Stamford Cycling Club founder completes 100-mile fundraising ride for St Gilbert’s Primary School

A cycling club founder completed his longest-ever endurance ride in searing heat to help his daughter’s school.

Temperatures had risen to 30 degrees by the time Johnny Topaz reached the end of his 100-mile epic at St Gilbert’s Primary School on Friday afternoon.

Having quickly gone past his initial £1,000 target for his first-ever fundraiser, Johnny was then astonished to break through the £2,000 barrier.

“With everyone's generosity and support, we've done extremely well from a fundraising perspective,” Johnny said.

“Having never done a fundraiser before I was only expecting a few hundred pounds.”

The money raised will go to the Stamford school to help with trips and extra-curricular activities, and headteacher Frances Dicker thanked the riders and their sponsors.

“The value of engaging in learning outside of the classroom cannot be underestimated,” she said.

“It provides children with wonderful opportunities for hands-on learning and deepens children’s knowledge and understanding of the world around them.

“The money raised will allow us to provide so much for all our pupils in the coming year at a time when school funding is challenging.”

Johnny set off from Stamford on a series of three loops at 6am, each passing the Stamford primary school, and heading out as far as Oakham, Stretton and then Barnack and West Deeping.

He was supported by St Gilbert’s parents Rob Slater, Martin Minchin, Matt Stearn, and George Cudmore who joined him for the entire route, while school business manager Peter Allan completed one loop.

“I found it harder than I thought it was going to be if I’m honest,” he admitted. “I don't think I could have picked a hotter day!

“I felt good on the first loop and on the second, and after lunch I still felt good. But the last 10 miles I found particularly challenging, physically and mentally, because the wind picked up and it was probably one of the hillier parts of our ride.

“Thankfully that's where the support kicked in.”

Johnny and team finished the ride with a few laps of the school field, cheered on by the whole school at around 3pm.

“When we arrived at 3pm on the road at the top of the hill, I heard this big cheering noise and thought ‘what on earth is that?’,” he recalled.

“As we got closer to the school, I realised all the children had been brought out at the end of their day and lined up on the playing field.

“I was cycling around dishing out high fives. A welcome back like that really did make it extra special.”

Johnny, who runs social Stamford Cycling Club, also wanted to use the ride to promote cycling for fun, and was delighted that St Gilbert’s early years and key stage one pupils took part in a balance bike session on the day.

Friday’s events added to the school’s cycling pedigree.

Ed Lowe, who won Olympic track silver in Paris last year, is a former pupil and returned to the school recently to inspire the next generation.

As for Johnny, aching legs and exhaustion eventually replaced the post-ride adrenalin and euphoria, but he is now keen to do it all again.

“The recovery was quite long-winded over the weekend, but I'm feeling like I'm wanting to get back on the bike now already,” he said.

“I'm really keen for this to become an annual event. And next year I would really like to go further with the distance and the amount as well.”

Casual riders are welcome to join Stamford Cycling Club rides which leave Red Lion Square at 7.30am every weekend for 40km routes, finishing with coffee in town. Midweek after-work rides also take place.

Visit https://stamfordcycling.co.uk for more details.