Supporters of a charity – set up to help people in need of funding for wheelchairs as mobility aids in Beds, Herts and Cambs – have been out on a bike ride to raise funds for the cause.
Supporters of a charity – set up to help people in need of funding for wheelchairs as mobility aids in Beds, Herts and Cambs – have been out on a bike ride to raise funds for the cause.
The ride on Saturday clocked up hundreds of miles and raised £1,200 for Wheels For Martin’s Friends – which was founded by Nick Crane from Biggleswade and Cambs-based Peter Furmston in memory of a teenager with muscular dystrophy.
Peter said: “We started the charity for Martin Dellar, he was a young lad who needed a wheelchair, we said we would raise money for him and continue after he died.
“The orginal idea for the fundraiser was to go out for 12 hours or even double that, but we quickly realised this would be too much as we wanted people of all ages to take part.
“So we set the circuit at 4.8 miles starting at the Edward VII pub in the Cambridgeshire village of Guilden Morden and continuing on to Steeple Morden and then back again – and kept doing that as many times as possible.”
Peter – who turns 70 next month – and another cyclist completed 100 miles, while many others achieved personal bests. The youngest rider who took part was aged just five.
The charity has gone on to help many others with full or part funding for wheelchairs and mobility aids and has raised more than £300,000 since it was formed in 1989.
The next big fundraiser for Wheels for Martin’s Friends is the annual golf day, which has teed off at John O’Gaunt Golf Club in Sandy each year for the last quarter of a century.
“The golf day is our biggest fundraiser of the year, and it always takes place at the Sandy,” said Peter.
“The team at John O’Gaunt they have always been very supportive. There can be 120 people at the evening do there, and 100 people playing.
They have always been so helpful that we haven’t held it anywhere else in 26 years.”
The golf fundraiser takes place on Friday, June 16.
Anyone wishing to take part or sponsor a hole should contact Peter Furmston at info@wheelsformartinsfriends.org.uk. For further information and to find out how Wheels for Martin’s Friends could support you, visit www.wheelsformartinsfriends.org.uk
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