A team of cyclists from Staffordshire Police are on the lookout for riders to join them on a cycling challenge that will raise vital funds for Caudwell Children, the Staffordshire based charity that provides practical and emotional support for disabled children.
The Bobbies on Bikes for Kids Cycling Club (BOB4K) are looking for members of the public to sign up for their Beaches and Battlefields Challenge, which will take place from Monday 10th - Saturday 15th September, 2018.
The challenge will see cyclists turning pedal power into pounds as they ride across the Normandy region of Northern France, skirting the landing beaches of the Second World War along the way.
This year marks the centenary of the end of World War One, and the cyclists will push through the Somme region, famous for the battle between the British, French and German armies, before continuing eastwards to Ypres, in Belgium.
Sergeant Steve Marsh, organiser and one of the participants on the challenge, says you don't have to be an experienced cyclist to get involved. As he explained: "This will be the sixth annual cycling challenge that the BOB4K team has undertaken and each one has involved experienced riders and novices.
"We ensure that those with the most experience mentor cyclists who haven't done anything like this before. By doing this we ensure that everyone makes it to the end of the challenge.
"The camaraderie over the five days of cycling is amazing and the satisfaction of crossing the finishing line, having raised up to £20,000 for Caudwell Children, is overwhelming."
Funds raised through the challenge will help to send two children with life-limiting conditions from Staffordshire on a once-in-a-lifetime holiday to Disney World, in Florida.
To date the BOB4K team has raised over £120,000 for Caudwell Children.
"Whilst we're in Ypres, we will go to the Menin Gate Memorial," said Steve. "It's dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Great War, and the team will lay a wreath, in front of 2,000 people, in memory of those who lost their lives."
The cyclists will then begin their final push for home as they head to Dunkirk before boarding the ferry from Calais to Dover.
The heroic team will then be treated to a celebration reception and presentation at the Caudwell International Children's Centre, the charity's state-of-the-art HQ, in Keele, on Saturday 15th September.
"We're looking for all types of riders, be it from members of the public or other emergency services," concluded Steve. "It will be an amazing, life-changing, experience and one that you'll never forget."
For further details and to register telephone Kerrie Davies on 01782 600651.
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