Warwick cyclist's 270-mile challenge for charity

Tom Rastall, who is a member of the Warwick Lanterne Rouge Cycling Club (WLRCC), works as a purchasing manager for Mira Showers in Cheltenham.

On July 24, Tom will lead a team of six cyclists also from Mira Showers, on a 270-mile ride from Cheltenham to the centre of Paris, raising money for the company’s chosen charity for 2019 – Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Leading up to the event Tom has been building up his training and stamina for the ride, regularly training individually as well as on training rides as a group with WLRCC, which is based in Warwick.

Tom, who has organised the event, said: “I have been a member of Warwick Lanterne Rouge Cycling Club since 2014.

“I regularly cycle with the club and the training on club rides and the recent club training trip to Majorca will be good preparation for the distance and group riding. #

“WLRCC have been very supportive and they have encouraged me and also helped me push myself in terms of distance, routes, in training rides and in speed.

“There will be six riders and one support driver on this challenge. None of us riding to Paris have ever cycled this far before, so it will certainly be a challenge.

“I am really looking forward to it but I am a bit nervous because of the weather. Cycling in the rain I am not fussed about given the recent weather we have had in part of my training. It’s the camping overnight in the wet (I don’t like).

"Every year at the company we choose a charity to support and this year it was Alzheimer’s Research UK. Any fundraising and donations we get as staff through the year it gets doubled by the company at the end of the year.

“It would be great to raise £2,000 from the ride.”

Grant Livingstone from WLRCC, said: “We wish Tom a safe and enjoyable ride to Paris – it should be a great experience, including watching the final stage of the Tour de France.”

The ride will be split over four days and take the cyclists from Cheltenham down to Winchester and then onto Newhaven, before taking the ferry to Dieppe and overnight at Bresles before

completing the route to Paris and concluding by the Eiffel Tower on July 28.

The team will also be watching the final stage of the Tour De France as it finishes in Paris.

To donate to the team’s fundraising page click hereWarwick Lanterne Rouge Cycling Club was set up in 2014 and is an inclusive social cycling club for adult cyclists.

The club is based out of Warwick and hold regular weekend club rides for all abilities throughout the year along with midweek rides on Tuesdays and Thursday.

The cycling club was also one of the driving forces behind the return of the Warwick town races later this year.

The races will return on September 1 after a nine year absence thanks to the club with support from Warwick Town Council.

For more information click here