A SPORTY mayor has wheeled his way to a regional volunteering award. Cllr Simon Speller, mayor of Stevenage, has been named Cyclists Touring Club (CTC) Volunteer of the Year for the East of England region. The awards, now in their third year, recognise t

A SPORTY mayor has wheeled his way to a regional volunteering award.

Cllr Simon Speller, mayor of Stevenage, has been named Cyclists' Touring Club (CTC) Volunteer of the Year for the East of England region.

The awards, now in their third year, recognise the unsung heroes of cycling who keep the sport alive at a local and regional level.

Cllr Speller was nominated by the local CTC for his efforts to raise the profile of cycling during his mayoral year, which started in May 2006.

As mayor, he helped promote and rode the Stevenage Circular Cycle in June, ensured the success of Stevenage Cycling Day in September, raised thousands of pounds for local charities riding from Land's End to John O'Groats and helped facilitate, promote and rode the popular Emitremmus event in October.

Cllr Speller also named the CTC Charitable Trust as one of his six mayoral charities for 2006/2007 and is promoting the release of an updated and improved Stevenage cycle route guide.

He will receive his award at the CTC annual dinner this month and as a regional winner, will be automatically nominated for a national prize.

Cllr Speller said: "I am truly honoured to be given this award, and I think it reflects the tremendous work CTC does each year in organising the Emitremmus and Start of Summertime rides.

"I'll celebrate by doing the Stevenage to Lavenham ride this year."

For more information about local cycling events visit www.stevenage

ctc.info

l Next weekend Cllr Speller is donning his cycling shorts again to raise funds for the North Herts and Stevenage Contact Group, which provides child contact centres, where children from divorced and separated families can meet up with the parent they don't live with. Cllr Speller will be cycling around the eight Child Contact Centres in Hertfordshire, a distance of around 90 miles, and is inviting members of the public of all ages to join the first leg, from Stevenage to Norton Way North, Letchworth GC. The ride will set off from the Primett Road car park at 9.30am on Sunday, April 15, and will be around seven miles.

For more information, ring 01438 315953.