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The chair's charity bike ride

Cllr Geof Driscoll has been cycling around all the wards in the district to raise money for local charity Accuro.

During his year as Chair of Uttlesford District Council, Geof has chosen to raise funds for local disabled support charity Accuro.

Throughout September Geof cycled through every ward in the district and he's asking you to support him by making a donation to Accuro.
 

Update on the ride

Geof set off from London Road on Monday morning and finished back there on Friday He covered more than 70 miles on an electric hybrid bike kindly loaned by local company Tekmotiv.

He has made various stops along the way including to see the progress of some of the projects awarded funding through the council's .

He is raising money for Accuro's STRIDE project, a six-month life skills programme for young adults aged 19 to 25 with a disability in west Essex. So far he is up to £900.
 

The route

Here is the route that Geof cycled.

Monday 4 September: Uttlesford District Council Offices Saffron Walden - Littlebury - Littlebury Green -  Arkesden - Wicken Bonhunt - Rickling Green  -  Ugley Green -  Elsenham - Stansted Mountfitchet - Birchanger

Tuesday 5 September: Birchanger - Great Hallingbury - Takeley - Hatfield Broad Oak - Hatfield Heath - White Roding -  Leaden Roding - High Easter

Wednesday 6 September: High Easter - Barnston - Dunmow - Stebbing

Thursday 7 September: Stebbing - Felsted - Flitch Green - Little Dunmow -  Dunmow (Church End) - Great Easton - Thaxted

Friday 8 September: Thaxted - Wimbish Green - Radwinter - Sewards End - Saffron Walden
 

Follow the ride day by day

You can see where Geof cycled each day on a map. He also stopped at a number of community projects and events along the way.

Day 1 - Monday 4 September

Today Geof rode from Saffron Walden to Birchanger.

Start: Saffron Walden Uttlesford District Council Offices at 9am

Stopping at:  Littlebury Energy Project at 10am

Update: Geof has got leaving the Council Offices at 9am. You can watch a video of Geof's departure on Facebook.

Distance: 30.3km/18.83 miles

See where Geof will be going on day 1 on an Ordnance Survey route map

Day 2 - Tuesday 5 September

Today Geof rode from Birchanger to High Easter.

Start: Birchanger at 9am

Stopping at: Accuro at 9:30am and Takeley Community Hub at 11:30am

Distance: 28km/17.4 miles

See where Geof will be going on day 2 on an Ordnance Survey route map

Day 3 - Wednesday 6 September

Today Geof rode from High Easter to Stebbing

Start: High Easter Cricket Ground at 9am

Update:  A midweek update on Geof's charity ride.

It is warm out there, but not normally being a cyclist the pace is slow and I am seeing what Uttlesford is really like, including the chocolate box villages, wonderful undulating countryside (big hills) and wildlife.

Today was a short relocation ride of around eight miles after a visit to a pre-school in High Easter arranged by Neil Reeve, who sits on the Parish Council, moving on to Stebbing. I would like to thank Neil and other members, Councillors and Officers of UDC for arranging my visits this week and those of you who I have met and chatted with around the District, you can pick up on the fine points and see the photos on the Uttlesford Facebook page thanks to Dan Barden and his team.

Your gratefully received donations have reached £410.00 this is 82% of the target figure hoped for, please feel free to add to that through my Just Giving page as we are not required to stop when we reach that figure.

Geof

Distance: 13km/8.1 miles

See where Geof will be going on day 3 on an Ordnance Survey route map

Day 4 -Thursday 7 September

Today Geof rode from Stebbing to Thaxted

Start: Stebbing at 9am

Stopping at: Mill Lane Playing Field - Nature and Biodiversity Project at 9:30am and  the Neighbourhood Roadshows 2024 in Felsted at 11am

Distance: 23.6km/14.7 miles

See where Geof will be going on day 4 on an Ordnance Survey route map

Day 5 - Friday 8 September

Today Geof rode from Thaxted to Saffron Walden

Start: Thaxted Guildhall at 9am

Stopping at: -

Distance: 18.9KM/11.7 miles

See where Geof will be going on day 5 on an Ordnance Survey route map

 

About Accuro

Accuro is a small charity making a big difference in west Essex. They support local children, young people and adults with disabilities by providing services that are fun, safe and inclusive.

Geof has been raising funds for Accuro's STRIDE programme.

STRIDE stands for 'Skills Togetherness Relationships Independence Diversity Equal-Opportunities' and is a 6 month life skills project for young adults with a learning disability. It covers healthy living, personal care, household tasks, how to keep safe, social and communication skills and much more.

Find out more about Accuro on their website.

Make a donation

We've set up a Just Giving page for donations to Accuro in support of the Chair's bike ride.

Make a donation
 

Zero carbon communities

Community groups across Uttlesford have been successful in applying for funding to tackle the climate crisis through our Zero Carbon Community Grant Scheme.

On his bike ride Geof visited 2 of the successful projects - Saffron Walden Community energy who have been awarded £34,000.00 towards the next phase of the Littlebury Energy Project decarbonisation plan and the Mill Lane Playing Field Stebbing Nature and Biodiversity Project.

and the other successful schemes around the district.