Huddersfield Town’s Pedal4Pounds cyclists have done it again.
Almost 300 cyclists left the streets of London on Wednesday to ride back to Huddersfield for the fifth year of the fundraising adventure, dubbed P4P5.
The 230-mile Herbert Chapman trail, in honour of the 1920s Terriers’ and Arsenal boss, fittingly began at the London club’s Emirates Stadium.
And after four-days in the saddle the cyclists were glad to be welcomed by fans at the John Smith’s Stadium for their now traditional lap of honour.
Town chairman, Dean Hoyle, who took part in the ride for the fifth time, said it had been a terrific challenge despite one day of horrendous weather.
“To get 300 people doing it for the fourth year on the trot is a credit to everybody,” he said.
“I’m aching but it’s been good, it was an excellent ride, superbly organised and a decent route.
“It’s inspiring to see young and old, from 17 to 75-year-olds, and also all the volunteers who give all their time up to come and help.
“It was fantastic riding into the stadium, it really makes it all worthwhile for people to see their family and friends, especially for those who’ve never ridden 250 miles before in their lives.”
The annual challenge raises cash for the Keep It Up campaign, a dual fund for the Yorkshire Air Ambulance and Town’s academy.
Dean said he had been told that funds raised by the campaign now covered the cost of every single call out by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance to HD postcodes, approximately 80 calls in the past five years.
And he said even people outside of Yorkshire appreciated the service, which receives no funding from government.
He added: “650 have taken part in the rides in total and we’ve now raised about £1.2m for the Keep It Up campaign.
“Someone stopped us on the ride and said she’d been airlifted by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, and this was 150 miles away.
“So it’s no surprise that even the Leicester fans were applauding the cyclists.“
Examiner employee, Graham Brown, who took part in his fourth consecutive ride, said: “I feel proud to have completed it again with the purple team.
“There’s a few of us that’s been doing it since the beginning.
“We had a good run, the first two days were good because it was nice weather, although getting out of London was a nightmare.
“It took us 45 minutes because the traffic was so bad.
“But once we got going it was okay although we had one incident where someone fell and broke his collar-bone.
“I also noticed some damage to my back wheel at the start of the final day and I wasn’t sure if it would hold up; but it did.
“It was great cycling round the stadium again as you get really good support, even from the away fans.”
Graham hopes to have now raised more than £2,000 for the campaign.
He added: “I think it’s a really good charity; I hope I never have to use the air ambulance but if I was to fall off it’s good to know it’s there.”
Click here to take you back to more Huddersfield news .
Want to read, watch and hear more? You can download the FREE Examiner Apple App here , the FREE Examiner Android App here or you can view the paper as an e-edition on your Apple, Android or Kindle device by clicking here
To follow us on Twitter click here
