A TEAM of charitable cyclists saddled up to ride from Berlin to Chester in aid of two good causes.
Matt Rogers, of Blacon, helped organise the challenging 940-mile journey which took place over two weeks.
Collectively, team members battled through torrential wind and rain to reach the finish line and raise thousands of pounds for the Hospice of the Good Shepherd and children’s medical research charity Sparks.
Matt, who with cyclists Tom Smith and Michael Whiteside works for Marks & Spencer, said: “We are all individual cyclists and thought it would be a good idea to team up and tackle a big distance.
“We decided on going from Berlin and cycled between 90 and 100 miles a day, and we chose to raise money for the hospice.
“We also raised money for Sparks, which funds research into why babies are born too prematurely. That was after a couple of friends we knew had that happen to them.”
Reflecting on the challenge, Matt said: “It was two weeks of really quite bad weather. We had rain most days and in Holland there was a 40mph headwind into us, which was just horrendous and it reduced our cycling speed.
“But we only had about three or four punctures between us the whole trip. There were seven of us and a team driver who ferried our gear, who was Helen, my girlfriend.”
Matt added Shell had already donated £500 to the hospice, so more than £4,000 had been raised between the two charities.
To add to the fundraising total, visit www.justgiving.com/teamberlintochester to donate to the hospice or add ‘-sparks’ to that web address to donate to Sparks.
