A team of Glasgow cyclists recently completed a 100-mile challenge to mark a long association with one of Scotland’s leading social care charities.
The group from the Glasgow Road Club took on the Prudential Ride London 100 event on Sunday, July 31 raising funds for Scottish social care charity, Cornerstone, to mark a four-year association with the organisation.
The 100-mile route took riders, including Cornerstone’s IT & systems manager, John Cameron, from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park through the streets of London and into the Surrey countryside through some tough terrain before returning to London, via Wimbledon, and finishing up in the shadow of Buckingham Palace on the Mall.
Mr Cameron said that while the 5hrs 23 minutes it took to complete the route were tough, the thought of raising money for Cornerstone helped get him through.
“Ride London was an incredible event. It’s a very fast, rolling course on closed roads which gives riders a taste of what it’s like to be a professional for the day and the sheer number of spectators was incredible,” he said.
“Much like the London Marathon, the Ride London 100 has very quickly become a ‘money can’t buy’ experience which is as it should be. Riding for a charity really adds to the enjoyment and achievement of completing the event and gives fantastic exposure for the organisation to the public lining the streets as well as the live BBC TV coverage.”
Although sponsorship is still coming in, the team, which also included Michael Kerr, Mark Whitehead and Iain Thompson, has raised almost £300 which Cornerstone will use to provide specialist support and services for children and adults with disabilities and other additional needs.
Lisa Duthie, Cornerstone’s director of fundraising and corporate relations, said: “We are extremely grateful to John and his team for choosing to support Cornerstone by taking on as ambitious and difficult a challenge as the Prudential Ride London 100 and hopefully they can now enjoy some well-deserved time to rest weary legs.
“Like all charities, the support of groups and individuals who fundraise for us is absolutely vital in allowing us to carry out our work across the country and we hope John and the Glasgow Road Club will inspire many others to set themselves a challenge for Cornerstone.”
Cornerstone provides care and support services for adults, young people and children across Scotland with learning disabilities, physical disabilities and other support needs.
Since 1980, Cornerstone has grown to support more than 2,000 people each year, delivering services within 17 local authority areas across Scotland. More information on Cornerstone can be found by visiting www.cornerstone.org.uk.