Graphic Designer Stuart Hill triumphantly completed the epic Deloitte Ride Across Britain on Sunday 13th September. Having cycled 980 miles across 27 counties, he has raised – so far – a magnificent £2,975 for Prostate Cancer UK.

Stuart recounts: “Having had a few days rest I am now back in the saddle, commuting to work again, after successfully completing the Deloitte Ride Across Britain. One of the things that amazed me most was the scale of the event. For nine days I was part of a gigantic peloton of nearly a thousand riders, hundreds of staff, support vehicles, tents and supplies, steadily rolling our way from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

The second thing that impressed me were the Cairngorms. I was really looking forward to riding through this part of Scotland and it didn’t disappoint. Conditions were perfect as I entered the National Park, the sun was shining and I had time to admire giant shadows drifting silently across this other-worldly landscape. Not that I paid much notice once the Glenshee started to bite, all I could do was focus on the cowbells encouraging me to the summit. A victorious climb of the Lecht the following day was the last major obstacle between me and John O’Groats.

Or so I thought. A strong westerly cross-wind picked up and battered us for the next hundred or so miles, which made for nail-biting riding. With some riders making the heart-breaking decision to abandon, so close the finish. However, when we finally changed tack, the wind that had assaulted us for so long now propelled me towards the finish and I rode my fastest 100 miles on the last day!

I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has donated and all of my sponsors; especially Urban Edge Architecture who have supported me from start to finish.”

Stuart cycled for nine days back-to-back, covering over 100 miles a day through some of the most beautiful and challenging landscape this country has to offer, climbing the height of Everest roughly 1.6 times. His fundraising page is open until December, so if you would like to help him break £3,000, please donate on his virgin money giving page below.

Cycling from Land’s End to John O’Groats is one of the biggest challenges in amateur cycling. This September, Stuart will join around 1000 other riders for the Deloitte Ride Across Britain. Cycling for nine days back-to-back, covering 980 miles of the most beautiful and scenic landscape accessible on two wheels and climbing the height of Everest roughly 1.6 times, you can follow his training progress on the Urban Edge Architecture twitter account.

Preparations are well underway, with Stu cycling at least 150 miles a week, most of which come from his 25 mile round trip commute to work in Stamford. Although he aims to get in some century rides before the big event.

“I was a fairly keen cyclist before I signed up for the Ride Across Britain. However, the furthest distance I have ridden previously was 350 miles from North Wales to Norfolk. So, cycling 980 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats is going to be a real challenge. I will be riding in memory of my uncle David who recently passed away, after a short battle with cancer. He was a keen cyclist and loved to ride his Dawes touring bike around the Norfolk coast.” Explains Stuart.

The majority of RAB riders use this challenge as a chance to raise money for charity and Stuart is no exception. He is working alongside the Urban Edge Foundation to raise at least £2,200 for Prostate Cancer UK. Prostate cancer accounts for 26% of all new cancer cases in males in the UK so it is vitally important that research, awareness and support is funded to help those affected. For personal contributions please click the button below. All donations are hugely appreciated for this life saving cause!

Dave Frost, Senior Associate Director at Urban Edge Architecture, has completed all eight stages of the Cycle to MIPIM Northern Power-Leg, raising £2,635 for Club Peloton’s chosen charity, Coram.

Despite being a relatively new recruit to cycling (since August last year), Dave took part in Legal & General’s inaugural Northern Power-Leg (5-6 March), riding for a total of 19 hours from Leeds to London. Originally planned to cover 350 kilometres, the final distance became 395k as the challenging weather conditions made the higher sections of the route too dangerous to use, so diversions had to be put in place.

Explains Dave: “It was a tough challenge, both physically and mentally. When you’ve been in the saddle for seven hours already that day and it’s so cold, you can’t tell the difference between rain and sleet, it’s only the companionship of the group that kept me going – and knowing how much people have promised to donate to the children if I finished.”

To date Dave has raised £2,635 (with more promised) for Coram, a charity founded in 1739 which helps more than one million vulnerable children each year.

Photo Copyright © Joolze Dymond | www.joolzedymond.com

Urban Edge architect and demon cyclist, Tim Crone has raised £5,065 for the children’s charity Coram by completing the 1,500km Cycle to MIPIM 2017 peloton ride from London to Cannes.

Organised by Club Peloton, the event saw 200 real estate and built environment professionals ride a total of 1,500kms over six days, in a relay format, from London to the MIPIM real estate conference in Cannes. Along the way, they raised a glorious total of £612,617 for several worthwhile charities, including the main Club Peloton charity, Coram.

Explains Tim: “I wanted to do something that was a physical and mental challenge, and Cycle to MIPIM was certainly that. There were low days – riding 211 miles in 14 hours was the longest of several long days for me, but the feeling of camaraderie and achieving something exceptional together was unmissable.”

Having set his personal goal of 1,000km over six days, Tim designed his own training regime to make sure he was in peak condition when the event kicked off in London on 9th March 2017. Starting each weekday with a gentle 6am alarm call and a one hour turbo session before work, with a variety of real-world runs on the weekend, Tim worked steadily to improve his fitness and stamina, including punishing VO₂ max, or maximal oxygen uptake, workouts and regular FTP, or Functional Threshold Power, tests.

But one burning question could only be answered during the event itself: “How will my posterior cope with 8 hours in the saddle each day?”

In the end, Tim completed the Cycle to MIPIM in fine style, not only delighted with his cycling performance, but also with his achievement of finishing 13th on the fundraising leaderboard.

When asked about his best memory of the event, Tim replied: “The view of the coastline with almost the whole of the 200 strong grand Peloton in front of me, sweeping down into Cannes was amazing. Although having the rush hour traffic stopped in Dijon whilst we rode through was almost as good.”