More than 1,000 cyclists saddled up on Sunday for St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s thrilling Tour de Moor challenge across Dartmoor, riding as one to raise funds for the charity’s compassionate end-of-life care.
Community-spirited riders wearing distinctive branded T-shirts, turned the moor blue in support of the vital services St Luke’s provides for local families affected by terminal illness.
Every time Harry Stevens and his family drove past the Tour de Moor billboard he would always ask to take part, desperate to join the experienced cyclists as they took on the epic rides across Dartmoor, but always being just a little bit too young for the longer routes.
Finally, for the first time, it is Harry’s time to ride, the now 9-year-old can ride alongside his dad on our adventurer style 28km route on Sunday.
Cycling is a family affair. This is especially true when it comes to Lisa and Dave and their three children who will be getting on their bikes next week for our hospice care.
The family have all signed up to our Tour de Moor on Sunday 13 October and are ready to put their bike skills to the test in memory of Lisa’s grandmother, Marnie.
This will be the second year the family have taken part in our annual cycling challenge on Dartmoor, last year raising £500 for our patient care.
The couple’s three children, Olly, 13, Lucy 11 and Zoe, 8 will be joining their parents on their bikes along with their aunts and uncle and cousin.
A granddaughter who has just learnt to ride a bike will be putting her skills to the test at our Tour de Moor.
7-year-old Grace Pepperell from Plympton learnt to ride her bike six months ago, fast forward to Sunday 13 October and she will be taking on our 11km family friendly mini-moor.
More than 1,100 cyclists saddled up on Sunday for St Luke’s Hospice Plymouth’s thrilling Tour de Moor challenge across Dartmoor, conquering craggy kilometres and raising funds for the charity’s compassionate end of life care.
In glorious sunshine, the community-spirited riders of all ages and abilities proudly donned their azure branded T-shirts to turn the moor blue in support of the vital services St Luke’s provides for local families affected by terminal illness.
Negotiating the rugged wilds of the moor, 686 participants pitted their two-wheel skills against the toughest, hill-filled terrain for 52km, while 237 took it down a gear for the brand new 33km Granite and Gears Cycle Trail route, and another 138 opted for a gentler, family-friendly 11km ride along the tarmac paths of Drake’s Trail.
One of St Luke’s flagship annual events, every £1,000 raised by Tour de Moor represents a full package of specialist care at home, free of charge, for one patient and their family on the charity’s patch which reaches across Plymouth and out to more rural areas around Tavistock, Dartmoor and the South Hams.
In previous years it’s often been a battle of mud, along with the sweat and gears, but apart from a few splashy puddles this year’s challenge was more about keeping hydrated in unusually warm temperatures above 20C.
Amid the throng of keen riders were many taking part to pay tribute to a loved one who was looked after by St Luke’s at the end of their life.
Taking on the 33km was Sam Downing, 37, cycling in memory of his dad, Trevor Downing from Plympton, and his cousin David Lawrence from Bigbury, who both received care from St Luke’s nursing teams, as well as friend Godfrey Jay from Cornwall, all of whom died quite recently.
“It’s all about doing something to give back to the people who helped care for them,” said Sam, who raised more than £200 in sponsorship and was riding alongside work colleague Rhys.
“My cousin David passed away just about a month ago and this would have been his 34th birthday, so it feels good to be able to do Tour de Moor today. He had care from St Luke’s at home.
“Dad had prostate cancer and he was in and out of St Luke’s at Turnchapel two or three times in the last six months of his life.”
Possibly the youngest rider confidently braving the 33km route – and certainly one of the event’s biggest fundraisers – was George Lake, aged eight, from Tavistock. His total topped £1,000 thanks to sponsorship from family, friends and other generous donors, including local company DCUK.
Dad, Matthew, who was pedaling the miles with his son, said: “George decided he wanted to do a charity cycle ride. We are lucky not to have needed St Luke’s care, but it’s a cause that is so well known and respected locally that we wanted to support its services.”
Mum, Anna, added: “We see St Luke’s cars out visiting people in our area and we know in years to come our family may need them.”
Teenagers Emily Wragg, 14, and brother Ben, 17, rode with their dad Gareth, in memory of their Nanny, Anne Briggs, and had totted up more than £300 in sponsorship.
Ben said: “St Luke’s helped our Nan out a lot at home at the end of her life and we wanted to do something to help St Luke’s.”
Making it a fun-filled family day out on the gentler 11km route along Drakes Trail for the second year running were the Rixons from Sherford.
Alfie, aged five, and his sister, Annabel, eight, were joined by their intrepid teddy bears Green Bow and Pink Bow, and their dad, Edward.
He said: “I do Tour de Moor and Men’s Day Out every year and would usually cycle the 33km route, but these two aren’t quite big enough yet, although they’ve been riding bikes since they were very young and could do it easily!”
Shane Darwood and his four-year-old rescue cocker spaniel Jess were both having a blast negotiating the moors on his e-bike – a popular choice for the slightly less energetic cyclists. He said: “What a day for it. Absolutely beautiful!”
St Luke’s Head of Fundraising, Penny Hannah, said: “I think this year’s Tour de Moor has been really special because times are tough for a lot of people. That almost 1200 riders still made sure they came out to support St Luke’s work in the community is incredible. Every single one of them should feel proud that they are helping us to keep our services running for the people who need us.
“Of course, we could not have put on something of this scale without our sponsors Print Copy Scan. Huge thanks to them and to everyone who took part in this year’s challenge, plus our army of volunteers, Dartmoor National Park, Maristow Estate, David May Motor Services, The Hire Shop, Devon and Cornwall 4×4 Response and Dartmoor Search and Rescue Team. You have all done your community proud!”
Register your interest for Tour de Moor 2024.
An 8-year-old with big fundraising goals will be taking on the moors on Sunday 8 October at our Tour de Moor.
Harry Totham and his dad Paul will be taking part in our Tour de Moor for the first time this year, with high hopes to raise ‘BIG’ money for our compassionate care.
The self-confessed bike fanatics, from Elburton will be taking on our 33km route, which is brand new for this year, giving riders a fresh challenge to embark on.
Paul said: “Harry and I love anything and everything bike related. We are entered into the 33km race as Harry said he wanted to challenge himself, as in his words ‘11km wouldn’t be a challenge for him and he wanted to raise BIG money!’ If he could he probably would have gone for the 52km but there is always next year! (And knowing Harry this will be his challenge next time!).”
The pair have been making sure to test their pedals before the big day, with Harry attending a weekly cycling club as well as training with his dad.
“Harry and I go out on Mondays for a long ride. He trains at his cycling club Dartmoor Velo (which I am a coach for) on a Wednesday and Saturday and often races on Sundays at Regional events. It’s such a great friendly sport where the support of the other club members gives it a real family feel.”
So far, Harry and his dad have raised £350 on their JustGiving page, completely smashing the £100 fundraising target! This means they have been entered into our draw to win an exciting prize!
To follow their fundraising journey click here.
Like many of our riders at our Tour de Moor, Paul and Harry may not have seen our care in action first hand, but they have seen the impact our care teams have in the local community.
“We have been fortunate enough not to be impacted by anyone in our family or friends needing the support of St Luke’s, but Harry wanted to raise money for a worthy charity. Since moving down here 6 years ago from London, we have heard and seen the great work St Luke’s provides for local people in their time of need. So many people raise money for charity after they have been affected by something which is amazing, but how amazing is it for an 8-year-old wanting to raise money for a charity that has not affected his life.”
Our Tour de Moor is sponsored by Print, Copy, Scan Ltd. Time is running out to sign up, with spaces limited, you only have until Wednesday 4 October to register, so sign up now and get ready to take on Dartmoor.
Don’t forget that your registration fee only covers the costs of us running the event – it’s the money you raise through donations and sponsorship that will help us continue providing compassionate end of life care, free of charge, for everyone in our community who needs it.
This year’s Tour de Moor marks a special occasion for one of our dedicated riders.
Ten years ago, Ross Blackmore decided to get on his bike for our compassionate care, fast forward a decade and he is ready to take on his 10th charity ride on Sunday 8 October.
Ross, from Down Thomas, is a self-confessed cycling fanatic. Being no stranger to mountain bike racing, Ross will be taking on our 52km ‘Beast mode’ on the day, a tough on and off road adventure to test the endurance and skill level of even the most experienced of cyclists.
Like many of our riders, the story behind Ross’ initial participation lies in memory of his grandad, Cyril Hollow. Cyril was cared for by St Luke’s 11 years ago at the age of 83, after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He spent his last few weeks at our specialist unit at Turnchapel.
“I take part in the Tour de Moor to raise money for St Luke’s because of grandad being in there, to continue to raise money. The care that St Luke’s goes to, looking after people at the end of their life. Nothing is ever too much trouble. They made me and my family feel at ease and kept us updated all the time.”
So what keeps Ross coming back year on year? “For me it is getting out and exploring Dartmoor. It is nice to be out enjoying the fresh air as well as for the challenge and pushing your limits.
“The day itself is fantastic, there is a great atmosphere, I love it. Chatting to people on the way around, laughing, banter, it’s just a great event.”
Will you be joining Ross on the Moors in October? With just a month to go until the boldest cycling event in the South West, sponsored by Print, Copy, Scan Ltd, now is the time to sign up.
However, like Ross, it is the money you raise in sponsorship that makes the real difference. Providing hospice care free of charge to our patients is something we feel so strongly about. But this is only possible due to the kindness and generosity of you, our supporters.
If every Tour de Moor cyclist commits to raising at least £100, we’ll collectively have enough to care for 100 families at home at the most crucial of times.
What’s more if you raise over £100 in sponsorship and have paid it in by 26 November 2023 you will be entered into a draw to win an exciting prize! Simply set up your JustGiving page when you sign up and see how much you can raise!
Signed up already and can’t wait to get those pedals turning? Cyclists can now download the GPX route for both the 33km and 52km routes from our website to get you kitted out for the big day.
For many of our Tour de Moor riders, cycling is their passion and runs through their veins.
This is absolutely true for one of our younger riders, 8-year-old George Lake from Tavistock, who will be achieving his New Year’s wish on Sunday 8 October.
While many toddlers were learning to walk, George was learning to ride. George’s mum Anna Lake, recounts where his love of cycling first started. “He has been into cycling since he was old enough to toddle along on a balance bike – which was when he was about 18 months old! He now loves riding on the moors and going downhill riding at Gawton Gravity hub.”
No stranger to a challenge, George even recently competed in the South West XC series where he came third overall in the Under 8’s category.
Clearly no novice when it comes to cycling, George first heard about our Tour de Moor charity cycling event last year and knew straight away that he wanted to be part of the action this year. So much so, that when writing a list of things he wanted to achieve in 2023 at New Year, one of his wishes was to take part in Tour de Moor and raise money for St Luke’s while doing so.
George has already got his JustGiving page up and running, aiming to raise as much as possible so that we can continue to provide care and support to hundreds of people and their families who are going through the hardest of times.
While the family have not had to call upon our services previously, Anna has seen where St Luke’s sits within our local community and knows how important it is to support our services to prepare for whatever the future may hold.
“Although we don’t have an attachment to St Luke’s in a personal way, we recognise it’s a great local charity doing important work in our community and one day, we may need to call upon their support.”
George will be taking on the 33km route with his dad Matt, which this year has been revamped for an improved ride, featuring plenty of on and off road challenges to put his skills to the test.
During the summer holidays, George has been kickstarting his training in preparation for the event. Anna said: “George rides on the moors most weeks with his dad and over the coming weeks they’ll be doing some longer training rides in the run up to the big day!”
Like George, you don’t have to have witnessed our care first-hand to take part in our Tour de Moor. By taking part and fundraising for our care, you can ensure that yours and your loved ones’ futures are cared for, whatever they may hold.
The registration fee for our Tour de Moor, sponsored by Print, Copy, Scan Ltd, only covers the costs of running the event, which is why the money you raise in sponsorship means so much to us. If every Tour de Moor cyclist commits to raising at least £100, we’ll collectively have enough to care for 100 families at home at the most crucial of times.
What’s more if you raise over £100 in sponsorship and have paid it in by 26 November 2023 you will be entered into a draw to win an exciting prize! So don’t forget to set up your JustGiving page here and join the big-hearted bunch of cyclists taking on Dartmoor in October.
Register now and be part of something special.
Kind-hearted line painting company JHB were quick to come to the rescue when we needed urgent help to mark out parking spaces for patients’ visitors at our specialist unit.
It’s crucial that visitors coming to see our patients can park easily at our Turnchapel site, especially when time to spend with their loved one is running short. But the original lines were old and worn, making it hard for people to see where the reserved spaces were.
After deciding to relocate the visitor spaces to a safer, more obvious and convenient place, we appealed to Devon firm JHB to complete the job for us. We were thrilled when they jumped at the chance to provide their skills and services free of charge for their local hospice.
“The thought of someone panicking, wanting to get to the hospice quickly and park without a problem really made me think,” said Tom Brooks, JHB’s senior estimator. “We understand that something important like this can pop up when there isn’t the budget for it, so we were delighted to help ease the situation.
“We are quite an open company, always willing to do our bit. There was such a good reason for having this area lined fast. It was a no-brainer for us to be honest.”
Head of Facilicites Louisa Duggan-Smith said: “At St Luke’s our care extends beyond the wards to make sure your experience of our services is positive, friendly and free of unnecessary stresses.
“It’s a priority for visitors coming to see our patients – sometimes urgently – to be able to park easily, close to the main entrance of our specialist unit. That’s been made so much easier with the generosity of this good-hearted local company, and we are so grateful to them.”
JHB is a family firm run by James Hodge-Brooks and his wife, Beth, and Tom is their nephew. Based at South Brent but covering the whole of the UK and into Europe, they paint lines and lettering for major clients, including national highways and large corporate car parks, as well as providing special surfaces for sports grounds and playgrounds.
Tom arranged for one of JHB’s teams to take time out of their busy schedule last week to spend a morning at our Turnchapel site getting the job done urgently and to the highest standards, and he was delighted to come down with them to find out more about the hospice.
“I’d heard about St Luke’s work through family and friends, but on a personal level it was great to come and hear what the organisation does and why it is so important,” he said.
“We had a two-man team – Dave and Adrian – on the job. They had to clean away everything that was there already, and sweep any lose stones away. All the bays had to be set out with a chalk line, then they marked out all the lettering before making the final thermoplastic markings.
“I have to say it does look fantastic with the white parking bays, the lettering and the red walkway lines. Because we did the parking bays, it made the disabled bays on the other side of them look a little bit sad so we refreshed them as well and did the pedestrian symbol too. It’s the small details that count!”
Our avid cyclists choose to take on our Tour de Moor for a variety of reasons, including the thrill and challenge. But for many, there is a much more sentimental reason for taking part.
Callum Storr and Cameron Oakley are flying the flag for fundraising in amongst their training for the charity ride on Sunday 8 October.
The 19-year-olds from Plymouth and Lawhitton, Launceston, have not only been pounding the pedals in preparation for the big day, but they have been working hard to secure donations from friends and family as part of their fundraising journeys.
Both friends have experienced the care St Luke’s provides within their families and so decided to honour their relative’s memories by aiming to each raise at least £100 for our compassionate care on their JustGiving pages.
Callum is fundraising in memory of his great grandma, who was cared for by St Luke’s. “What’s better than doing what you love and raising money for a charity which helped my family when my great nan Pat had cancer and needed it the most?” he said. “So, I thought it was my time to give back and to help the charity that helped our family.”
Cameron will be cycling in memory of both his aunt and uncle, Sue Strohmeyer and Peter Oakley, who both received our care.
Cameron said: “My uncle Peter and I shared a birthday but unfortunately I never had the chance to meet him as he died of a heart attack before my birth. I’ve been told by my dad that St Luke’s helped him through his end-of-life process which is very comforting to hear.
“My auntie Sue, I happily had the pleasure of meeting and seeing fairly often when I was younger. She sadly had cancer and in 2012 we thought we would all go on holiday to Turkey for her last holiday. A year later she was the placed under St Luke’s care for her end-of-life care, I always remember going in and talking to her about my day or other day to day things.”
The pair will be taking on the 52km route, which has been enhanced for 2023 and will see them face plenty of on and off-road challenges to put their cycling skills to the ultimate test. Despite the unrelenting rain, they have been busy getting out on their bikes at any opportunity this summer, practising some longer rides to prepare them for the big day.
Callum said: “I’ve only just started getting into mountain biking as a hobby recently because of Cameron, who took me on my first proper mountain bike trail from Burrator Reservoir to Princetown and back where I fell in love with mountain biking. So Cameron told me about Tour de Moor and what it’s about, so I agreed to do it with him while raising money for St Luke’s and doing what I love.”
This will be the second year in a row that Cameron will be taking part in our Tour de Moor, but this year he is determined to raise as much as he can through his fundraising.
He said: “I did Tour De Moor last year for the first time but unfortunately didn’t make a fundraiser page due to me signing up so late. This year I thought I’d do Tour de Moor again but try to raise as much money as I possibly could to help others.”
While jumping on your bike is the first step, many may not realise that your registration fee only covers the costs of running the event, it is the money you raise in sponsorship for our Tour de Moor that makes the real difference. By setting up a JustGiving page like Callum and Cameron, you can help us to continue to provide compassionate end of life care, free of charge, for everyone in our community who needs it.
The inspiring duo have set themselves a goal of each raising £100, with the added challenge of doing the ride in fancy dress as a banana and flamingo if they achieve their goal.
If like Callum and Cameron, every Tour de Moor cyclist commits to raising at least £100, we’ll collectively have enough to care for 100 families at home at the most crucial of times, just like we did for their families.
What’s more if you raise over £100 in sponsorship and have paid it in by 26 November 2023 you will be entered into a draw to win an exciting prize! So don’t forget to set up your JustGiving page here and join the big-hearted bunch of cyclists taking on Dartmoor in October.
Sponsored by Print Copy Scan, a local supplier of printers and copiers, our Tour de Moor challenge is best known as an adrenaline-packed two-wheel quest that can test the skills, fitness, and endurance of even the toughest of cyclists. But it’s so much more than that. With three distances and difficulty levels to choose from, it’s the ultimate inclusive family friendly cycling adventure.
Sign up today here and join us as we ride as one for hospice care.
