Member Article

‘Rockliffe Riders’ ride again for Great North Air Ambulance

Following the success of last year’s Coast to Coast bike ride, Rockliffe Hall’s intrepid team of cyclists will be back in the saddle next week to raise much-needed funds for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).

This year, 20 staff will cycle the terrain from Cumbria to North Yorkshire between Thursday 5th and Saturday 7th September, covering a total of 171 miles.

The route will take the ‘Rockliffe Riders’, who have been training since the start of the year, from Walney near Barrow-in-Furness, across to Sedburgh in Cumbria, onto Brompton in North Yorkshire and finishing at Whitby.

Last year the team raised over £2000 for Rockliffe Hall’s chosen charity, the GNAAS. As well as the Coast to Coast, the 5* resort supports the charity by organising staff fundraising activities, making prize donations and offering the resort as a venue for GNAAS’s corporate events.

The GNAAS is a charity which operates without Government funding, relying entirely on public donations. It has three aircraft stationed across its two bases at Durham Tees Valley Airport near Darlington and at Langwathby, near Penrith in Cumbria.

The team provides the highest standards of pre-hospital care at an accident scene and then flies the patient to the hospital best suited to their needs.

Speaking about the Rockliffe Riders’ Coast to Coast challenge, MD Nick Holmes said: “Once again we’ve been in training for this great cycling challenge- boosted by even more members of the team joining in. It is gruelling but it’s nothing compared to what the amazing team at the GNAAS do, saving lives week in week out. We’ve chosen a new route this year- just as challenging, if not more so- and we’re readying ourselves for a mix of terrain and whatever the Northern weather might throw at us.”

Mandy Drake, head of fundraising at GNAAS, added: “We’re really thrilled that the Rockliffe Riders have decided to take on this difficult challenge yet again- with even more of the team signing up. We guarantee it is for such a worthy cause and every single penny raised is received so gratefully and used to support the work of the GNAAS in a variety of ways.”

Pam Royle, patron of the GNAAS, will join the team for part of the ride. Pam said: “The support that the team at Rockliffe offers is such a boost to the GNAAS and, last year, potentially the Coast to Coast challenge saved two lives as each mission for the air ambulance costs in the region of £1000. You can’t put a price on saving lives but it’s expeditions such as this that help raise not only money but also awareness of the tremendous work that the GNAAS team carries out.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Anna Addison Associates .