Bike group to ride from Bognor to Barcelona for Charity

A group of mates turned into a bike group over lockdown and have loved riding together since. They’re now taking on their biggest challenge yet for charity.

Group member Darren Butler said: “We've been a good group of school friends originally and we've known each other since 5 years old. We’ve all grown up through school together.

“We've always been an active bunch of guys and always rode our bikes. We started the group coming out the back end of COVID. We'd done a lot of riding throughout that time. As the restrictions eased nearer the summer, we just rode and rode and rode as a group. Our first big ride was a 100-mile bike ride in one day. That was from where we are in Pagham, Rose Green, all the way to Eastbourne and back."

Another of the lad’s journeys saw them travel up to Land’s End in Cornwall last year in July. Darren said it was a ‘tremendous experience’ and they had an ‘overwhelming sense of achievement’. He added: “Moving on from that great trip, we had we felt driven to go further and do it for a charity next time round. Barcelona is a nice, sunny, sunny destination, right through France.

"It also seems achievable within sort of the timescale that we have that we can all afford to take off work too, so decided on that.” The group have decided to raise funds for the Chestnut Tree House Charity, which cares for children and young people with life-limiting conditions.

Darren Butler expressed their drive to raise money as well as do something they love. He said: “The biggest driver for us was thinking if we can do this whilst having loads of fun and doing what we enjoy, as well as making some money for a great cause and some amazing people it seems like the best thing we can do.

“It’s a fantastic opportunity to help others out whilst doing something as a group of mates and we’re looking forward to it.”

The group are taking on the challenge this year in May, and are aiming to raise £5,000. You can visit their JustGiving link here: https://tinyurl.com/Bognor-to-Barca.