Bell ringing is an exciting, challenging and rewarding hobby. It involves good exercise, a brain workout and there is always a social aspect. There are 13 church towers that ring regularly in the Scarborough & District branch and hundreds within Yorkshire and I have rung at all of them in the Scaroborough District at least once, so know many of the people involved in ringing in my area.

Like all things bells suffer from wear and tear. Some bells can be well over 100 years old! The reason for my sponsored cycle ride of over 140 miles is to make more funds available for bell towers needing repairs. In simple terms we are looking at works directly related to the bell chamber, changes to the frame that supports the bells, recasting bells if they are damaged, improving the fittings that hold the bells and refurbishing the clappers that swing inside the bells. It could even go towards the acquisition of bells.

Money raised will go into a central fund where towers needing repairs can apply for financial support to improve ringing or even bring ringing back to silent towers.

Help me raise as much money as possible on my ride in May this year and follow my progress, both financially and on the days of the ride. I aim to cycle to all of the churches listed in the annual report of the Yorkshire Association of Change Ringers - Scarborough & District Branch. There are 26 in total, hence the distance to get around them of about 140miles! I am doing the ride over three days - May the 8th, 9th & 10th.

Many thanks for your support.