Ride 2 Rugby 2023

Our fifth trip. Unfortunately, Covid stopped play for 2021 and 2022, however some last-minute lifting of travel restrictions last year allowed us to travel without the bikes, just to keep the tradition alive.

This year thankfully, normal service is resumed and we will be setting off on the bikes from Cheltenham on Wednesday 8^th February 2023. 

The team for 2023 includes the original pair Kelan Loughnane and Rory Sweeney. We are joined by returning teammates Adam Teakle and Rob Berry, together with some first timers David Jones and Ciaran McLaughlin. The support team is headed by the ever-dependable John Loughnane and he will be accompanied by another first timer Pascal Finn. A big welcome to all the newbies! Sadly, one of our regulars Olan Hodnett who was due to ride with us again this year was forced to pull out a few weeks back due to a football injury. He will however be joining us in Dublin for a few celebratory pints!

This year we will be supporting The Brain Charity, who provide both practical and emotional support to anyone based in the UK with a neurological condition. This support is extended to friends, families and carers. One of our new team members Ciaran McLaughlin sadly lost his mother Julia to a sudden brain aneurysm just over two years ago. The Brain Charity provide support for over 600 different neurological conditions and their support to the McLaughlin family has been invaluable in helping them come to terms with their sudden loss.

Over the last year the charity has done a huge amount of work with brain aneurysms. As a result they will be launching a report into misdiagnosis & delayed diagnosis of conditions such as brain aneurysm in the Houses of Parliament in January/February 2023. The report will call for improved outcomes for patients & hopefully save lives by providing more public & healthcare professional awareness of some of the warning signs. All funds raised from our cycle will go directly towards the work they are doing with brain aneurysms. 

Please click on the link below to learn more about the support provided by The Brain Charity:

www.thebraincharity.org.uk

Previous Trips:

Ride To The Rugby 2020 - The Sweet Caroline Tour

Our fourth trip and a very poignant one. During the 2019 cycle, when we arrived in Dublin, overnight on the Friday, one of our great friends and sponsors Neil Conway tragically took his life in Cheltenham leaving a wife and two children.

This year's ride was in his honour and all the funds raised from the cycle were in aid of Winston's Wish

Winston's Wish provided amazing support to Neil's family and they were aiming to raise £60K that year to help fund two specialist support professionals to work with children and families bereaved through suicide. Our ride that year raised a total of £18,709 specifically for this aim. 

2019 - Ride 2 Rugby

Having supported Shelter for our first two years, we decided that this time round we would support the Lighthouse Club. As in 2018 the team covered the costs of the event so all monies raised went directly to the Lighthouse Club.

The Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity has been delivering Charitable Welfare and Support to the construction community since 1956. Since its humble beginnings the charity has now distributed over £17.5 million to over 16,500 construction workers and their families and there are 21 regional clubs countrywide providing welfare support and managing regional fundraising and events.

In 2019 we were pleased to welcome four new members to the team - Plantforce's Garry Baynham and Eddie Charity, Rob Berry from Persimmon and Andy Single. They loved the back story and all wanted to be a part of it. Both Garry and Rob joined us again for the 2020 trip and Rob has become a true regular as he joins us again this year for what will now be his third Ride 2 Rugby.

2018 - Ride 2 Rugby

Roll on 2018 and due to the resurgent Celtic Tiger in Dublin and the increased cost of hotels, Shelter decided against another official Ride 2 Rugby. So, having reconvened in the pub, a few hardy souls decided to go it alone; this time from Cheltenham to Holyhead and on to the Aviva

This three-day route through mid-Wales and Snowdonia was slightly longer with more climbing and averaged approximately 70 miles with 3500 feet of ascent per day. For the 2018 Ride 2 Rugby we were a much smaller group of four cyclists and one support driver. The group covered all costs and every penny we raised went directly to Shelter. 

2016 - Ride 2 Rugby