LAST weekend saw hundreds of people cycling in glorious sunshine raising funds and awareness for the Motor Neurone Disease Association.

When his wife Kate died of the disease in 2014, Winchester Rugby Club president Rob Sanderson set up the charity Cycle for Kate, and every May since cyclists have ridden the “Tour des Silos” in aid of it, following four routes from 25 to 100 miles, with refreshment points at the grain storage silos in Hampshire, Wiltshire and Berkshire which Rob dealt with in his working life in agriculture.

The Covid-19 lockdown in March looked to have put an end to their plans, and in common with all outdoor events cancellation followed.

But when relaxation of the rules was announced in mid-May allowing unlimited outdoor exercise, including cycling, it gave Rob and Will 16 days to organise a socially-distanced event. Instead of assembling at the rugby club in Hyde, cyclists set their own routes and dedicated their ride to the MNDA by making an online donation at www.cycleforkate.com.

“The wonderful thing about this was that there were no geographical boundaries and anyone could participate at whatever time suited them, not just the speedy Lycra-clad cyclists”, said Rob. “And people who preferred to run or walk joined in too.”

With friends, family and Rob’s connections in the world of agriculture, food and rugby, numbers trebled from previous years with the farming participants taking in other silo sites across the UK and in Belgium, Ireland, Canada, Australia, Nepal, Cyprus and the USA.

In London, Dr Nik Sharma, consultant neurologist at University College Hospital, led a team of cyclists from his department.

Cyclists from rugby clubs Tottonians and Old Reigatian showed the camaraderie within rugby despite the physical battle on the pitch. Winchester’s Director of Rugby Matt Stagg rode 25 kilometres on a 15-year-old mountain bike without a saddle, and senior coach Gareth Martin ran 20 kilometres.

Many of the Winchester RFC senior players took to their running kit for the cause. “Hayden Mort ran a marathon, Jake Hiscock, Ben Turner and Jamie Sarginson ran half-marathons, and Jerry Alfandari and I did 10k. Alex Baylis and Ollie Dunger cycled 70k. We all wanted to show our support for Rob and his fundraising for MND, and between us all we ran a total of 281 miles”, said club skipper Jim Beavan. “It certainly inspired many of us to personal bests and distances some of us had not run before, myself included”.

“This year’s virtual Tour des Silos has raised a further £6k and the new format has got me thinking how to structure next year’s event”, said Rob.

“With other events over the last five years CycleForKate has now raised a tantalising total of £99k for the MNDA.

“We’ll need to make that a nice round number as soon as we can.”

Further donations can be made at the charity’s website: www.cycleforkate.com.