Henley Society

ON one of the hottest days of the year, the Freewheelers set out on a 50km pedalathon to raise money for South Oxfordshire Mencap Society and Younger People with Dementia.

The Freewheelers comprise eight Henley women, who all wanted to get back into cycling, and came together, some more nervously than others, encouraged by cyclist and teacher, Sarah Cook.

Sarah has never stopped encouraging and teaching and recently suggested a long, fundraising cycle to raise money for two charities that are very close to the group’s hearts.

Two of the Freewheelers are Marie Byrne, who is chair of South Oxfordshire Mencap Society, and Dr Jacqui Hussey, who founded Younger People with Dementia.

The pedalathon route was roughly in a circle, via Aston with a short pit stop at the Velo Café in Warren Row, then on through a series of beautiful villages and down shaded lanes, to Dinton Pastures in Hurst.

Here, the intrepid Freewheelers took to the water, clocking up another couple of kilometres by pedalling round islands in the lake, using pedalos.

The return journey took the group via Twyford and Sonning, with an emergency stop for chilled water at the Crown pub in Playhatch before the horrors of the long hill to Dunsden in around 35C.

But they made it back to Henley where they celebrated in Sarah’s garden with fizz and cake.

The target of the pedalathon was to raise £1,000 and the current total stands at £1,700, including gift aid. This amount will make a big difference to what these two charities can offer to those who use them, significantly expanding the range of activities.

For more information, visit https://share.google/hRNjYA4
RUlMhiXbJy or southoxford
shiremencap.org.uk

To donate, www.justgiving
.com/campaign/50kmpedathalon