Brother and sister team from Hatton Park take on cycling challenge for charity

A brother and sister team from Hatton Park are taking on a cycling challenge to help raise money for charity.

Sam and Grace Lessard started their challenge on March 26 with the initial target of 100 miles.

After they hit 100 miles on April 20 and carried on to hit 200 miles on VE Day. After hitting this target Sam and Grace set themselves the challenge of cycling a total of 350 miles by the end of May and decided to raise money for charity.

Sam is aged six and will celebrate his seventh birthday at the weekend and Grace is aged nine.

They said: "Since lockdown began, we have discovered a new found love of cycling. We started to record how far we were cycling and were amazed at the distances we were travelling.

"We set ourselves an initial target of 100 miles, which we hit on 20 April.

"Since then, our little legs have cycled even further and on 8 May, we hit a total of 200 miles! We feel fitter and healthier and we have had some very happy moments whilst out on our bikes."

The pair have been doing the challenge in aid of the Friendship Project for Children, which is a Warwick-based charity that aims to help children in need of extra support by matching them with an ‘Older Friend’ who spends time with them.

When asked why they picked the Friendship Project for Children, they said: "It is a local charity and the work it does is so very important. The virus has also meant that the Project has seen a reduction in its income. We want to help.

"It is really sad to think that there are children out there who can't do the simple things which we love so much, like going on a bike ride because they may be caring for a family member."

As of Friday morning (May 15) Sam and Grace have cycled 242.59 miles.

When asked about how their challenge was going, Grace said: "It is a lot of fun. We love whizzing down the hills and splashing through the puddles, but we don’t like going uphill.

"We want to raise as much money as we can to support the Friendship Project."

Sam added: “When we have finished our challenge, Mummy said she will buy us a huge ice cream."

Emma Lessard, Sam and Grace's mum said: "Me and my husband Jason are extremely proud of them both. They are ambitious and determined children with hearts of gold.

"All cycle rides have started at home and have been along the canals and beautiful Warwickshire bridlepaths.

"The longest they have cycled in one day is 15.11 miles.

"Cycling is definitely in the family genes.

"Their Great Grandad, Arthur Rodgers, cycled from Lands End to John O’Groats in 1979 to raise money for charity, and celebrated his 68th birthday en route.

"He was a code and cipher clerk in WW2, so it felt significant for the children to hit a total of 200 miles on VE Day, when we were thinking about him."

To donate go to: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gandscycling