The 2012 Great Milk Stout charity cycle ride has raised £21,000 in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support in the event’s 20th year. At a presentation evening held at Harefield Hall Hotel in Pateley Bridge, the ride’s organising committee handed over a cheque to Macmillan fundraising manager, Robyn Mountain Wade.
Chairman of the Great Milk Stout Ride, Mike Holt, said:
It’s tremendously encouraging that even in challenging economic times, people’s kindness and generosity of spirit has not been diminished. Supporters of the Great Milk Stout have dug deep to raise £21,000 for Macmillan, which is an astonishing 24 per cent up on last year’s total of £17,000.
I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part and all the local businesses that have supported us in raising this fabulous total in the ride’s 20th glorious year.
The Great Milk Stout Ride, upper Nidderdale’s largest fundraising event, has generated almost £475,000 for Macmillan since it began in 1993. The idea was born out of a challenge to see who could raise the most money for charity among the regulars at the Birch Tree Inn, Wilsill.
It was decided to donate the money raised to Macmillan Cancer Support, whose nurses provide care for cancer sufferers, and as a memorial to a local Glasshouses man – and friend – John Woodhouse, who had recently died from cancer and whose family had received essential support from Macmillan.
Since then the event, which takes place every September, has grown to become a fixture for hundreds of cyclists and charity fundraisers. Starting from the showground in Pateley Bridge, cyclists can choose the 20-mile Full Monty, the ten-mile Half-Litre route, or the X-treme 25, which includes a one-in-four ascent out of Pateley.
Robyn Mountain Wade from Macmillan said that the financial contribution made by the event had become vital to the charity’s work.
Robyn said:
This fantastic sum of £21,000 will help us ensure that vital front-line services, such as our mobile cancer information units, continue to provide support to people that desperately need it. The Great Milk Stout has really grown tremendously over the past two decades and Macmillan has come to rely on the generous donations that the event has provided.
At the presentation evening trophies were also presented to teams and individuals who had raised the largest amount of sponsorship, and also for fancy dress.
The Team Challenge Trophy was won by the Woodhouse Wanderers; Malcolm Williamson won the Rob Smith Memorial Trophy; and Emily Conn, age 10, from Pateley Bridge scooped the fancy dress prize for completing the ride in her Where’s Wally costume.
The Pateley Club was the winner of the Pub Shield, and the Patrick Bickers Memorial Shield for Corporate Teams was won by All Occasions Marquees.
