The Action 100 cycling challenge will take place from Bristol to London this summer and children’s charity Action Medical Research is calling for riders to sign up now for the event on Sunday 30 August.
The ride has raised more than £1 million for the children’s charity since it was first held in 1982, when it began in Bath; these days the start line is in Keynsham just outside Bristol.
The 114-mile route for this sportive, Action’s original cycling event, takes riders across five counties to the very welcome finish at Staines Rugby Football Club.
The route, which was revamped last year, takes in the picturesque market towns of Chippenham and Marlborough and crosses the North Wessex Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty to Newbury before skirting Reading and Bracknell, skimming past Windsor Great Park and on to Hanworth.
Coach travel and bike transport is available back to the start venue, with riders able to collect their bikes on the same day.
This event is part of the charity’s popular RIDE100 series of one-day bike rides that take place in cycling locations across the UK. All include chip timing, food and water stations, lunch, marshals and mechanics.
Cyclists participating in the Action 100 will be raising money to help fund medical research into conditions affecting babies and children. Action Medical Research has been funding medical breakthroughs since it began in 1952. The charity is currently supporting work around childhood cancer, Down syndrome, epilepsy, and cystic fibrosis, as well as some rare and distressing conditions that severely affect children.
Among the research the charity is currently funding is a study taking place at the University of Bristol. Around one in four children who undergo surgery to remove a tumour from the back of the brain – the cerebellum – develop a distressing side effect called cerebellar mutism syndrome. They can lose the ability to speak and have difficulty coordinating their movements. Although their condition normally improves with time, children are often left with permanent disabilities. Professor Richard Apps is looking for a way to improve surgery and stop children developing these life-changing disabilities.
In another study at the university, Professor Andrés López Bernal is researching the natural processes that control labour and childbirth. Around one in 20 pregnancies worldwide ends with the mother going into labour too soon and having her baby prematurely but a dire lack of understanding of these processes is limiting our ability to help.
Places for the Action 100 are limited so riders are advised to register soon. The sportive entry is £38, or the fundraiser option costs £25, with participants committing to raise at least £40 sponsorship for Action Medical Research.
www.action.org.uk/action-100-bristol-london
