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South Oxfordshire families to get pedalling for charity

Annual On Your Bike ride at Sonning Common scheduled for 25 April

Henley-on-Thames may be synonymous with the sport of rowing – Olympic individual pursuit champion Rebecca Romero, a silver medallist at Athens with the GB women’s four still lives there – but nearby Sonning Common will see cyclists steal the limelight for a day in April with the annual OnYour Bike ride.

The event, sponsored by the Henley Standard newspaper, is aimed at cyclists of all ages and abilities and organisers hope to attract 1,000 bike riders this year, which would be double the numbers who participated last year, as they seek to raise £5,000 for Sonning Common Primary School and the Sue Ryder Care hospice at Nettlebed.

Organised by the school’s parent teacher association, the event takes place on 25 April, starting at 10.30am, and PTA chair Penny Snowden told the Henley Standard: "It is a great family occasion and an opportunity to get those bikes out of the garage for their once-in-a-year airing” – hopefully, people taking part would become motivated to ride them more regularly than that – “as well doing some good for a local charity and school."

Last year’s event raised more than £3,000 for the Thames Valley & Chilterns Air Ambulance, with 448 riders completing five or 12-mile circuits of South Oxfordshire’s country roads.

Entries received by 1 April will be entered into a draw to win a bike donated by AW Cycles, whose shop is in nearby Caversham, although we’re guessing it won’t be a Colnago CLX or one of the other thoroughbred racing machines they sell.

Full details of the event are available on the On Your Bike website.

Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.

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othello | 14 years ago
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Thing is, he would love it being on the tag-along and whizzing around the course. He is only 5 and is already super competitive! I don't know if he is going to manage 20 miles on the back though. When he was in a bike seat on the back he used to fall asleep after 2 miles, even off-road!

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Tony Farrelly | 14 years ago
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No sticking on the lycra and whizzing around the course and using it as a quick thrash/training ride!

No do it!

Being embarrassing is part of the Dad job spec + you can add in being inappropriately competitive too! It doesn't get any better than that surely! And think of the happy memories you'll give him… okay it'll probably take him 15 years for it to become a happy memory, but it'll be worth it in the end.

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othello | 14 years ago
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My son goes to Sonning Common Primary so I'll be attending. Though I'm going to have to be a responsible parent and have my on on the tag-along. No sticking on the lycra and whizzing around the course and using it as a quick thrash/training ride!  1

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