A challenge for a cause

For the past six years cyclists from near and far have circled Leicestershire for the joy of cycling, raising funds for needy people in our community. Due to a ‘spanner in the works’ we sadly had to cancel the event this year.

And so… this SUMMER we challenge you, your friends and your family to take part in your own personal challenge for Open Hands! We usually raise around £8,000 each year and so we ask for your help in raising money and together riding or walking a total of 8,000 miles!

You may wish to pick a distance to achieve in one day or perhaps fancy a longer challenge spread across a few weeks – it’s up to you how you take part. For those of you who regularly ride with us we’ve put together a few suggested landmarks to enable you to cover the North, South, East and West of Leicestershire again this year.

So what next?

Plan Your Challenge. No matter how far you plan to cycle, walk, run, row, unicycle or whatever other means of travel you may wish to use (!) it’s time to plan your route and get training! We’ve put together a suggested 20, 50 and 80 mile cycle challenge below and also a suggested list of areas to walk. But don’t let these limit you if you don’t live near by. Start Fundraising. Make sure your hard work counts. Set up a Just Giving page, share it with others and see how much you can raise! If you use Strava you can link it into your fundraising page so that you can share your progress with others. Every penny raised will help those suffering poverty in Leicester over the next 12 months. Share Your Photos. Take a photo of you and/or your group completing your challenge and share it with us on social media (Facebook, Twitter or Instagram) @OpenHandsLeics so that we can share it with others and cheer you on! Share Your Miles. Once you’ve completed your challenge make sure to let us know how many miles you managed to travel! Update your Just Giving page, tag us on social media (@OpenHandsLeics) or send us an email at: admin@openhandsleicester.org.uk to help us to reach our 8,000 mile target! Celebrate! It’s time to take a deep breath and pat yourself on the back. Keep an eye out on this page and on our social media channels and we’ll let you know how many miles we travelled together and how much money we managed to raise for Open Hands charity!

The 20 Mile Cycling Challenge

North – Soar Valley Watermead Water Park

South – Great Central Way to Blaby

East – Rutland Water Cycle path

West – Desford Bird Garden to Thornton reservoir

These maps centre on the city of Leicester. Your home location may be different so please adapt the map to fit where you live.

The 50 Mile Cafe Cycling Challenge

(see http://halfwaycoffee.com/?region=Leicestershire)

The 80 Mile Cycling Challenge

From your location, cycle to the following four famous landmarks:

North – The BBC Transmission tower near to Waltham the Wold

South – The Nasby Civil War Battle Memorial

East – Rutland Water dam.

West – Moira Furnace

(or click here for more Leicestershire cycling maps)

The Walking Challenge

North – The Outwoods to Buck Hill

South – Fosse Way to High Cross

East – Quenby Hall to Hungarton

West – The Battlefield Line Canal

(or click here for more Leicestershire walks)

Find previous years’ route maps below for your interest:

Past Routes with GPX files

2019 Route Map

2018 Route Map

Thank you for your support.