VOLUNTEERS, staff and supporters of a Crowthorne charity saddled up for a 100-mile cycle ride in an epic fundraising challenge.

A total of 11 riders took part in the Prudential Ride London, on Sunday, July 29, in aid of Norwood Ravenswood, cycling through Surrey towards London, before finishing up in front of Buckingham Palace.

This year, residents from the supported living village also took part in the fun, cycling alongside staff and volunteers on tandem bikes along a shorter 46-mile route.

Resident Peter Girvan, 44, who has lived at the village for 31 years, cycled alongside Norwood Wellbeing and Physical Activity Senior, Jonathan Green

Peter said: "It’s the first time I’ve done it this year and I’ve got a good team behind me. I just want to thank Jonathan and everyone who’s helped me for their support this year.”

Jon Feuchtwanger, 69, and Julian Primhak, 61, who have both lived at Ravenswood for 50 years, rode with volunteers Andrew Parr and Nick Abbott.

Andrew said: “It was great fun. Pity about the weather but when you got going the rain didn’t really matter – it was okay. Jon and the other riders from Norwood have trained hard and that’s really paid off – they’ve done well.”

Other riders from Ravenswood included Nick Ivil, 33, who has been participating in sports sessions within Norwood’s services for a number of years. Steven Chait, Stephen Harrison, and Paul Tuhrim also joined the Pru Ride as preparation for Norwood’s Greece Cycle in October.

Head of Challenges at Norwood, Ian Tate said: “We are enormously grateful for all the efforts of the Norwood riders. This is a very challenging 100 mile ride and they all committed to a strict training regime to ensure they completed the ride in time. We are very proud too that a number of our tandem teams were able to take part. A fantastic physical and fundraising effort by everyone involved.”