Students begin three-day charity cycle ride from Harper Adams to Scotland in memory of their friends

Posted 5 April 2022

A group of students from Harper Adams University have this morning set off on a 250-mile charity cycle ride in memory of four of their friends.

The cycle ride began at the University main building at 7am and will, over the coming three days, see them take on a 250-mile journey to Melrose in Scotland, with more than 11,000 feet of elevation between Shropshire and the Scottish Borders.

Funds raised by the cycle ride will go to charities in the memory of Mark Simons, Charles May, Len Eadon and George Crawford – with the route ending in Melrose, which was George’s home town.

Two initial fundraising targets for the bike ride were surpassed before they had moved their first mile, with 157 donations by the day before.

Jack Daley, from Berkshire, said: “It was really good to see the support – and we have actually upped the target again, to £5000. We’d just like people to carry on donating – that’s going to help push us through during the next few days.”

The money donated will be split between The Farming Community Network, Edale Mountain Rescue and The George Crawford Legacy Trust – each of which were close either to those the group are fundraising in memory of, or their families.

As the group progress over the coming week, they are keen to greet supporters along their route, which can be found here – and the group will also be updating their progress on their Facebook page.

Josh Felton, from Donegal, said: “I’ve done 30 miles of training so far! It will definitely be a challenge, but that is kind of the point – you don’t want to make something like this easy when you are raising money for charity.”

Harper Adams University Vice-Chancellor, Professor Ken Sloan, discussed the group’s planned cycle ride with them at a University event last week and has lent them his backing.

He said: “The University offers its full support to these students as they undertake this arduous challenge in memory of Charles, George, Len and Mark.

“We hope that the funds raised provide comfort to each family as they can see the benefits that will be brought to many others.

“We are proud of the many acts of charity that Harper Adams University students complete each year.”

Anyone wishing to donate to the group’s fundraising efforts can do so via their GoFundMe page.