Legacy
Legacy
Please note: this post is 85 months old and The Cares Family is no longer operational. This post is shared for information only
The phrase 'as easy as riding a bike' is used when people are doing something that is easy to pick up. That feels natural. That comes easy.
But given the number of flushed faces and pained expressions I saw during the week of our Fuel for Fuel challenge, I'm not sure that riding a bike is easy at all.
During the final week of November, teams of riders from BEIS, Wedlake Bell and CBI got competitive to raise money to make our Winter Wellbeing project possible.
Each company hired two watt bikes, pedalling against the clock to see which team could cycle the furthest over the course of several hours. Donations poured in to support the challengers' impressive efforts, with the teams burning some serious fuel to raise funds to ensure their older neighbours can stay warm, active, healthy and connected during the winter months.
Cara, Charlotte and the gang at BEIS kicked the week off in style. The Labour Markets team took on the Sectors team, with Sectors beating Labour Markets by 0.1km – 86.4km to 86.3km! As that is such a close call, we're expecting to hear about a rematch soon. Special mention must go to Rhidian who cycled a fantastic 10.87km in just 17 minutes. And an awesome £200 was raised for their heroic efforts.
Meanwhile, over at Wedlake Bell, Anna, Matthew and the team partnered up with their local Virgin Active to take on the Fuel for Fuel challenge. They started bright and early at 8:15am and pedalled intermittently throughout the day until 5pm, with seven riders taking turns to clock up the distance. Between them, they cycled nearly 100km and raised £795 in support of our Winter Wellbeing project.
Finally, CBI also rose to the challenge. Over the course of one day, they covered the distance between each of their regional offices in the U.K – a total of 630km, virtually travelling from London, to the East Midlands, to Wales and to Scotland. Team members each pedalled 30 minutes, and with an average of 15km per rider, there were a lot of tired faces by the end of the day. Fellow team members cheered on the challengers and provided enthusiastic support throughout the day. Special mention to Pippa who cycled 19.63km in half an hour, and Guy who works in the Beijing branch of CBI and cycled 100km to kickstart the challenge! What's more, CBI raised £1,000 for North London Cares.
Brendan from CBI said:
"We’re really proud to have raised funds and awareness about the great work of North London Cares. But we think the CBI has benefited massively too. #FuelForFuel has helped bring colleagues closer together from across our organisation – with many great memories to share and new friendships formed.
Our challenge turned out to be quite a sweaty and competitive affair, but photographs from the day and all the feedback we’ve received paints a very positive picture of a thoroughly enjoyable day.
On a personal note, we drew so much energy from helping to organise our challenge. It’s been the most challenging and rewarding cycling event we’ve ever taken part in!"
A huge, heartfelt thanks must go to BEIS, Wedlake Bell and CBI – and to Cara, Charlotte, Anna, Brendan and Amy. Your enthusiasm is inspiring and because of you, dozens of older neighbours can stay warm, keep active, and feel valued, vibrant and visible during the challenging winter months. A heartfelt, warm, thank you from us all!
