A group of cyclists have set out on a charity bike ride from Leicester to Amsterdam – a challenge which will see them cover 200 miles in just three days.
The riders set off from the city’s King Power stadium earlier this morning (Thursday, June 9) and will finish at Amsterdam’s Ajax Arena on Saturday afternoon (June 11).
The majority of the money raised as a result, will be donated to Help the Homeless Leicester, with 20 per cent earmarked for Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
The challenge has been organised by Arif Jedsy, the founder of Help the Homeless, Leicester.
“A lot of people cycle from Leicester to Skegness but we thought we’d chop it and change it and do something a bit different to the norm”, he told the Leicester Times.
“Everyone’s upbeat and confident that we can do this, as we’ve all been training hard and putting the saddle time in – doing between 70-80 mile stints at the weekend.
“The only thing that could possibly hinder us is an injury, but we’re hoping that nothing like that happens”, he added. “Fingers crossed, we should be fine”.
Today, the team will be cycling from Leicester to Cambridge before beginning the next leg of their journey, from Cambridge to Harwich tomorrow.
From Here they will catch the night ferry over to the ‘hook of Holland’, before cycling to Amsterdam. Arif estimates that the team will arrive at the Ajax Arena at around 1 pm on Saturday.
“I’ll probably have a nice long soak when we get there, and then probably some sightseeing”, he revealed.
“It’ll be a great sense of achievement, and we’re definitely looking forward to the challenge. There’s a great sense of camaraderie in the team and it should be good”.
As a result of the cycling challenge, Arif hopes that the team will raised around £50,000.
£36,000 has been raised so far.
“We’re just a bit short, but we’re hoping that when people start seeing the videos and our posts going out on social media, more donations will start to come in”, he added.
For updates on the challenge, follow ‘Help the Homeless Leicester’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
To make a donation, visit: https://www.hthleicester.co.uk/
