Cyclists will be setting off from Norwich this week as part of a nationwide 2,000-mile relay ride to connect the country's 42 Church of England cathedrals.
The inaugural Cathedrals Cycle Route [CCR] – which started from Newcastle Cathedral on Sunday, May 30 to coincide with Bike Week – has arrived in Norfolk.
A specially commissioned CCR baton will be changing hands in Norwich on Thursday and Friday this week, the 13th and 14th days of the 42-day challenge.
About 12 cyclists will deliver the baton to Norwich on Thursday afternoon after completing a 54-mile route from Ely Cathedral.
They are due to arrive before 2.30pm and a welcoming committee will be waiting to cheer them on as they cross the Norwich finish line.
The following morning, a new group of 12 cyclists along with two rickshaw riders will pedal out of the Cathedral’s Erpingham Gate and start the 42-mile journey to St Edmundsbury Cathedral in Bury St Edmunds.
The Dean of Norwich, the Very Revd Jane Hedges, will bless the cyclists before they set off at 9.30am.
The event aims to celebrate the nation’s Cathedrals and promote greener travel and mental and physical wellbeing.
The Very Revd Hedges said: "It is wonderful to join all our fellow Anglican Cathedrals across the country in hosting the new Cathedrals Cycle Route.
"Relays are all about teamwork and it is really inspiring to see cyclists from all over the country taking up this new challenge."
The relay ride is raising money for local mental health charity Norfolk and Waveney Mind and also Cycling UK’s Break the Cycle appeal, which aims to help improve people's wellbeing through the charity’s community cycling clubs, activities and projects nationwide.
It is hoped that the relay ride will become an annual event and will encourage more and more people to get on their bikes this year and beyond.
And it is the result of a partnership between Sustrans, Cycling UK, the British Pilgrimage Trust and the Association of English Cathedrals.
For more information about the whole Cathedrals Cycle Route visit https://www.cyclinguk.org/route/whole-cathedrals-cycle-route
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