Over the Edge for British Heart Foundation

Over the edge bike ride for British Heart Foundation

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On Sunday 15th May over 400 riders took to the hills to tackle the British Heart Foundation’s (BHF’s) ‘Over The Edge’ bike ride, organised in conjunction with the Trans Pennine Cycling Club (TPCC). Last year the event raised £15,000 and this year the BHF hopes to raise around £20,000 to fund pioneering research into the causes and treatment of heart disease in the region.

The BHF is the nation’s heart charity but we need to spend £190 every two minutes of every day on life saving heart research. Why? Because every two minutes, someone has a heart attack. So we asked cyclists in the North West to get on their bikes and take part, asking their friends and family to sponsor them so that the BHF can continue to help keep hearts beating in the North West.

Andrew Smith from Littleborough took on the Solid Gold Route of 52 miles in memory of his father who sadly died only two weeks ago from a heart attack. Andrew raised an amazing £1,500 for the BHF and started the ride with his brother-in-law Chris Walker and friend, Darren Nicholl who both did the Bronze Route of 29 miles.

The most senior rider to go Over the Edge was aged 72 and the youngest only four years old – proving that this really is an event for everyone. Some very famous name-sakes also took part - Tony Bennett, Diana Dorrs and even Gordon Brown! Marshals from the TPCC manned the route and looked after our riders every peddle of the way.

Doctors Nick Dawes, Susan Dawes and Sue Babbs from the Dawes Family Practice in Rochdale were recently presented with the Over The Edge Health Team Trophy for their long-term commitment to the event. This year, Doctors Nick and Susan Dawes tackled the Silver Route whilst Dr Sue Babbs decided to go for Gold!

Event Organiser for the BHF Deborah Ogden said, “Everyone really enjoyed the day, the weather was great for cycling and the sun came out as our riders returned to collect their medals. You could tell that everyone felt a real sense of achievement at finishing the ride and I’m thrilled that lots of people have raised amazing amounts of sponsorship money for us. We are now looking forward to next year’s event and hope that all of our 2005 riders will decide to come back for more”.

If you didn’t take part in the Over the Edge Bike Ride this year but would like to help the BHF to raise money in the region, why not get involved in Help a Heart Week (4-12 June 2005). For a fundraising pack which contains lots of great ideas about how you can organise you own fundraising event, please telephone: 0151 236 6988 or go to bhf.org.uk/helpaheart.