Local ladies raise £1,186 through cycle and walk

AT the beginning of October, nine local ladies committed to cycling or walking at least 200-miles through the month to raise money for Chest Heart and Stroke NI.

At the end of the 31 days, each one had exceeded the 200-mile threshold, and a night of congratulations and celebration was recently held for them.

The evening of appreciation took place in Killyclogher’s The Village Inn, and was attended by representatives from Chest Heart and Stroke NI, where they presented the walkers and cyclists with medals.

Joan Potts is Ride Leader of Community Bike Rides Tyrone, and also one of the nine who completed the 200-miles.

Earlier this week, she told the UH how proud she and her team were of the good work they have done.

“It was lovely to have Chest Heart and Stroke NI come to the event in The Village Inn to show their appreciation,” began Joan.

“This charity was chosen because one of my ladies lost her dad this year, so we wanted to support her through this fundraiser.”

One lady, Joan said, deserved a special mention. Her name is is Diane Stevenson. “Diane absolutely smashed the challenge and completed 492-miles. Thus, she was our worthy winner for completing the most miles,” said Joan.

But, as Joan rightly observed, fundamentally, it was all about the money raised.

“The competitive part was fun, but it was all about the fundraising really. We would like to thank everyone who took part or donated through the Justgiving page. We are delighted to have raised this amount.”

This event was organised through Community Bike Rides – a social cycling initiative for people who want to get back on their bikes and ride in a group at a leisurely pace.

If you have a bike and would like to get out on the road, check out Community Bike Rides on Facebook.