Dransfield Charity Bike Ride Team Complete Their Challenge

Dransfield Charity Bike Ride Team Complete Their Challenge

16 September 2011

The charity cycle team who transformed  a run down therapy block at Sheffield Children’s Hospital earlier this year have completed their leg aching charity challenge to raise money to complete the next phase of the improvement works.

They arrived in Rome on Thursday evening after covering 360 miles from the coastal town of Portofino to the Italian capital over three and a half days.

The team fielded by Tankerksley based Dransfield Properties Ltd, made headlines in March this year when they decided to help the money they’d raised for the Ryegate Therapy Block at Crosspool in Sheffield go a lot further by pitching in their time, skills and contacts to renovate the run down centre. 

The centre was transformed over a weekend with new flooring, units, treatments areas, storage and play equipment as well as a complete new colour scheme and entrance area.

They’re hoping that this leg of the challenge will raise £50,000 overall for their three chosen charities including the Children’s Hospital Charity where they’re planning another weekend makeover – this time transforming Ryegate’s hydroptherapy  pool area where thousands of children receive vital treatment every year.

It’s the longest journey so far in the five years that the team have been riding together and ended with the challenge of cycling through Rome’s notoriously chaotic traffic to get to the centre of the Italian capital.

Nicknamed the MAMILS – Middle Aged Men in Lycra – the riders took their first journey from London to Paris in 2007, since then they’ve raised more than £180,000 for charity and covered a total of 1060 miles.

The charity cycle ride was founded by brothers Mark and Paul Dransfield. Mark is the Managing Director of South Yorkshire’s Dransfield Properties Ltd based at Tankersley, and Paul heads the construction firm PDR in Hull.

As well as the children’s hospital the team is also raising funds for The NSPCC  and Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research – helping to fund research into the treatment of childhood leukaemia at Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Sheffield University

Charity ride founder and Managing Director at Dransfield Properties, Mark Dransfield, said: “This has been a really tough ride this year - we've covered more miles than before and we had an 18 mile climb the first day and the challenge of the traffic in Rome on the last day. But all the rider have done really well and we'd all like to thank everyone who has been kind enough to sponsor us."

Cat Powell, Arts for Health Co-ordinator from the hospital who is managing the project which this year’s ride will help to fund, said: “Last year’s involvement by the Dransfield bike team made an amazing difference to the patients who use our Therapy Block at Ryegate.

“I am delighted that the team are back again to transform our hydrotherapy pool area and am confident this will be a huge improvement to the environment of this specialist facility.”

The team plan to cover a route every year and get back to London Bridge by 2020. This year 15 riders took ranging in age from just under 40 to a little over 60.

This is the fifth leg of the DPL and PDR Tour of Europe.

•         2007 – The team set off from London Bridge and covered the 200 miles from London to Paris.

•         2008 – Picking up at Paris the cycle team covered 285 miles to Lyon.

•         2009 – The 265 miles went from Lyon to Marseilles and included the notorious Mont Ventoux which regularly features in the Tour de France.  

•         2010 – The team picked up the route in Marseilles and headed for the Italian coastal town of Portofino where this year’s tour will start.

Meet the team: From Sheffield: Mark Dransfield, Paul Singleton, Peter Crossland, John White, Mark Yardley and Nick Rees. From Hull: Paul Dransfield, David Maughan, Alec Cammish, Michael Crooks. From Lincolnshire: Geoff Thomas, Will Downing, Tim Downing, and Dean Draper. From Merseyside: Andrew Malley.

For further information, contact:

Public Relations Department, Dransfield Properties Ltd
Tel: 01226 360644
Email: pr@dransfield.co.uk