Thank you for visiting our giving page.

 

We are 8 dads from Balerno, Midlothian  participating in the Auld Alliance Cycle Ride to Paris now in its 7 year.  In total, there will be over 30 riders each cycling 250 miles over the course of 4 days.  For most of the Balerno contingent this is our first attempt at distance cycling… it won’t be pretty or painless.

 

We are riding to raise funds for a charity based in our village Ravelrig Riding for the Disabled. This charity has a profound impact on the people it supports and their families and the clip clop of horses making their way through the village is well known to locals. Somehow the close contact with these gentle giants results in calmer behaviour, improved sleeping, a physical workout, and real fun : as you can imagine it's transformational for families.

 

Ravelrig RDA have running costs of £60,000 per year which they raise from their own fundraising efforts and donations from the local community.  But they also have the ambition to provide an indoor riding arena to overcome the constraints of the Scottish weather and to facilitate riding all year. Plans have been drawn and permissions and grants are being sought. Two hundred thousand pounds have been raised so far, but the fundraising target to upgrade existing buildings and to create a covered area is £1.65m.  Many sources of funding match-fund other incomes, and to that end we hope our own fundraising may make a significant impact.

 

If you can, please help us to grin and bear it by making a donation via our fundraising page. When you see the results of middle age and lycra you will recognise that we have a higher purpose.