Homeless charity cyclists pedalling 200 miles including Grantham visit

Queen Eleanor Cycle Ride – August Bank Holiday weekend 27-30 August

The figures astound – 40 people, 32 cyclists (a record) including bikes, 200 miles cycled, over £20,000 being raised for charity, 500 or more meals needed, floor space for 3 nights for everyone whilst sleeping at least 2 metres apart. Oh, and don’t forget the showers – something rough sleepers really miss.

Add in the challenges of COVID, social distancing, the understandably cautious reopening of halls, churches and other venues who have previously generously hosted the cyclists and it has all added up to an organisational nightmare!

Not to be disheartened though, the charity cycle ride is still going ahead with overnight stays in Grantham thanks to St Wulfram’s; Geddington, hosted by the United Reformed Church and St Mary Magdalene Church; and Dunstable Conference Centre!

Last year over £22,000 was raised to help the long-term homeless into safe accommodation and a more settled and secure life. This year, it would be great to beat this, setting a record figure raised involving a record number of cyclists.

The 2021 Queen Eleanor Cycle Ride takes place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (27- 30 August 2021) raising funds to support the work of The Connection at St Martin-in-the- Fields with homeless and vulnerable people in central London.

Funds are urgently needed to help more people make a fresh start away from the streets.

The Connection is based a few nyards from the site of one of the original Queen Eleanor crosses in Trafalgar Square. Thecycle ride follows the route of the 12 Queen Eleanor Crosses from Lincoln to London. Each of the crosses was built by King Edward 1 st to provide a focus for prayers for his wife, Queen Eleanor of Castile.

The cyclists route includes:

Harby Church in Nottinghamshire, close to where Queen Eleanor died in 1290, and the
starting point with cyclists descending on the village from all around the UK.

Lincoln, where Queen Eleanor’s visceral tomb sits proudly in the corner of the cathedral,
plus the fundraisers visit the site of the original Queen Eleanor Cross which once stood in St
Catherine’s, just outside the city.

Grantham – the cross in St Peter’s Hill may have largely vanished during the English Civil
War, but there’s a plaque to commemorate the funeral cortege stopping in Grantham and
the building of the cross. The cyclists are all staying overnight on Friday on the stone floors
of St Wulfram’s Church, suitably distanced of course! Without the kind intervention of St
Wulfram’s the ride just couldn’t have gone ahead this year, as the current challenges were
insurmountable for the usual generous hosts, Harrowby Lane Methodist Church.

Stamford – quite where the original Queen Eleanor Cross was sited is subject to debate.
What’s not in question is the quality of the lunch at the All Saints’ and St John’s Unity Centre
or the location modern Queen Eleanor memorial.

The Connection at St Martin’s is at the heart of the capital’s response to homelessness.
About 1 in 13 of everyone forced to sleep rough in England is found in Westminster, more
than any other local authority.

When the first lockdown closed traditional day and night centres, there was a national drive
to get people into hotels in order to self-isolate – with everyone pulling together to make
this happen. The Connection remained on the frontline running two hotels, offering food,
beds, access to health services and well-being support. However, simply giving people a roof
over their head is not always enough – many people have other needs that must be
addressed in order to enable them to recover from homelessness and thrive in a home.

Lisa Wilkinson from Geddington has had the huge responsibility of finding places for all the
cyclists and their bikes to stay – a huge challenge with the shifting sands of everyone’s
differing responses to COVID. She says: “The lockdown has been difficult for so many of us.

The bike ride brings people together at a time when we’ve all experienced the isolation and
loneliness of the past year. In raising money for the homeless, it helps those most in need –
people who don’t have a home that’s warm and safe for the night, let alone a lock on the
door.”

Keith Busfield from Stamford first joined the ride over 10 years ago, since when it’s grown year by year. He said: “I have a bed for the night. I have a roof over my head. A lock on the door. A hot shower after a hard day’s cycling. Then there’s food on the table each day. I feel “so lucky!! That’s why I’m raising money to assist the homeless.”

For more information on the bike ride visit www.queeneleanorcycleride.org

All donations, however large or small, are hugely welcome. See: Virgin Money Giving |Events | Queen Eleanor Cycle Ride 2021