South Warwickshire cyclist raises thousands of pounds for charity by riding on more than 200 consecutive days

Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process
By Philip Hibble
Published 26th Nov 2020, 17:13 BST
Updated 26th Nov 2020, 17:16 BST
Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process.Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process.
Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process.

A south Warwickshire cyclist has raised thousands of pounds for charity by riding on more than 200 consecutive days.

Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process.

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Paul, who's a member of Shipston Cycling Club (SCC), said: "This challenge started in the first lockdown when, along with a couple of other SCC members, I set myself the target of riding every day for 50 days.

Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process.Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process.
Spanning spring, summer and autumn, Paul Sayer from Oxhill covered 7,100 miles in achieving the challenge, and raised £3,730 in the process.

"When I passed the 50 day the target I was challenged to go for 100, then this became 200 when that milestone was passed."

64 year-old Paul then seized the opportunity to raise vital funds for Alderminster-based charity Cyclists Fighting Cancer (CFC).

"I had seen a few local riders achieving various ‘2020’ targets as part of the CFC #20in20 fundraising campaign, including one rider who did 220 miles in a day. This is what set the 220 day objective in my mind", Paul said.

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Paul smashed through his initial target of £500 three-quarters of the way through his challenge. He said: "I was overwhelmed by the level of support I had, and even raised my fundraising target a couple of times – eventually aiming for £2.020. And I ended up nearly doubling that!"

Reflecting on his 220 days in the saddle, Paul said "There’s no doubt the funding pledges kept me going through the difficult days, and various SCC and group rides were essential to keep my spirits up. I went through a tough patch around day 190, getting saddle sores for the first time, but by day 200 I knew it could be finished and the last two weeks seemed effortless."

Rachel Wignell at CFC said: “What Paul has achieved for himself and for CFC is absolutely fantastic and we can’t thank him enough!

"Like many charities the current situation has affected us severely and we currently have over 100 outstanding bike applications for children living with cancer, so Paul’s fundraising has come at a really crucial time. We are extremely grateful for his support and we hope that he is now having a well-earned rest!”

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So was Paul tempted to go even further? "I was being nudged regularly to go for 365 days as I approached the end, but when I woke up on day 221 I knew that I had to stop – at least for a day!", he conceded.

Anyone wanting to donate to Paul's fundraising can do via https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/paul-sayer-220• Paul's 2020 challenge in numbers

Started: March 10

Ended: October 16

Miles covered: 7,100

Money raised: £3,730

Pairs of shorts destroyed: 2

Related topics:Money