Help for Heroes’ Hero Ride celebrity finale this Sunday in London

Hero Ride, Help for Heroes’ latest fundraising challenge, will be arriving in to Central London this Sunday following a week full of money-raising efforts across the country with support from the likes of Lorraine Kelly, Jeremy Clarkson and Mark Cavendish.As we reported in March over 1,300 cyclists will congregate in Blackheath, following their own individual charity bike rides, to cycle the final ten miles to the finish line at Horse Guards Parade.

Hundreds of organised bike rides have taken place in the lead up to Sunday’s finale. The first was the Big Battlefield Bike Ride which saw 300 cyclists ride over 350 miles from Paris to London. The large group of fundraisers, including, British, American and Canadian wounded Servicemen, women and Veterans, were waved off by the Duchess of Cornwall at Les Invalides when they set off on Tuesday May the 28th.

Bryn Parry, Co-Founder of Help for Heroes said: “There has been an extraordinary public reaction to the murder of Drummer Lee Rigby last week. For many, that desire to show support has been focused on doing good to counter the bad. Help for Heroes has been the unexpected focus of this national outpouring of support.

“This year’s annual Hero Ride will see hundreds of cyclists gather on the streets of London in the biggest national demonstration of support for our wounded heroes. The funds raised will be used to support the wounded and their families who have already given so much on our behalf.

“Those who have been affected in the line of duty may be young now but they will grow old and will need our support long after the wars have ended.”

In another gallant feat, the Dawn Raid cycle challenge will see 250 cyclists leave the Help for Heroes Tedworth House Recovery Centre in the early hours of Sunday morning. The riders will pedal 90 miles through the night, departing at 2am in order to meet with the other cyclists at Blackheath for the final ride in to central London.

Led by a large cohort of wounded veterans and service personnel from the UK, USA and Canada, the 2013 Hero Ride will be the biggest cycling demonstration of national support for the wounded this country has ever seen.

This year, the Hero Ride will be particularly poignant given the recent murder of Drummer Lee Rigby in Woolwich.

Hero Ride activity is not just taking place on the roads, Virgin Active health clubs across the country have been offering the opportunity for members to get involved in their local club’s Hero Ride activity, such as group static cycle events or boot camp training sessions, with all funds raised being donated to Help for Heroes.

Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Active Health Clubs, said: “Help for Heroes is a fantastic charity and it is our pleasure to get involved and help to drum up support, participation and ultimately raise money for our troops. I would encourage anyone to come along to their nearest Virgin Active club and get signed up for this event, it doesn’t matter about your level of fitness – it’s about getting involved and showing your support.

“Best of luck to all participating in the 2013 Hero Ride and the Virgin Active events and classes across the country from myself and all at Virgin Group.”

Paralympian and Help for Heroes Patron Jon Allan-Butterworth, who was severely injured whilst serving in Iraq in 2007 and has been supported by the charity since, said:

“I’ve seen first-hand how funding raised for Help for Heroes can change people’s lives, it happened to me, and Hero Ride provides an opportunity for the British public to get behind our troops whilst also challenging themselves to do something different.

“Despite the landscape changing for our troops as we withdraw from Afghanistan, the support for this great cause cannot stop. It would be a fantastic show of solidarity for as many people as possible to support those involved with Hero Ride by fundraising or lining the streets of London on Sunday.”

To register interest for future Help for Heroes fundraising events and 2014 Hero Ride, please visit: www.heroride.org.uk