Great Weston Ride On The Up
Posted Thursday 27th February 2014 –
With just five months to go now until the 2014 Great Weston Ride, this very highly-rated West Country challenge ride is well on course for another bumper entry and all set to surpass the 1,000-rider mark for the first time. Ride Organiser, Darren McKimm, commented: “We’ve already seen a huge amount of interest in this year’s Ride with entries way ahead of the same stage last year, and as a consequence we’re currently looking at increasing the entry limit that we’ve set for 2014.
We’ll do it in a managed way to maintain the same very high standards of safety and enjoyment for everyone, but obviously we’re delighted to see so many people showing an interest and joining in this year and it all bodes well for another fantastic event atmosphere on the day.
It’s also pleasing to see that the Ride continues to attract people from across the spectrum in terms of cycling experience AND their reasons for taking part. For example, one guy who’s coming back this year has lost three stone in weight since doing last year’s Ride and cycling has played a major part in that, while we’ve also got a group of 14 coming up from Devon to ride in support of our official charity partner, Prostate Cancer UK, because one of their colleagues has been affected by the disease.
Also, as ever, we’ve already got lots of first-timers and cycling newcomers who are up for a challenge, and once again there will be hundreds of women taking part, many of them doing something like this for the first time, which is great news. And increasingly we’re seeing more and more people coming from further afield to take the GWR challenge, so word is clearly spreading.”
This year’s Great Weston Ride is taking place on Sunday 20th July 2014 and the scenic 56-mile route starts in Bristol and then takes riders through some stunning countryside and picturesque Somerset villages on its way through the Mendips and across the Somerset Levels to its final destination on the seafront in Weston-super-Mare.
The Ride has been described by some as a West Country version of the famous London to Brighton bike ride and, while it’s much smaller in size, it shares many of the same characteristics and all the comparisons from riders have been very favourable, so it may well be that the Great Weston Ride is on its way to achieving the same iconic status.
Therefore it’s not too difficult to understand why the event is growing rapidly, and another sell-out entry would clearly seem to be on the cards for 2014.
Further information on the Great Weston Ride, and details on how to enter, can be found at www.greatwestonride.com.
