This week they hit the halfway mark – with 893 miles ridden!
It was Hodge the Cat who was centre of attention for our intrepid cyclists on Week 3 of the relay to launch the new Cathedrals Cycle Route that links every one of our Church of England Cathedrals.
They started the week in London with a team leaving St Albans Cathedral and riding the 23 miles to St Paul’s Cathedral. Here they met up with entertainer Timmy Mallet, who joined them to ride across the city to Westminster Abbey and onto Southwark Cathedral passing the Covid wall which features over 150,000 red hearts to remember all those who have died from the pandemic.
It was Hodge the Cat at Southwark Cathedral who stole the show, and appropriately was handed the baton by the sculptor and designer herself, Hannah Cutler who had joined her dad in London (with her mum, Jane) to ride some of the new Cathedrals Cycle Route – and picked up a Santander Bike specially for the journey!
The launch of the Cathedrals Cycle Route
Keen cyclist and canon missioner at Southwark Cathedral, the Revd Canon Jay Colwill joined the team riding the 32 miles from Southwark to Rochester. Jay plans to ride the complete route later this summer.
Rochester Cathedral saw the baton passed and a team set off to ride the 29 miles to Canterbury where a special circular route had been devised by Canterbury Cathedral to allow cyclists to take in some of the best scenery and churches in their area.
Friday saw the longest stage of the CCR so far, Canterbury to Guildford a mere 96 miles before reaching the half way mark of the route
- Saturday 19th, Guildford-Chichester-Portsmouth is day 21 and half way through the relay. Anne from AEC joining for the weekend. David Goodman, who rode round all the cathedrals in 2000, will be meeting the cyclists at Portsmouth Cathedral
- Sunday 20th Portsmouth-Winchester-Salisbury – Steve Brine MP (local Conservative MP, very keen on green issues, may be meeting the group at Winchester Cathedral)
A team of cyclists set off from Newcastle Cathedral on Sunday May 30 – at the start of Cycling UK’s Bike Week on a relay to ride 42 Cathedrals in 42 days to launch this new kind of pilgrimage route, the Cathedrals Cycle Route (CCR).
The CCR is a unique partnership between Sustrans, Cycling UK, the British Pilgrimage Trust and the Association of English Cathedrals that links all 42 Church of England cathedrals in a new initiative to promote greener travel and mental and physical wellbeing.
The 2,000 mile Cathedrals Cycle Route is the invention of academic, entrepreneur and keen cyclist Shaun Cutler, from Northumbria University, and is designed to help us all out of lockdown with opportunities for short cycle rides between cathedrals, new partnerships and fundraising for physical and mental well-being activities.
Shaun said:
“The Cathedrals Cycle Route is about connecting our historic cathedrals and enjoying the spaces between them.
“Now more than ever, after a year of living with the coronavirus pandemic, this is a way to support people’s mental and physical health and promote the mission of England’s cathedrals through pilgrimage, wellbeing and heritage.”
Read more about the Cathedrals Cycle Route:
