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Sponsored Cycle Ride from Valencia, Spain to the Algarve, Portugal
• 02 Mar 2007 •
SIXTY-THREE-YEAR-OLD Steve Grady, Vice-Chairman of the Algarve 41 Club and member of Hitchin 41 Club in Hertfordshire, a keen cyclist, has cycled to his villa in the Algarve the last few years, accompanied by fellow Hitchin 41 Club member, Roger How.
The first tour from Bilbao to Albufeira, a total of 1,200 kilometres, took 10 days with one rest day. The following year Steve and Roger rode the 1,100 kilometres from Alicante via the Sierra Nevada, Granada, Cordoba and Seville. The next year from Vigo in northern Spain to the Algarve was meant to be an end-to-end tour of Portugal. Unfortunately Steve had a high speed crash descending in towards Lisbon and spent a day in hospital. Undaunted Steve and Roger returned to Lisbon later in the year to finish the tour. Last year, Steve and Roger flew to Marrakech for their first Intercontinental tour. They cycled to Essaouira on the coast and on to Safi, El Jadida, Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier, from where they took the ferry to Algeciras and then rode to Seville and the Algarve, a total of 1,400 kilometres, their longest trip to date.
This year will be the first time it is done for sponsorship. Steve hopes to raise funds for Castelo de Sonhos, a charity based in Silves, whose objectives are to protect, provide and care for deprived families, children and underprivileged individuals, independent of race, nationality or religion. Currently the charity is supporting a total of 10,189 individuals and although it is officially recognised, to date it has received no state support. The idea for this year’s tour came from a meeting of all the Iberian based 41 Clubs in Peurta Banus, Spain, in October 2006. There are clubs in Majorca, Costa del Blanca, Calpe, Nerja, Costa del Sol and Gibraltar and, of course, the Algarve. Steve’s idea was to fly into Valencia and then cycle through all the mainland 41 Clubs to his own club in the Algarve in time for the Annual General Meeting on May 17 when he takes over as Chairman. In its 21 years of existence the Algarve 41 club has supported Castelo de Sonhos and many other local charities.
This tour will take Steve and Roger from Valencia Airport and then along the coast to Gibraltar, turning inland to Arcos in Spain, crossing the Guadalquivir by ferry south of Seville and then on to Portugal. The estimated distance is 1,200 kilometres. This year Steve and Roger will be accompanied by fellow Algarve 41 Club member, Sam Cross, who will be driving a support vehicle.
Sponsorship is to take the form of a “guess the mileage” competition and you are invited to donate a minimum of €10 per guess. The prize is a luxury weekend for two at the Baia Grande Hotel, Praia da Coelha, west of Albufeira. The management of the hotel are to be thanked for having agreed to donate the prize. To enter the competition, complete the form below and send it with your cheque to the Algarve 41 Club Treasurer, Peter Fisher, M42 Vale de Telha, Apt 1011, 8671-909 Aljezur, Algarve, Portugal. Guesses should be to the nearest 100th of a kilometre and in the event of there being a draw the first correct entry drawn out of the proverbial hat will be the winner. Donations will be welcome at any time but to be eligible for the competition entries must be received by May 10, 2007.
Please return to Peter Fisher, M42 Vale de Telha, Apt 1011, 8671-909 Aljezur, Algarve, Portugal by May 10, 2007. |  Return to Top
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