THE DRUMLANRIG Tearfund Challenge is now in its fourth year, with the biggest entry list ever.
Three hundred cyclists, from as far away as London are coming to ride 84 miles through some of Britain’s most beautiful country and raise money for the charity. The challenge takes place on Saturday. It is not a race, but a timer ride, where each rider tries to complete the course safely at a consistent speed, achieving a good personal speed, which can be under four hours 10 minutes, up to a little over seven hours 30 minutes. There is a number of similar events which have sprung up since the Drumlanrig event started in 2006, most being commercial ventures, for profit, and where the rider gets a good day out, and a goody bag at the end, for their entry fee. The Drumlanrig Tearfund event is different in that every penny of the donations goes to Tearfund and the costs of holding the event are covered by local volunteers. The riders get a great day out and people 6,ooo miles away get life-saving support to help then recover their health and escape poverty.
The riders, when they complete the course, get a certificate and a virtual goody bag containing such things as a virtual T-shirt, virtual water bottle and a virtual high energy bar.