Naomi Bike Ride raises more than £13,000 after cyclists take on journey from Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to Grantham

A fundraising bike ride is celebrating its 10th anniversary and has raised more than £13,000 this year.

The fifth biannual Naomi Bike Ride has so far raised £13,500 this year to support children’s hospitals and services.

This year’s ride took place on August 5 and 6 starting at Great Ormond Street Hospital and making its way to Grantham with an overnight stop in Peterborough.

The ride involved 28 cyclists, three support vehicles and a support team of seven including three drivers.

The ride is held in memory of Grantham girl Naomi Fardell who died aged two after being born with congenital heart problems. Her parents Dean and Michelle set up the fund to provide support those hospitals which helped Naomi.

The Naomi Fund supports Great Ormond Street Hospital, Heartlink at Leicester and The kingfisher Unit/Community Palliative Care team in Grantham and surrounding areas.

The main sponsor of the ride was Amcomri and each cyclist was able to get a personal shirt sponsor for the 148-mile ride.

The total raised so far includes £7,122 on the fund’s JustGiving page, money donated by supporters during the ride and a collection made at Asda in June to promote the ride.

Michelle said: “Many of the cyclists were supported by many Grantham companies which is again amazing and also we approached quite a few of our usual and regular supporters and they also continued to support us in various ways. Rocket Vehicle Hire was able to gift two support vehicles for the whole weekend and a previous support driver Ed Hall gave us a donation for all the fuel, DX and local company Vaculug were able to courier all the bikes to London as a donation.

“We have had the most amazing support. We can’t explain how much it all means to us as a family to give something back.”

Michelle said the team was given an emotional tour of Great Ormond Street Hospital before the ride and saw some of the areas, like the Peter Pan Garden, which they have raised money for. On the second day at Peterborough, the team also had a visit from a four-year-old patient at Heartlink.

Michelle said: “In Grantham we were met by amazing family, friends and a massive crowd, supported by The Mayor and Mayoress of Grantham, Viv Reichelt and her staff at the Digby Cafe , and the finishing line was held by some very special and beautiful supporters and service users of all equipment we have provided, Mr Fraser Wright being one of them.

“Chloe Fardell, our eldest daughter, was a minibus/support vehicle driver providing an amazing linchpin to the weekend, and her son Colby-Dean, aged eight, was support over the weekend too and was able to join the ride through Grantham to be the first over the finish line.”