Essex Villages Big Bike Ride

From the Colchester Gazette

CYCLISTS are joining forces with a leukaemia charity to organise a bike ride.

The Randonneurs Road Club, from Coggeshall, and The Anthony Nolan Trust are planning their first Essex Villages Big Bike Ride, which will take place on July 1.

It will be open to families, leisure cyclists and serious competitors and the choice of 25-mile or 60-mile routes will take participants through beautiful villages in north Essex as well as raising vital funds for the Anthony Nolan Trust.

The Randonneurs got involved after they took part in the charity’s cycle ride in Suffolk and were asked if they could help organise a similar event in Essex.

They will be donating their fee for helping to organise the ride to Farleigh Hospice, in memory of their friend and founder John Chantry.

Mr Chantry was 59 when he died from asbestos-related cancer last July.

He had spent time in respite care at the hospice during his illness.

Randonneurs member Roger Stubbings said his friend, who lived in Coggeshall for 30 years, was diagnosed in December 2004 and given just eight months to live.

Yet he managed to complete a sponsored bike ride to Paris in September 2005, raising cash for the Royal British Legion.

His fellow cyclists also took part in the ride that year and in 2006, raising around £20,000 for the charity.

Last month, the 30-strong club installed a bench in memory of Mr Chantry outside Stisted Tea Rooms, which is one of their favourite stopping points and Father Philip Banks, vicar of Saint Peter ad Vincula in Coggeshall, performed a short dedication service.

For more information about the Essex Villages Bike Ride, call the Anthony Nolan Trust on 01763 247054.