park, Derby, as they prepare to set off for the ride.
