Brothers Keith and Steve Wright will ride 100 miles each next month to raise money for Accomplish, as part of RideLondon 2022.
Keith (above, left) and Steve (right) both started to ride when they were young, through the beautiful Yorkshire countryside. Cycling took a back seat during early adulthood but more recently, they have both returned to riding with a passion. They are looking forward to tackling the RideLondon course together and to raising money for disabled children in Africa.
Keith says: “I got into 'serious' cycling as a young teenager. Olympic track cyclist Reg Harris was in the news, having made a comeback and become a national champion at the age of 54, and my brother Steve had a really cool Reg Harris-branded racing bike. I soon had a bike of my own, and enjoyed the freedom to get out and see the Yorkshire countryside.
"As a student I began racing, taking part in time-trials, road races and hill-climbs, but never troubling the podium! After 25 years of cycling taking a back seat, a move to York in 2011 gave time and opportunity to ride properly again; with Chris [Acton, Accomplish's Treasurer] and other like-minded riders we have tackled some of the long-distance routes, stretching from Cumbria to Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Northumberland and into Scotland. And every so often we enter 100-mile rides, just to see whether we can still do it, and whether a 'magical' personal best time is within reach.
“Accomplish is a remarkable charity, achieving an enormous amount with limited resources. Too often 'charity work' seems to be something that other people do, but in the case of Accomplish I know some of the people involved - people like Chris, Jessie, Kitty and Rob, who have been to the front line and have been able to report first-hand on the highs and lows of the reality of the situation disabled children can find themselves in.
"Small sums of money given in the UK translate into enormously effective help for disabled children in Africa: as little as £10 a month can cover the cost of epilepsy medication for five children, and that in turn helps those children to become more independent, to attend school, learn skills, and in due course to support themselves.”
Steve added: “I've been keen on cycling since I was very young and cycled with a couple of friends both locally near our town in Yorkshire, as well as making some trips up to the Yorkshire Dales, when my legs could manage some of the bigger hills.
“After I moved South with my work I got more into hiking, skiing and travelling, but more recently I've returned to cycling, only to find that my trusty Claud Butler bike was now considered 'vintage' (indeed I've seen the very same model in a museum!).
“Having invested in a new bike and new kit, I have reinvigorated my interest and now participate in many cyclo-sportives each year, including the very first RideLondon, which I did as part of the sponsors team (I worked for Prudential at the time and it was a big deal for us) and which passed through the village I now live in.”
Please consider sponsoring Keith and Steve via their Enthuse page: https://accomplishchildrenstrust.enthuse.com/cf/ride-london