Northants man takes on 75 mile warm-up cycle ride for Cransley Hospice

An East Northamptonshire will be raising money for Cransley Hospice tomorrow (Sunday) by cycling 75 miles.

Alan Wordie, from Harringworth, will be taking to the roads in his arm-powered bike as part of the Cransley BIG Cycle, an event that replaced the annual Cransley Cycle event after coronavirus forced the hospice to cancel.

Alan said: "Having lived in and around Kettering since 1991, I am very aware of the good work that Cransley Hospice does.

"Even in times like this when we find ourselves amid a global pandemic and fundraising events have been cancelled or deferred to next year, specialist palliative care must carry on."

Cyclists can take part in the BIG Cycle from wherever they are. Alan will be starting from Uppingham with his 10-year-old twin godchildren and their parents, who have travelled from Wales to take part.

They will cycle 25 miles to Oundle in time for breakfast, before returning to Harringworth to refuel at lunch.

Alan will then cycle 50 miles with encouragement from a group of cyclists from the village.

The BIG Cycle is a warm up for Alan who is preparing to cycle from Land's End in Cornwall to John O'Groats in Scotland this summer.

He bought his bike in February and has been training ever since and hopes the BIG Cycle will build up his stamina, as well as raise money for Cransley Hospice.

So far, Alan's JustGiving pae has raised £995. He said: "I have to thank the incredible support of the villagers in Harringworth who have rallied to support my fundraising and helping to raise, with Gift Aid, over £1,000 for Cransley Hospice."

Kate Ilott, events manager at Cransley, said: "We are so grateful to individuals like Alan and his community of supporters that have donated and cycled with him, particularly the villagers of Harringworth and his friends who are travelling all the way from Wales to accompany him for the Cransley BIG Cycle.

"Cransley Hospice has had to cancel many of the planned fundraising events and activities because of the virus but individual fundraisers like Alan, are a true inspiration and make a valuable difference."

The hospice needs to raise around £1.4m every year to provide its specialist palliative care to patients from north Northamptonshire.

Cransley anticipates its fundraising income will be £500,000 short this year after being forced to cancel events, community collections and its chairty shop due to the pandemic.

It said support from individuals is more important than ever and there are lots of ways you can get involved in supporting Cransley Hospice, from challenges, playing a weekly lottery or even through shopping!

You can find more ideas on how to support our local hospice here.

Alan's JustGiving page can be found here.