THE Royal British Legion is holding a cycling event to raise money.

The Royal British Legion is holding a Poppy Ride cycling event to help support service and ex-service personal and their families.

The event will take place on Sunday, May 22.

The ride has three distance options, 40km, 85km, and 140km, with the routes professionally planned; the routes will also be chip timed, so participants, both experienced and novice, can expect a professional sporting event.

Both first time event riders and sportive enthusiasts will be able to enjoy routes that wind down into the scenic South Downs national park, the newest of the UK’s 15 national parks, where they will be able to take in beautiful landscapes and ride alongside veterans.

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All three of the distance options will start and conclude at Sandhurst Royal Military Academy, in Berkshire; entry for the event costs £32 regardless of distance and includes an exclusive Poppy Ride medal.

The Poppy Ride is a way for people to show their support for the Royal British Legion and have some fun at the same time; everyone taking part will be raising vital funds for service personnel, veterans, and their families who are struggling through hardships, injuries and bereavements.

These funds will ensure that veterans will get the support they need; one example of this is veteran Lyndon Chatting-Walters.

After being injured in Afghanistan, Lyndon was told that he would never walk again; despite this, he later completed Mission Himalaya in 2018, reaching the summit of Mera Peak alongside a team of serving military, injured and sick personal and veterans.

Lyndon credited his success to his attending Battle Back, a programme run by the RBL designed to ensure the best possible recovery for Armed Forces personnel, regardless of whether they are returning to duty or transitioning into civilian life; the programme is centred around adaptive sport and training activities and helps the participants build camaraderie.

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Lyndon said: “I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be alive if I hadn’t gone to Battle Back when I did.

“I’d been told by my surgeons I couldn’t do anything – I’d spent so long being told that, I believed it.

“I went to Battle Back and it was amazing.

“I did every activity – I was in pain for a lot of them, but I realised I could still do stuff.

“When I left that day, I was a totally different person to who I was when I went in.”

The Royal British Legion is the UK’s biggest Armed Forces charity, providing care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present and their families.

For more information or to sign up for the Poppy Ride, visit the Royal British Legion website www.rbl.org.uk/poppyride, or contact the events team on 0333 011 4500 or by email: events@britishlegion.org.uk.

The RBL is also looking for volunteers to support the Poppy Ride on the day of the event; to learn more about becoming a volunteer, visit rbl.org.uk/eventvolunteers.

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