- By Greg
- In Social Value, Community, Construction, Pilgrims Hospice, Rail, Staff
AW GROUP – PILGRIMS HOSPICES CYCLE CHALLENGE 2025
Sunday 4th May saw our cycling team take part in various distances for the annual Pilgrims Hospices Cycle Challenge across Kent, this year being the 15th anniversary of this challenge which raise thousands of pounds for vital care across the hospices here in Kent.
Whilst the weather remained dry it was according to well over 600 riders who passed through the Preston Village stop “a bit windy”!
This was a warm-up event for our team in readiness for their Folkestone to Paris Cycle Challenge in June this year, again raising money for Pilgrims Hospices. They have been putting in the miles for the 3-day challenge to Paris, we’ve got a little bit of inter team rivalry, but they are all looking forward to crossing the finish line of The Champs-Élyséesas as a team!
Our team took part in various distances for this years Pilgrims Hospices Cycle Challenge:
- Tom Locke our MD here at AW Construction – 75 Miles
- Anthony Buckley our Project Manager here at AW Rail – 75 Miles
- Mat Avery our Estimator here at AW Construction – 50 Miles
And lastly, the hero of the day and to quote Frank directly:
“That was truly the worst experience of my life. An overweight, unfit man should not have attempted that. I was literally last man back.”
Frank Slegg our Contracts Manager here at AW Construction – 100 Miles!
The Pilgrims Cycle Challenge takes a lot of organising; 1140 cyclists took part in this year’s event so far raising over £126,000 in this the 15th Year of the Challenge.
This year saw an additional 15-mile route which meant that over 350 miles of route needed to be signed (in just two days!), 5 rest stops to be opened and stocked with refreshments and one big event village to set up!
In addition, there were more than 10 recoveries due to mechanical issues within 2.5 hours (this is exceptional and normally they have around 3-4 maximum on the day) this added another layer of challenges to overcome in the early afternoon this year – a big thank you to the 5 recovery drivers. They also had a small number of minor accidents, which were all handled extremely well by the medics and teams on site.
This year 96 volunteers helped with cheering on the entrants, directing, making tea, serving food, bell ringing, car park marshalling and the many other roles that they likely played on the day!
The Cycle Challenge is more than just a cycle ride – it’s a celebration of our entire community. Where families, friends and colleagues come together and go the extra mile to support their local hospice. Many participants take on the Cycle Challenge in memory of someone special, where every mile becomes a way of saying thank you, ensuring that the next family who needs us receives the same compassionate care, now, and in the future.
You can support our fundraising by donating to our dedicated Just Giving Page for Pilgrims Hospices here:
AW Group is a multi-disciplined construction company providing a broad range of support and manpower across building and rail projects.
Our Fields are:
AW Construction – We offer an outstanding UK-wide fit out service, taking care of everything from scheduling rollouts & ordering materials to assistance with design and onsite delivery
AW Rail – We use the very best labour force and a proactive approach to deliver first-class construction and maintenance projects across the rail industry
AW Labour – We provide a high-calibre blue collar and white-collar workforce with a diverse range of skills, to support the construction and rail industries
