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Sponsored Cycle Ride in aid of Castelo de Sonhos |
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STEVE GRADY, Chairman of the Algarve 41 Club and fellow England’s Hitchin 41 Club member, Roger How, together with their driver, Sam Cross have completed an epic voyage, cycling from Valencia in Spain to the Algarve to raise sponsorship for Castelo de Sonhos, a charity based in Silves.
Castelo de Sonhos, founded by Dra Liliana Rodrigues, has the objectives of protecting, providing and caring for deprived families, children and underprivileged individuals, independent of race, nationality or religion. The charity’s costs are met entirely by donations, fund-raising and promotional activities. Steve’s idea was a cycle ride through all the mainland Iberian 41 Clubs raising sponsorship on the way. Although he did not announce a target, he said he was secretly hoping to raise 5,000 euros. The route took them to 41 Clubs in Costa Blanca, Calpe, Nerja, Costa del Sol and Gibraltar. At each venue they were hosted, wined and dined by the local clubs who also donated substantial funds towards the charity. Sponsorship was principally raised through a competition to guess the kilometres actually cycled. The full itinerary was announced but the distances had to be a well kept secret until the Algarve 41 Club meeting on Tuesday, July 3 when a sealed envelope was opened and the results of the competition announced.
Steve said: “The ride went well with no mechanical failures or accidents and only four punctures. Sam was not so lucky with the support vehicle which had an argument with a terracotta pot at the entrance to Mike Tait’s villa, our host in Nerja. Notable days were the two days in the mountains, from Lorca to Nijar approaching Nijar from the North and from Gibraltar to Arcos de la Frontera via the Ronda road. It was hard work, but more than made up by the clean air and superb scenery. On the downside there were three days on the hot dusty and fume filled N340 dual carriageway and 60 kilometres on dirt roads on the route from Arcos to Almonte.”
After meeting Sam for coffee at Lebrija, Steve and Roger headed north to find a ferry across the Rio Guadalquivir at Isla Menor. Steve said: “Unfortunately the yellow roads on the map turned to mud and gravel complete with potholes. Even the locals did not seem to know where they were. There were no signposts and the GPS navigation system was totally confused. The only option was to follow the compass north and eventually after two punctures and an attack by dogs we found the ferry at Coria del Rio and crossed the river arriving at Almonte after 11 hours in the saddle.”The two cyclists finally arrived at their destination, near Albufeira, after 14 days in the saddle and two rest days, averaging around 100 kilometres a day. Steve’s target of raising 5,000 was achieved and Liliana Rodrigues joined the Algarve 41 Club at their meeting on July 3 to receive a cheque for the Castelo de Sonhos. The bulk of the sponsorship monies have come from small individual donations from the “guess the mileage competition” but other major sponsors included 41 Clubs at Costa Blanca, Calpe, Nerja, Costa Del Sol, Gibraltar and Algarve, as well as Hitchin and Gibraltar District Round Tables, the District Grand Lodge of Gibraltar, Hitchin Rotary Club and Algarve`s Zitauto.
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