News: Over £12,000 raised for Kingston Hospital

Over the weekend, members of Kingston Wheelers Cycling Club jumped on their turbo trainers to raise money for staff at Kingston Hospital by tackling a virtual elevation challenge.

News: Over £12,000 raised for Kingston Hospital

Climbing 200,000 metres for the NHS – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kwcc-elevation-challenge

This weekend members of Kingston Wheelers Cycling Club jumped on their turbo trainers to raise money for staff at Kingston Hospital by tackling a virtual elevation challenge. With a huge turn out from 61 members, we obliterated our original aim of scaling the 43,316 metres of the Seven Summits, with a final elevation of 206,996 metres – 4.7 times our original target.

The event took place in support of Kingston Hospital Charity, which provides invaluable support services to NHS staff. We have seen an amazing response from the local community in Kingston and beyond, with donations totalling £12,000 after a week of fundraising. The money raised will contribute to the staff wellness centre which provides showers, beds, counselling services, and a new foodbank service that allows staff to pick up essential food and groceries during the lockdown period.

Amongst the 61 members who rode there were some impressive individual efforts with Alice Lethbridge, Gregg Ball and Harry Bunnell all completing individual virtual Everesting rides of 8,864 metres plus. Alice’s ride was especially impressive as she set a new record for the fastest women to complete a virtual Everesting on the Alpe du Zwift. What’s more impressive is that it wasn’t pre-planned;

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“I’ve only been on Zwift just under a month and knew nothing about vEverests until my clubmate Harry started nudging me with the idea last week. I’d read the Everest rules on Thursday in case I felt ok to carry on past 5,000 metres, but I didn’t make the call until my 6th ascent of the Alpe. I could see I was on pace to break the women’s vEverest record and when my coach gave me the go ahead, that was enough. My third wind came and I went into 12 TT hour mode topping 8,848 metres in just under 9 hours and 24 minutes. I’m so pleased with how much we’ve raised for Kingston hospital and with how many members got involved. The event was great fun – at times it was like being on a club ride, one of the things I’ve missed the most during lockdown.”

We had 10 members clock up over 5,000 metres with their rides, including ultra rider Jasmijn Muller who took on three ascents of Ventoux totalling 5,360 metres in a super quick time, grabbing several QOMs in the process. It was great to see lots of new members getting stuck in. Shout out to Ben, Moira, Eimear, Natalie and Mags who all clocked up over 3,000 metres after only a few rides with the club.

Mark Aldred celebrated his Birthday with a couple of ascents, and was gifted a tow on Fabian Cancellera’s wheel on the Alpe du Zwift for part of the climb, whilst other members were excited to spot Mark Cavendish out on his half Everest ride. Massive thanks from everyone at Kingston Wheelers for all the support and generous donations. Many of us have a strong connection with the Hospital over the years and it means a lot to be able to give a little something back.

Stay safe and see you at the summit!