Thank you for looking at this page. I’m once again cycling in the annual sponsored Ride & Stride organised by SHCT. Half the money I raise will help repair our beautiful Grade I listed St Mary’s, Mendlesham, which will soon need costly repairs to the nave roof; the other half goes to SHCT, which runs the event and makes grants to churches and chapels of all denominations for repair and restoration.

This year, I’m hoping to enjoy both the Suffolk countryside and its lovely churches, aiming to visit around 25 on an eco-friendly bike: powered by legs and fuelled by cake. I'm delighted to share the journey (and jelly babies) with my cycling buddy Taylor Birch, back on a bike again after the last hot summer of 2023. Any donation is welcome.

It was 47 years ago, on 3 June 1979, that I took part in the very first churches “Cycle Chase” — 3 years before it inspired the SHCT Ride & Stride and now forgotten by too many. It was the brainchild of the late Revd Hugh Wake, Rector of Great Finborough, Harleston and Onehouse, visiting all 22 churches in the Stowmarket deanery. Little could he have known how widely his idea would spread across England!

Further updates soon. NB: you do NOT have to donate extra to JustGiving at the end of the transaction — see "Custom amount" and “amend” at the bottom; the tip can be £0.00.