Pedalling Packetts conquer Tour De Dales for the second year running!!
The Tour de Yorkshire’s April visit wasn’t the only major cycling event starting in the city this spring. On May 13/14th, a bunch of keen amateur riders were under starter’s orders for the ‘Packetts’ Tour de Dales Charity Bike Ride’.
Starting from Packetts’ Saltaire head office, riders cycled to Masham for an overnight stop, riding back to Bradford the following day, completing a round trip of nearly 200 miles!! Pressing the start button in Saltaire was Bradford City legend, John Hendry.
Leading the way on the road was Marshall Sugden, Packetts’ Managing Director. “Last year’s inaugural event attracted 26 riders and raised an incredible £17540 – that’s £730 a rider,” says Marshall. “As soon as we’d got our breath back we all agreed that we’d had such a great time we’d do it again in 2017.”
The Packetts peloton swelled to 35 riders for this year’s event once again in support of Bradford’s ‘One in a million’ charity. The event marks Packetts’ 97th birthday and is all part of the build-up to our centenary in 2020.
“As proud Bradfordians, it’s important that we do our bit to support local youngsters, some of whom face a tough start in life,” says Marshall. “According to national statistics the city has two areas which fall into the top thirty of the UK’s most deprived areas. What’s more, there are 39,000 people living in Bradford in severe poverty. Through our efforts we’re doing our bit to ‘break the cycle’ of deprivation that afflicts so many young people in the city. Nearly 2,000 of them used the facilities offered by ‘One in a million’ last year alone. So every mile we ride is raising money for a great local charity.”
Congratulations to all that took part. A fantastic effort!! Here are just a few pictures capturing the highlights over the two days.
