Cupar men are super men

If pedalling 100 miles for charity seems impressive, then put yourself in the cycling shoes (and cleats) of two North East Fife fundraisers who added 500 miles to the challenge by riding from Cupar to the London start line of the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 in London.

52 year old Leuchars-based 612 Sqn FTRS Warrant Officer Nick Styles from Springfield and systems accountant Ally Syme (58), of Cupar, (pictured above, Ally left) are no strangers to epic cycle journeys.

Between them they’ve ridden coast to coast across the USA, completed the UK national 3 peaks challenge and cycled from John O’Groats to Land’s End – twice!

On this occasion they were doing it to raise money for St Andrews-based charity Worldwide Cancer Research (WCR).

“We needed to find a way to get to London to start the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100, which was our primary goal,” explained Nick. “Then we asked ourselves, why take a plane, train or car down when you could cycle to the starting line? With this in mind, the decision was made there and then and the challenge then expanded enormously to cycle down to London from Scotland on a five-day adventure before starting the 100 mile ride to Surrey on 31 July.”

Despite their extensive experience the cyclists didn’t slack in training and regularly hit the local roads ahead of the long cycle south.

Before the pair set off on 25 July they had already raised nearly £2000 for the charity, due to great support from friends and colleagues.

Nick said: “The local community around Fife, and Cupar in particular, was very generous.”

The Cupar Co-operative, where Nicks’ wife Shelley works as a supervisor, managed to persuade colleagues to part with their money in support of the ride to significant effect. Along with this Nick and Ally both received great support from The Imperial Bar patrons in Cupar, where they both partake in a beer from time to time.

A special mention must be made for a significant donation of £500 that was made by Mr Murray Simpson, a catering accountant who works for civilian contractor ISS at Leuchars and used to work alongside Nick.

The charity ride took place on 31 July from Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London and then followed a 100-mile route on closed roads through the capital and into Surrey’s countryside. It finished on The Mall in central London, shortly before 150 professional cyclists race in the Prudential Ride London-Surrey Classic on a similar route, including recent three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome.

Nick and Ally both completed the gruelling test of stamina from Scotland to London and were in good spirits after completing the last leg of the journey.

“It was a magnificent achievement,” said Nick, adding: “We are enormously proud of what we have done for Worldwide Cancer Research.”

The total raised was an outstanding £2360.