Riders celebrate at the finish line.
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The first-ever Albion in the Community (AITC) Brighton to Paris bike ride was a resounding success, with the charity hoping to achieve almost double the original target of £20,000.Monies will go towards Jadey’s Dream, a fundraising initiative which aims to increase participation among disabled people in sport.
Over the two-days, riders completed a gruelling 130-mile journey from the Amex to the Palace of Versailles, with staff from AITC, Brighton & Hove Albion and the club’s fans all taking part.
Albion chief executive Paul Barber, who was among the riders at the weekend, praised the overall team spirit among the group.
He told seagulls.co.uk, “It was a truly great example of the club, its charitable arm, our supporters, and wider community working closely together to support a local cause.
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AITC chief executive, Michael Edwards, echoed Barber’s sentiments and was pleased that 21-year-old Jadey Richardson was able to lead the riders away from the Amex at the start of the journey.“It was very good that Jadey could be there on the Friday morning and Stewart Christie peddled him up towards Rottingdean, which is a tremendous feat in itself!
“The initial aim was to raise money for the charity and we’ve more than achieved that. Our target was around £20,000, but we’ve comfortably cleared £30,000 and we may get to £40,000.
“If we can put £40,000 into disabled sport on annual basis, then we will see the impacts.”
AITC fundraising and events manager, Millie Lanz, played a prominent role in the organisation of the ride and aims to run an event on the same scale each year.
“It was more successful than we could have hoped for and it exceeded our expectations.
“A lot of effort was put in by myself and Michael, as well as Rod and Maria Lambert from Giant, and thankfully it all paid off.
“We’re in the process of raising awareness of the charity, so to meet our target and to have support from key people from Sussex businesses was a great achievement.”
Barber added, “Special thanks and credit should go to Michael, Millie, and the entire AITC team who put so much work in to securing support for the event, to American Express for sponsoring the ride, and to Giant of Shoreham for their terrific logistical and technical input and expertise.”
Original article