‘Bikes Against Bombs’ ride for MAG to take place in UK this year
The 2021 Wholesale & Convenience Industry Charity Bike Ride in support of MAG (Mines Advisory Group) will take place in the UK across eight locations in June and July.
The annual ride was launched by Tom Fender (of TWC), Neil Turton (Sugro) and Raj Krishan (Select & Save) in 2015 and so far five industry rides have taken place, raising £673,000 for MAG – the Manchester-based humanitarian, landmine clearance charity.
Fender commented: “We would have travelled to south east Asia in February to ride in a part of the world seriously affected by landmines and unexploded bombs, but obviously this year we are unable to do this due to the global pandemic. We have therefore decided to move the ride to the UK in 2021.”
Neil Turton added: “While we would normally love to visit a country where we have the chance witness clearance first-hand in the field, where MAG teams do fantastic work for local communities in former war-torn areas, the switch to UK rides in 2021 means more people in the industry can join us this year as we have up to 150 places available.”
Over 75 industry colleagues have joined MAG rides in Sri Lanka, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam since 2015. Organisations that have been represented on the ride include Booker, Nisa, Sugro, Confex, Unitas, Spar, AF Blakemore, Time Wholesale, TWC and the FWD.
The schedule for this year’s ‘Bikes Against Bombs’ ride is:
24 June – Newcastle
25 June – Glasgow
1 July – Bristol
2 July – South Wales
7 July – Midlands
9 July – London
15 July – Yorkshire
16 July – Manchester
People can sign up for just one ride, or any number of rides. Participants will need to provide their own bike, water bottle and helmet.
Turton pointed out that the rides are not competitive races – the rides will be 45-50 miles a day but done at a comfortable pace, with plenty of rest stops.
The price per ride is £295, with a commitment to raise at least another £100 in sponsorship.
Fender said: “The price reflects the typical price paid to attend an industry awards ceremony or conference. I hope that employers will cover the costs for some of their team to participate, particularly as there have been no industry events for a year, and also use it as an opportunity to encourage a healthy lifestyle and to get industry people networking with each other again. We want to make this the most inclusive charity event in the UK wholesale sector.”
