Thank you and congratulations to the 27 CRY cyclists who took part in the first ever Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 on Sunday 4th August 2013. The sun was out for most of the day, along with a lovely cooling breeze, which we are sure all of the cyclists appreciated throughout the ride.

The atmosphere was just incredible and it was lovely to see the cyclists with their bikes enjoying picnics on the grass, with family and friends who came along to support them. The CRY cyclists included CRY Patron Matt Wells, who was the first to arrive at the meet-and-greet point despite suffering four punctures. All the CRY riders welcomed back by CRY staff Rebecca Zouvani, Nicola Taylor and Cara MacMillan with drinks, snacks and a goody bag. Hopefully this gave everyone a little boost of energy after completing the 100 mile cycle.

Alison Cox MBE, CRY’s Founder and CEO, was able to come along as well for part of the day, to meet a few of the cyclists. It was wonderful to finally meet some of the CRY cycling team, as well as their family and friends, and to put names to faces.

Leith Hill, rather than Box Hill, was found to be one of the toughest parts of the route. It’s steep narrow pathways created a build up of cyclists at times, making the 100 mile ride far more challenging. Despite punctures, aches, pains and extreme fatigue, everyone seemed to enjoy the day.

The 27 cyclists in the CRY team were:

Bill Badger (cycling in memory of Jenny Kerwood); Jamie Bailey (cycling in memory of Max Sheppard); Parminder Bansal (cycling in memory of Joshinder Singh Manku); Andrew Barnes (cycling in memory of Philip Jefferies); Damaris and John Darby (cycling in memory of Chloe Waddell); Alex Das (cycling in memory of Lily Webster); Gary Donnelly; Sonia Eld (cycling in memory of Liam Wood); Holly Fairclough (cycling in memory of Richard Belton); Steve Flight (cycling in memory of Benjamin Percival); Aaron Hemsley (cycling in memory of Mathew Blease); Timothy Jackson; Sam Jones; Paul Lambson (cycling in memory of Mark Lambson); Shlomo Levin; Graeme Lucas; Mark Needham (cycling in memory of Matthew Beadle); Simon Rigby; Stephen Shaw (cycling in memory of Ethan Jones); Dave Tillyer; Anna Warne; Kathryn Wass; Robin Weaser; Matt Wells; Thomas Williams and Patrick Winter.

Thank you again to all of the CRY cyclists. We are very grateful to you all for taking on this gruelling challenge and for choosing to do so for CRY.

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 will take place next year on 10th August 2014. If you would like to cycle for CRY in the 2014 event, please email nicolat@c-r-y.org.uk for further details.