C2Cycling team raise £58,000 for good causes on journey from Cardiff to Edinburgh

The C2Cycling team has completed a gruelling 600km bike ride from Cardiff Castle to Edinburgh Castle in five days and they have already raised a whopping £58,000 for two good causes.

The team of 28 amateur cyclists started pedalling on Tuesday, April 12 before arriving in Edinburgh late in the afternoon of Saturday, April 16.

The marathon bike ride was organised to raise funds for two South Wales-based charities, the Velindre Cancer Centre and LATCH, the Welsh children’s cancer charity.

The ride saw the team call at Ludlow, Warrington, Kendal and Lockerbie before the final 109 km stretch into Edinburgh.

Ride organiser, Nick Robbins, said: “This has been an utterly incredible experience. We’ve had nearly all conditions, in nearly all weathers, over the last five days but I’ve been so impressed with the commitment and enthusiasm of the team who have just kept going. 

“It’s been hard, and we’ve encountered allsorts from sheep on the road to umpteen punctures, but knowing we’d beaten our £50,000 fundraising target just before we set off gave everyone a huge boost and some much-needed encouragement.

“We’ve continued to add to that total over the last few days and we’re looking forward to handing the money over.”

The starting klaxon was fired by ten-year-old Hywel Evans whose father, Matt, led the first group out of Cardiff Castle. 

In June 2020, Hywel’s younger brother, Rhys, seven, was diagnosed with aplastic anaemia, a rare blood disorder that prevents the body producing enough new blood cells. Four weeks after the diagnosis Rhys passed away, but the children’s cancer charity, LATCH, was there by the family’s side throughout the harrowing ordeal.

Matt says: “LATCH was there for us throughout the most traumatic period in our family life and they continue to support us even today.  It is one thing to see this happen to others, but it is not until it affects you directly that you realise what an incredible job these people do.

“The last five days have been remarkable. When Hywel fired the starting klaxon and we set off it was, without doubt, incredibly moving.  It’s been a tough ride but the support we had from family and friends as we set off in Cardiff, and the people who’ve cheered us on along the way, has really helped us all complete this momentous challenge.”

C2Cycling is a group of 28 keen cyclists and support crew, from across South Wales, who have come together every two years since 2015 to complete gruelling long distance rides from Cardiff to Paris for charity.

For more information on the ride visit www.c2cycling.co.uk or log on to https://www.sponsorme.co.uk/c2cycling/c2e22.aspx to make a direct donation.