Teams and individuals across St Edmundsbury are preparing to take part in a charity cycle ride in aid of St Nicholas Hospice Care which will take place on the day that hundreds of international female cyclists cross the finish line on Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds at the end of the inaugural Friends Life Women’s Tour.

A ladies team from Culford School and Amelia Richardson and her daughter Martha are among those in training for the Women on Wheels ladies charity cycle ride, sponsored by Rudlings Wakelam, which takes place on Sunday 11 May, the day Bury hosts the finish of the five-day Friends Life Women’s Tour.
 
At Culford School a group of seven teachers and 15 pupils from year 9 to year 12 will be taking part (see left).

Helen Baker, Head of EAL at Culford School, said: “We are all looking forward to the event and to raising money for St Nicholas Hospice.  In previous years, Culford pupils have cycled from London to Paris and they are hoping to organise a cycle from Bury (Manchester) to Bury St Edmunds in the future.”
 
Meanwhile Amelia Richardson, from Bury St Edmunds, is taking part with her ten-year-old daughter Martha, and has managed to get a group of friends involved too.

Amelia said: “I have decided to take part because I love cycling and I think it is a great event to be part of to celebrate not only the first Women’s Tour, but that it is also coming to Bury St Edmunds. 

“My ten-year-old daughter is also taking part, I think it's great to get women and girls involved in any sport  but especially cycling as it seems such a male dominated sport. You don't need any skill just a bike and we have some beautiful countryside to ride in. I think the event in great not just for Bury but for us girls for once!”
 
Participants will choose from a short (5 miles) or long (20 miles) route through countryside cycle paths starting at 8am and 8.30am (sign in from 7am). The rides will start in Charter Square and finish at the Abbey Gardens before the Friends Life Women's Tour’s grand finish on Angel Hill. The ride will be fully marshalled and signed and is open to women and girls eight and over of all abilities.
 
Mildenhall Cycling Club and the West Suffolk Wheelers and Triathlon Club are working with organisers Cycle Suffolk and supporters Suffolk Sport and Abbeycroft Leisure to make the event a fantastic fundraiser for St Nicholas Hospice Care.
 
There’s still time to register to take part at www.suffolksport.com/wow. Registration closes on Wednesday 7 May. The event costs £10 to enter (free for those under 16 who are accompanied by a paying adult) with participants receiving a goody bag. There will be a limited number of loan bikes available and a pre-event bike maintenance class.