Alsford Timber employees raise £7,000 for health charities

Two teams of four cyclists from builders merchant, Alsford Timber have taken part in the Cahors Cycling Challenge. They embarked on a 566-mile route over three days through the French countryside raising over £7,000 for Cancer Research, The British Heart Foundation, NHS Charities Together and Momentum Children’s Charity.

Challenge Adventure Charities was formed in 1996 and holds bi-annual cycling events in summer and autumn with the goal of raising as much money as possible for charities chosen by event participants and trustees. To date, Challenge Adventure Charities have raised around £4.45 million through events.

The Cahors Challenge event is a purpose-driven fundraising event, where funds are split with 50% going to the the nominated CAC charities, and 50% to an elected Alsford charity. Nominated by one of our Alsford team members, we chose Momentum Children’s Charity who support seriously ill children and their families, and are a local charity to us in the South East. Read more about Momentum Children’s Charity here.

The event took place over three days with four riders taking on each ride as their teammates followed along by car. The route took in steep ascents and winding roads, with the cold and wet weather creating a dramatic landscape for relay sprints and ultimately completing the ride as a large group working in peloton.

Oliver Hampton, Alsford Joinery Lead, said: “The hills are tough. The thought of letting my family, charity and teammates down got me to the top.” Tim Osborne, Alsford Commercial Manager, reiterated that taking on the hills for long stretches of time was really the hardest point of this entire trip, “Cycling a steep hill feeling the pain with Neil, when he highlighted why we were doing this and who we were raising money for, is what got me through”.

The team was made up of six Alsford team members including managing director Neil Fuller, plus two dedicated customers keen to support these worthy causes.

The Alsford Peddlers and Wheelers will be returning to the Cahors Challenge in 2023 and welcome new and returning teammates to complete the fundraiser with them.