Cycle for Life and Garden Fete

Over 300 cyclists took part in Cycle for Life, our annual sponsored bike ride, on Sunday 8 September.

With three routes through the beautiful Essex countryside to choose from - 20, 50 or 100 kilometres - the event appealed to cyclists of all ages and abilities, from young families to teams from local cycling clubs.

Farleigh provides hospice care and specialist support, free of charge, to local people affected by life-limiting illnesses and bereavement across mid Essex. Many people cycled in memory of loved ones who have been cared for by this charity and collected sponsorship to help us continue providing our much-needed services.

Rachel Sparkes and her son, Finlay (aged 6), cycled 20km. She knows people who have been cared for by Farleigh and they have raised £75 so far. Finlay liked his medal and gave Cycle for Life ten out of ten.

Andy Pegrum and his nephew, Matt Pegrum, cycled 100km and said, “Farleigh Hospice is a charity that does great work and we are happy to support it. We have raised £470.”

Laurie Baker said, “A close relative of mine had end of life care at the charity’s Inpatient Unit. Having seen the care first-hand, I know it was second to none, magnificent, and the staff are fantastic. I’m fundraising for Farleigh so that care will be available to others in the future. I’ve raised £1,015 so far.”

John Rogers (aged 75) and Bob James (nearly 70) cycled the 50km route on a tandem bike in memory of John’s wife, Lynn, who was cared for at home by Farleigh. The couple used to ride the tandem together, so Bob took Lynn’s place on the back seat to help his friend raise over £2,000 for this charity.

John said, “Farleigh organised a hospital-type bed and the equipment we needed so Lynn could be at home, so I wanted to say thank you. It was only Bob’s second time on the tandem but we managed to complete the 50km. Lynn would have been laughing at us and I think we’d have made her proud.”

Chris Bentley and his daughter, Lily, also took part on a tandem, cycling 20km together to raise more than £500 in memory of his mum, Elaine.

Alison Pegrum, a Practice Educator in Farleigh’s Education Team, was on another tandem with her son, Josh, cycling 100km. Along with her other son, Tom, and their friend, Viviane Holznagel, they raised over £1,000.

Nikky May completed the 20km route with her son, Joey, aged 9. She said, “I used to work at Farleigh Hospice and a close friend was cared for in its Inpatient Unit, so I wanted to do something for the charity to remember her. I am really proud of Joey for taking part. We’ve raised £250.”

We are very grateful to these fantastic fundraisers and everyone else who took part - we hope to have raised over £20,000!

Cycle for Life was part of a weekend of fun events. On the Saturday, we held a Garden Fete in the grounds of our hospice building, which was officially supported by the Mayor of Chelmsford, Councillor Janette Potter.

There was plenty for visitors to see and do including a petting zoo, face painting, garden games, food, craft stalls, a pop-up bar, live music, a tombola and vintage cars.

Our Head of Fundraising, Debbie de Boltz, said, “Being a charity, Farleigh Hospice relies on the kind generosity of our local community to help us continue caring for our patients and their families, in their homes and at our specialist Inpatient Unit.

“A big thank you to the Mayor of Chelmsford and everyone who came to our Garden Fete and took part in Cycle for Life for helping to make the weekend such a great success, so we can be there for those people who need our support.“

Our next big fundraising event is Santa Fun Run on Sunday 1 December. For more information on all of our fundraising events, please click here.