Successful Great British Bike-Off

THE Great British Bike-Off raised almost £40,000 for funds towards the canals with 31 cyclists taking part.

The cyclists, in various teams, set off from the Olympic Park in London at the end of September to complete a 300 miles journey throughout the countryside using road and cycle tracks to reach Anderton Boat Lift.

Vital maintenance

We are told the money will be used by Canal & River Trust (CaRT) for 'vital maintenance, heritage and ecology projects'.

Ruth Ruderham, CaRT's Head of Fundraising, enthused:

"Our canals and rivers are a national treasure. They have had a renaissance in the last few decades, but we still need to raise more money to look after them. Hopefully the fantastic fundraising work our cyclists have done will make up in some way for the pain of cycling a few hundred miles. If you saw them on a road, cycleway or at one of our waterways attractions, I hope you gave them some encouragement and it's still not too late to sponsor them."

"We're delighted to have had such great support for the Great British Bike-Off. It was an exciting and beautiful route that took in some of our most-loved waterway locations.