Ruth's cycle ride a success (From Malvern Gazette)

Ruth's cycle ride a success

3:35pm Tuesday 20th November 2007

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FOUL weather on Sunday did not prevent a Malvern woman's charity cycle ride from London to Leamington Spa being a great success.

Ruth Barton, aged 27, joined 15 friends to take part in the sponsored event to raise money for Ovarian Cancer Action. They did it in support of their friend Emily MacArthur, who is suffering from the disease..

"Total cycling time was seven hours 51 minutes, we covered 101 miles and our average speed was 12.9mph," said Ruth, a marketing consultant in London. "Sunday was the most gruelling, because we were cycling in constant rain. We had a couple of near cases of hypothermia."

But the team pushed on to Leamington, where they were greeted with tea, coffee, cakes and hot soup by Emily, her supporters and her family. "Then we all went off to the pub."

Financially, the ride was a huge success. The team had originally set themselves a target of £3,000, but donations soon topped that and, as of this week, the total was over £13,400.

"It's really great, it's better than any of us imagined," said Ruth, "It's all turned out brilliantly. In spite of the weather, the whole thing went well.

"Before this, I hadn't been on a bike for about 15 years, But while we were training for this event, I really got into it, and now I think I'll stick with it. It's a really great way of keeping fit, and it's a good way of getting around London."

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