A charity bike ride is halfway towards hitting its £100,000 fundraising target.

Members of the TeamFORGE 2021 Cycle Challenge recently met with St Albans MP Daisy Cooper and local businesses to help promote the ride and launch the next stage of their campaign to raise funds for Rennie Grove Hospice.

They will take to the road in September on a 500km round trip from St Albans that will pass through Great Windsor Park, include a lap of the Isle of Wight, a tour of The New Forest and complete a number of difficult climbs in the Chilterns to bring up a total of 5,000 metres of climbing.

Tim Taylor, who is co-ordinating the sponsorship campaign for TeamFORGE, said: “We’re delighted to be able to get all our sponsors together and particularly to announce Bryan and Mercer solicitors as our headline sponsors.

"Together they have already taken us almost halfway to our fundraising target of £100,000.”

Daisy, who is a patron of the hospice charity, thanked everyone present for their tremendous generosity in sponsoring the group of 40 amateur cycling enthusiasts.

Daisy said: “Despite TeamFORGE’s plans being delayed by a year due to the pandemic, they haven’t once wavered in their determination to raise this money to help Rennie Grove provide its vital services."

Fundraising director Tracey Hancock said: “We have to raise £20,000 a day from all our sources to keep running. If TeamFORGE can hit its target they will cover the cost of a healthcare assistant and a physiotherapist for a full year and many hours of specialist nursing care on top. It’s thanks to fundraising like this and the donations we receive that we can carry on.”

TeamFORGE undertook a similar challenge six years ago, and decided that in view of the ongoing need for hospice at home services they would repeat the exercise, but raise their aim to double the amount they hope to raise.

Shelley Spyrides, managing director of Bryan and Mercer, said: “Like so many people locally, we are extremely aware of how much Rennie Grove does to help people facing life limiting illnesses and very proud to help the fundraising effort towards its target.”

Shelley will also be one of the 40 cyclists undertaking the challenge as the riders aim to raise another £50,000 from personal sponsorship in order to get the team to their target.

To support them go to justgiving.com/campaign/TeamFORGECC2021.