Picture the scene. It’s a mild September day and there’s tense anticipation in the air.
14 cyclists who (let's be honest) can only be loosely named as such as many possess little to no experience, are preparing to depart from Best Western’s central office in York on their most daunting venture yet - a 114 mile bike ride.
Among the group was our Managing Director and Best Western Chairman, Tim Rumney, prepared, practiced and ultimately ready to raise money for Shelter, the national homelessness and housing charity.
As if Tim wasn’t under enough pressure already, Channel 4, who are working on a new TV series about Best Western had the cameras rolling to capture entertaining footage of the budding group who let’s face it, had all the gear but little idea!
The team begin their journey equipt with a GoPro, adrenaline, and hope of a smooth ride. Their destination: the Stoke Moat House for the Best Western Sales, Marketing and Revenue Conference (SMRC). Little did Tim know, he’d be in for quite a journey.
The first day began without a hitch, clear skies and a steady pace. It got tougher though - who thought it was a good idea to cover 50 miles before lunch! After 64 miles they arrived in Sheffield for and a well-deserved beer and kip. But, when the second day began, so did the group’s biggest challenge: the hills and Tim’s bike.
Tim had been practicing for the Road2Stoke for weeks now and was ready to tackle the hilly Peak District, however, his bike….umm not so much. The gears snapped just 2 miles outside of Bakewell. Disaster!
Was this the end of Tim’s journey? No! Thanks to Charlotte and Joe at Peakland Cycles, Tim’s bicycle made a swift recovery. The bike mechanics kindly fixed his bike straight away and free of charge after hearing about his fantastic efforts to raise money for Shelter.
Channel 4 were on hand to greet the team in Stoke. Still full of spirit, they changed into their ‘In it to Win it’ outfits just in time for the conference. Dressed as Bruce Forsyth, Tim greated his fellow Best Western member’s with “Nice to see you to see you NICE.” and they all celebrated raising an impressive £4,500 for Shelter through Just Giving.
Look forward to more events like this in the future as Best Western continue their partnership with Shelter.