10:40 am, October 25, 2011
SUBARU UK’s national cycle relay has finally ended raising more than £20K for the Japanese tsunami.
59 dealers took part in the cycling challenge which covered more 3,500 miles of the UK in 60 legs.
The charitable event which began in August ended last weekend with the money raised – more than £20k – being donated to people affected by the Japanese tsunami.
The challenge involved the entire Subaru UK dealer network and took in all four corners of the British Isles. Employees at each dealership volunteered to cycle a leg between their showroom and the next site in the relay, with distances varying from 15 to a lung-bursting 130 miles.
Customers showed their generosity by digging deep with sponsorship donations for the cyclists taking part. Some even took to the saddle and rode a leg of the relay themselves. People like long-time Carstins Subaru patron, Stuart Birch from Loxley, Warwickshire, who cycled 46 miles.
There were thrills and spills too. Aberdeenshire Subaru dealership, Lawrence of Kemnay’s brand manager, Scott Taylor, hit an incredible 52mph while riding a downhill section of his relay leg. And Warwickshire-based Unity Subaru’s Matthew Callow had a more torrid time of it, however, catching his wheel on a disused rail track and losing his saddle in the ensuing crash with many miles still to ride.
Lord Edmiston, the chairman of IM Group, said: ‘The Cycle Relay has been a huge success. We wanted to achieve two things with our fund raising efforts; to identify a specific project in Japan that we could support and where there would be real, tangible benefits and secondly, to involve as many of our dealers as possible. I’m delighted that the vast majority got involved with the project and did their bit for this worthwhile cause.’
The fundraising is set to continue until the middle of December, with prize-draw tickets taking over from charitable cyclists in a bid to bring in the cash.
Showroom visitors can purchase tickets to enter the draw to win an Outback 2.5 SE Lineartronic worth £28,075. Up for grabs is a new version of the vehicle which acted as a support car throughout the relay, carrying spare cycles and bike parts for participating cyclists.
All donations raised are going to AAR Japan (Association for Aid Relief) where they will pay for mobile clinic services which provide paramedics, nurses and medical supplies to those displaced by the earthquake. People can also donate via Text Giving – send a text message to 70070, entering AARJ11 and the amount you wish to donate.
