Carswell Gould has returned safely from an exciting new CG Adventure taking on the 550 mile in three days cycling charity event, the Massif Challenge. The event was organised by Challenge Adventure Charities (CAC), one of the UK’s largest cycling charity fundraisers, and saw nearly 200 ambitious cyclists take part to raise money for charities.
Our Carswell Gould cycling team was made up of Gareth Miller, strategic director; Rich Olivey, web developer; Daniel Evans, graphic designer; and Sam Barclay. The team donned their finest Carswell Gould cycling attire and rode valiantly to raise funds for Oracle Cancer Trust, achieving its aim to raise £1,000.
CAC was founded in 1996 by Stuart Mason-Elliott, chairman of Elliotts - the south’s leading builders’ merchant. Carswell Gould has been supporting CAC since last year when we designed and launched its new website. With quite a few keen cyclists in our office, CG Adventures were challenged to go the extra mile by Tom Elliott, managing director of Elliotts, and take part in the epic adventure. Oracle Cancer Trust is the leading head and neck cancer research charity in the UK and is a charity that is close to our hearts.
The event took place at the end of September and saw cycling teams of twos, threes and fours ride in relay to complete the 550-mile route through the French countryside in three days. The route, which covered most of the first three stages of this year’s Tour de France, took the cyclists from the starting point at the Channel port of Saint-Malo, on through Normandy to the Loire Valley, before rising through the Massif Central and finishing in Clermont-Ferrand.
The riders encountered quiet country roads and beautiful scenery over the three days, with the longest stretch seeing them cycle over 230 miles in a single day. Overall, the teams climbed an impressive 8,607 metres including the massive 15% climb of the Puy Mary, which is the steepest climb ever included in the challenge.
Dan said: “The challenge was one of the toughest cycling routes I’ve ever done, but it’s for a great cause and the sheer amount of support we’ve had from friends, family and clients has been amazing. Seeing all the support and donations that have been coming in has made it even more worthwhile.”
Rich added to Dan’s comment, “The Massif Challenge certainly wasn’t a walk through the park, but the team worked fantastically throughout the three days. No matter how exhausted we were from the early starts, bad weather and long cycling stints, everyone’s spirits were always up. It was also great to see how the other teams would cheer each other on, as this enforced a sense of camaraderie throughout the event.”
Team CG has now returned to a very proud Carswell Gould office, but the fundraising is not over. We are determined to break through our target. Please show your support of our team’s incredible achievement by donating here.
To see the updates from the team over the course of the Massif Challenge, follow us on Twitter.
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