Offering Transport: The Islip Big Bike Ride!

We are proud to announce that IRIS will be assisting with the Islip Big Bike Ride – ride for a charity close to your heart, a community project or any other worthy cause!

On the 7^th May, IRIS Removals will be providing transportation for riders and their bikes from Islip to Westminster, available when you book your place on the ride!

There are a variety of routes and rides available to cater for every need and cycling ability, from a free route for kids to a 70-mile monster. Below are the four routes available:

For the Tykes and Trikes Ride, the ride will start at Islip Village Hall at 12 noon. Whilst fancy dress is also not compulsory, there will be a prize at the end for the best dressed rider – and best dressed bike!

We spoke with organiser Johanna Stephenson, who explained more about the event and where it originated:

“The first Westminster to Islip Big Bike Ride was in 2011, and the idea developed from a £240,000 restoration and development fundraising project for Islip church – renovation of stonework, installing heating, WC, kitchen & a glass screen by ecclesiastical glass artist and sculptor Nicholas Mynheer. We had worked hard over 18 months to raise the first £220,000-odd, so the idea of the Big Bike Ride was to get us as close as possible to achieving our goal.

My husband is a very keen cyclist and has been taking part in long rides, etapes, and so on for a number of years, so this seemed the perfect solution for us. We reckoned that over such a long distance (70 miles), a group of 100 cyclists raising sponsorship would give our fund a tremendous boost. The Friends of Dr South’s School were similarly looking to raise funds, so we agreed to organise the ride together and split the profit 50/50. In the end, we raised over £6,000 each for School and Church, which was a tremendous result!

In 2013 the church fundraising was for repair and upkeep of the fabric of the building; again we joined forces with the Friends of Dr South’s School. This time we invited riders to raise sponsorship for their own charities, so we had groups riding for all sorts of good causes – Leukaemia Research, a community hall, a playbus, etc. This time we made almost £5,000 each for School and Church, and several thousand pounds was raised for other good causes.”

Since the event began, the Big Bike Ride has had around 250 people involved year on year, and we hope to help them gain even more traction.

This year they’re offering more options for more experienced riders to help get even more cyclists involved, so this year, for the first time ever, there will be a peloton route for faster riders. His peloton route (the ‘Routemaster’) will be partially unmarked across the Buckinghamshire countryside – but starting and ending with the rest. Otherwise the routes are marked and marshalled, with regular refreshment and first-aid stops, mobile mechanical support and food and physio at the finish!

For more information on the transport we will be providing, you can visit the Islip Big Bike Ride website where you can also download a Bike & Rider Transport Guide for more information.

However, the main information to note is that, if you book transport for yourself or your bike, bikes are due to be dropped off in Islip on the afternoon of Saturday 6th May 2017. Our riders’ coach will leave Islip at 6:45 am on the day of the ride – we look forward to seeing you there!