Adrian saddles up for the Ride for Hope

A Senior Lecturer from the University of Northampton is gearing up for a mammoth charity bike ride.

Adrian Pryce, chairman of the Hope Centre homelessness charity, will be leading the third annual Ride for Hope from Northampton to Ypres, in Belgium, which leaves on Thursday 8 September.

He said: “This is the third Ride for Hope and it is steadily building into a popular annual fundraiser for the Hope Centre. It is a well-known local charity that helps vulnerable and disadvantaged people, and the work that we do is vital to maintain the social fabric of our community.

“This cycle ride is a great way of supporting our work – we raised £15,000 last year – and every penny funds our work with those on the margins of society.”

More than 30 riders have signed up for this year’s race, and they are determined to smash last year’s fundraising total.

The Hope Centre aims to help people who have fallen on hard times and need extensive support and encouragement to rebuild their lives. More than 100 people every day are cared for in the Hope Centre day centre, in Campbell Street. The Hope Centre relies on the support and generosity of the local community – individuals, schools, churches/faith groups, sports, social clubs and local businesses, to keep providing the range of services it offers to people in need – and whose number are growing.

In November, the University’s Vice Chancellor, Nick Petford, became a patron of the charity.

Ride for Hope, which has been organised by Pidy UK Limited, will start from the University’s Park Campus. The route will progress to Cambridge, on to Harwich, on the overnight ferry to Rotterdam, then to Bruges and finally to Ypres, weaving its way between historic war sites and stunning scenery.

To find out more, to get involved or to support this charitable cycle ride please contact Pidy’s general manager, Robert Whittle, by emailing robertw@pidy.com.

Expressions of interest for next year’s ride, which will take place from 6-9 July, are being taken.

• Adrian’s son, Jacob, who took part in last year’s Ride for Hope, has just completed a solo 1,000-mile bike ride from Northampton to Barcelona. His gruelling ride was also in aid of the Hope Centre. Find out more by visiting his website.