Great Bakery Bike Ride Raises the Dough!

We are delighted to announce the total raised from the Great Bakery Bike Ride is a fantastic £76,000!

This is made up of £51,000 from sponsorship and fundraising, which will be split evenly to open 15 new Greggs Breakfast Clubs, giving an additional 600 primary school children a free, healthy breakfast, and to get our BBC Children in Need campaign for 2010 off to a great start!

An additional £25,000 will be donated by Greggs in 2011 to enable the 15 new Breakfast Clubs to stay open for 2 years, to help them get established.

This is a fantastic achievement, only made possible by the wonderful support of our shop and bakery teams and their families and friends around the country, and our customers.

A very big THANK YOU to you all!

And Finally….

Richard Hutton writes…

So that was the Great Bakery Bike Ride. 

Strangely enough I do feel a little sorry that it’s over, it seems very odd not to be out on a bike today.  I’m really glad to be home to my family now, and I’m delighted with the amount of money we’ve raised.  And I did love every minute of the journey.

Travelling around the country with so many wonderful colleagues and friends has been a real privilege.  It has of course taken a bit of effort as well, but the knees and backside will recover soon enough.  All of that now seems almost inconsequential compared with the overwhelming feeling of pride I have in having seen so many people get on bikes, or support friends and colleagues to get on bikes, and achieve things they didn’t realise they could.

The money may take a couple more days to count up as our shops assess what our customers have donated (in the teeth of a recession let’s remember) but we know that the total of all donations to the Great Bakery Bike Ride is at least £40k.  We’ll make a real difference to children across the country through BBC Children in Need and should be able to open an additional 10-15 Breakfast Clubs – a wonderful legacy.

There are so many people to thank for making this happen:
•   All of you who so generously donated – friends, colleagues, family, and those who gave through our shops and directly to us on the route.  I’ll always remember the elderly lady who emptied her purse into Robin’s hands.
•   Our bakeries, including GDS, for giving us such wonderful welcomes as we passed through and managed to raise funds whilst also supporting us with the logistics of moving so many riders and bikes around.
•   The support drivers, who kept us fed and watered whilst coping with all the inevitable incidents and accidents that occur along the way.  We really relied on you.
•   Our shop colleagues, who rattled the collection buckets once again and welcomed us where we stopped.
•   The riders: Robin and Paul for your ever-present support and great company; my fellow board members and colleagues from around the country (particularly those who led the way) and Mr Daley Thompson, who was a great encouragement to everyone who rode with him.
•   GSK for the Lucozade drinks, bars and gels that fuelled us along the way – they complemented our own supply of fresh-baked buns and cakes!
•   Gratterpalm, Steel and Biss Lancaster for promoting what we were trying to do, and our very own Natalie Hopper who quietly made sure things happened.
•   Michelle Dobson, who held the whole thing together brilliantly and coped cheerfully with everything thrown at her.  You should feel very proud of what we achieved Michelle.
•   The support team – Melanie, Steve, Richard, Jackie, David and Janet for logistics, fundraising, safety and generally good advice.
•   And our families.  Jo, Hayley and Alicia, you’ve made it possible for us to go and do this.  And Sarah Leaver – you were very, very brave.

So what now?  People keep asking me if we’ll do it all again next year!  It feels like we have the start of something special, so many people have enjoyed cycling and all the benefits that go with it.  We’ve proved that our bakeries aren’t so far apart really, and once again revealed the wonderful spirit that exists amongst Greggs people.

We’ll certainly do something and I’d love to hear your thoughts on what that might be.  In the meantime if you haven’t tried the Cycle to Work scheme it’s a great way to get cycling and reduce your car usage.

So thank you for the fun, the fundraising and the sheer effort you put into this great event.  I am really proud of everyone who got involved. 

One more thing to come – the grand total……  Watch this space!  Richard

and a message from Paul Ryan to his fellow 900-milers:

Richard and Robin,
Just turned on my computer after our ten day “holiday”, as Mrs Ryan calls it!  Went straight to the BakeryBikeRide blog to remind myself of our journey, and the memories of fantastic welcomes and smiley people came flooding back!

I thoroughly enjoyed our bakery bike ride and am really grateful you asked me to join in. 
I’m also very grateful you came back in one piece Richard!

I feel I’ve known Greggs for 27 years…the Gosforth finish today reminded me of visits in the ‘80s as a young auditor, Alicia has been with you since the early ‘90s and for the last three years Malcolm Simpson, your predecessor Richard, has been on the Board of Excelsyn.  Most importantly, since my student days I’ve been a loyal customer!

Having visited your bakeries and many of your shops and having had the great pleasure of cycling with loads of your colleagues and meeting support crews along the way, I think your business is full of fabulous people, who reflect perfectly the values which Greggs is known for.  This bike ride has demonstrated the massive enthusiasm and support your company has for getting behind good causes.  It was a privilege to be part of it.

So rest up my friends, for that’s what I’ll be doing.……and remember Robin, that at the top of every big hill is a great view!
Paul

The Peopleteamies…a poem!

An ode to the People team’s 64 mile  personal best….

One sunny Thursday in Appleby town
The People team gathered by a pub called the Crown
The purpose that day was a task to raise smiles
How would the team bike sixty four miles?  

At ten-thirty sharp down from the hills
Came the earlier raiders who talked of the thrills
Of climbing a mountain and flying down dales
They had flies on their glasses and wind in their sails

Hutton and Leaver and Alicia’s beau Paul
Who’d travelled a week and were having a ball
The Cumbrian team who were as fit as fiddle
And Hindmarsh caught drafting asleep in the middle

As we climbed the first hill we started to think
Why is young Rhodes wearing shoes that are pink?
The distraction they caused helped him displace the pain
That racked through his rear as his bum took the strain

Nashy forgot that her tyres needed air
So she traded her bike for one that was spare
That meant poor Kevin had drawn the short straw
He pedalled like hell then he pedalled some more

Walton the athlete looked sharp and felt strong
Downed a few Mars as she cycled along
With speed in her legs and power in her hips
Fuelled by the thought of some fish and some chips

Her pedalling was powered like a nuclear reactor
Her tyres looked like they would fit on a tractor
Kazia looked strong and with power in her boots
She looked like she’d keep on like this the whole route

Roisin our leader a talent quite budding
Dreamed of the finish and a battered black pudding
Cath kept on pushing with vigour and glee
By the end of the day she’d have her PB

In Penrith a greeting fit for a Lord
With burgers served up by a crowd who had roared
We said our goodbyes and set off on our way
With huge thanks to Claire for her help on the day

Just short of Carlisle as we stopped for some snap
Somebody noticed a tyre had gone flat
So the lads hung on back as the tyre was fixed
And helped their poor team mate get back in the mix

But a chain of events had been well set in motion
And puncture on puncture created commotion
By Gretna his guilt at disrupting the plan
Meant that he threw the old bike in the van

So on Nashy’s small bike he set off again
In the tightest of V’s formed by three honest men
Who carried him home in their cocooned slipstream   
This is what it feels like to work with a team

As the day lingered on faces looked worn
Would the bold cyclists hit Lockerbie by dawn?
But in the last few miles a sensation took hold
We all knew we’d make it, we’d all claim the Gold

In our last stop at Dalton we created a flap
A lady from Thailand demanded a snap
One got the impression that in this quiet street
Nothing much happens bar the bus once a week

Then out of the pack like a bat out of hell
One of the cyclists dug deep in her well
Her pedals a blur, her wheels making smoke
Came Kazia blitzing with flames from her spokes

“We did it, we did it” the whole team did scream
Sixty four miles by all of the team
Will you still love it, will you still care,
When it’s sixty four miles from here to there?
 Thanks to David Hindmarsh for the poem!

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU DID US PROUD!!

At 9.30am this morning (day 11), Richard, Robin and Paul led the Greggs Operating Board and Ian Gregg across the finish line at Gosforth Bakery, Newcastle.

What a journey…..over 900 miles in ten days; hundreds of punctures; an RAC rescue; an over-the-handlebars incident for Richard and numerous personal bests for many of the Greggs staff who joined the cyclists on route!

Thank you very much to Gosforth Bakery for the finish line welcome. 

We don’t yet know how much has been raised from the Great Bakery Bike Ride – we’ll post the amount when all the donations have been counted.  A really big THANK YOU to everyone who has helped out, supported, cycled, cheered and donated!

CONGRATULATIONS TO RICHARD, ROBIN AND PAUL FOR THIS AMAZING ACHIEVEMENT – YOU HAVE MADE US ALL VERY PROUD AND THANKS TO YOU, HAVE HELPED IMPROVE THE LIVES OF HUNDREDS OF DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN – WELL DONE!

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The England Football team might disappoint, but our cyclists go all the way!

Day 10 – Eyemouth to Balliol – 92 miles!!

Robin Leaver writes:

11.47:  Left Eyemouth this morning in bright sunshine and now 30 miles into our ride today so only about 50 to go on our epic journey (I’m almost sad!, well, not really.  Next stop Embleton for lunch and to pick up some more bikers.  Getting peckish! 

At 8.15 on Sunday evening a weary threesome and their merry band of fellow cyclists arrived at Balliol, to the cheers and tears of their families and friends from Greggs.  A fantastic buffet from Lynne and Pam at Balliol (thank you!) and champagne toast from Ken to celebrate a fantastic achievement on arrival in Newcastle.  We are so proud of you all!

Only the very last leg tomorrow – 2 miles from Balliol to Gosforth!

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Raymond’s Scottish Adventure!

Well, what a day!

After being piped into the Clydesmill bakery on Friday evening, we were also sent off in memorable fashion on Saturday morning  with the sound of vuvuzellas ringing in our ears.   Huge thanks to the Alan, Lesley and the team for their unforgettable hospitality.

This morning joining Richard Robin and Paul were eight additional riders including yours truly, hoping to reach the Edinburgh Bakery.   The weather was cool and overcast and pleasant to ride in.   We headed for Coatbridge and Airdrie – and had a well earned stop at the Airdrie shop for a breather and a photo.   Onward from there we made good progress towards Bathgate.   At 25 miles this was halfway to the bakery.   Another stop at the local shop and macaroni pies and sausage rolls all round was the order of the day.

We zipped through Livingston and then headed out towards Currie.   I found myself at the head of the pack on a busy road.   After whizzing through a set of lights, a sign off to the right for the cycle path caught my eye and I braked quickly.   What I hadn’t bargained for was the group behind me!    CRUNCH, SCREECH, STRAMASH……bikes and bodies everywhere!! These bakers are hardy souls  – not a single complaint.   Sorry lads!!!

The rest of ride was less eventful but we were tiring and the back roads into Edinburgh were more hilly than we’d hoped.   But we all got through this difficult stage.   We eventually pulled in to the Edinburgh bakery 6 hours 18 mins and 34 seconds and 51 miles after we left Clydesmill.   The time is significant because there is a sweepstake running in Scotland for the closest to this time winning a mountain bike!

The welcome at Edinburgh Bakery was just smashing.   I was surprised and delighted to see everyone wearing T-Shirts with my photo on it saying “Well Done Raymond”.   Marion was dressed as Pudsey and the team laid on a very welcome buffet to re-fuel us.   It was just fantastic!
We were all sore, tired and relieved to have crossed the line.   We were also aware that Richard, Robin and Paul weren’t finished for the day.   They had another 46 miles to go before they were due to stop for the evening in Eyemouth.   I couldn’t have gone any further.   How these guys are able to pound out these distances day after day is truly remarkable.   I am completely in awe of their achievement.

…..Raymond

People Pedal Power!

Roisin Currie, Greggs People Director, writes:

Another wonderful day in the Great Bakery Bike Ride!

We, the people team, took on the challenge to cycle the Cumbrian leg –  we joined after the core team had conquered the 1st 2 hills from Sedbergh to Appleby!
And after seeing their faces as they arrived in Appleby this was absolutely the right place to start our challenge!

The reception at Penrith was just fantastic, the burgers were beautiful and perfect to restore our energy levels!
Ian and Jane Gregg were there to meet us and congratulate the team on their efforts. The support from the team there was also critical in motivating us to get back on our bikes and continue – as we could easily have stayed there and chatted for another few hours, a strategy of avoidance may well have crept in!

But off we went to conquer the next 50 miles through to Lockerbie!
Graham Harmse was our Knight in Shining Armour, constantly riding back to check everyone was ok and no-one was lost!
Vicky and Kelly seemed to find the cycle effortless – unlike a few of us!
Andy Hutchinson aka Hutch, seemed to quite enjoy lying on the ground with his bike on top of him – luckily he was unhurt each time and we had a giggle!
Matt endured the 2 hard hills on a mountain bike – what a challenge – but quickly swapped for a road bike at the bakery and then no hill was too tough and no pace was too fast!

Within the people team, David became known as the King of punctures!
Jean actually cycled twice as hard as everyone else, until we discovered her tyres had no air in them – 6 hours into the ride, then we struggled to keep up with her as she had a new lease of life!
Kevin, in true team spirit, swapped bikes with Jean – but quickly struggled, which made us realise the bike had to be swapped!
 
As a result of the punctures and lack of air in Jeans tyres, one of Ian Edgeworths bikes, loaned to Richard by Ann, (thank you Ann), had to step in and bail the People Team out to allow us all to finish the ride – very fitting we thought!

We had a fantastic day and need to say a massive thanks to Claire Murray who organised lots but especially getting our cars to the end of the ride! Peter Boughton, Shirley and Ken and Bob who supported us in cars, vans, food and water throughout the day were fantastic!

This morning we have lots of sore bottoms and a very tired team but we would absolutely all do it again – even if just for the fish and chips at the end!

We all said, several times, we don’t think we could have completed 65 miles on our own, so what did we learn:
Working as a team ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things!

But we don’t think we could get back on a bike today – and that says it all! So to Richard, Robin and Paul – a massive Well Done and Good Luck for the next few days!

Roisin and the People Team

A wee dram welcomes the team to Scotland!

Day 9 – Lockerbie to Glasgow – 70 miles!

Robin Leaver writes:

10.39am:

On our way to Glasgow now.  25 miles down, just 60 to go!  Weather spot on with very little wind and nice and warm.  Phil’s doing really well and we’re all looking forward to a nice lunch somewhere!  It seems we’ve lost our support car though!

11.38:

We’ve arrived into Abingdon for a spot of lunch 35 miles into today’s stint.  Our support car managed to lock itself while still running with all our stuff inside!  RAC came to the rescue!

14.39:

Arrived in Larkhall to meet big Raymondo at the Greggs shop.  58 miles down, about 20 to go to the Clydesmill bakery.  We are due there at 4pm, so in danger of actually being on time!!”  Robin

The team of 5 (Richard, Robin, Paul, Phil and Raymond) arrive at the Clydesmill bakery at 4pm, greeted at the gates by Scottish piper, and Alaistair in his kilt handing out the whisky!  (Steve Peat – is that allowed on a bike?)

A FABULOUS and loud reception from the Clydesmill team, so a really big THANK YOU for all your support!

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Chief Exec says never again…..well, except for Sunday

Ken McMeikan, Chief Executive, writes:

Yesterday, (Wednesday) I set off to Leeds Bakery full of optimism about the cycle ride ahead.

Richard, Robin and Paul looked in remarkable shape given the mileage they have already cycled and with Bruce Duncan and John Elderfield accompanying us our spirits were high.

The Leeds bakery team did us proud and the send off was excellent.   The school children were so enthusiastic and excited and some of them even sang “you raise me up” which brought a few tears to people’s eyes (the same impact my bike had on me later that day!)

So off we set and whilst I’m not superstitious in any way it seemed a bad omen that John’s bicycle seat fell off in his hands after about 5 – 10 miles when we’d stopped for a breather.

My non-superstitious nature was tested a little further on when I hear Richard (normally the most mild mannered and pleasant person you could spend time with) screaming at the top of his voice at somebody or something.  I stopped and waited for him to catch up (yes at this point I was actually ahead of someone!).  He had the look of a man who you’ve not only insulted but also spat in his pint of beer!  I asked what had happened and he said he’d nearly been knocked off his bike by some idiot in a van.  I just shook my head in disgust and empathised.  Privately I was just relieved he was unhurt!

At the next stop I thought to myself “if I was superstitious I’d be worried now because they do say that bad things come in three’s!”  But thankfully I’m not superstitious so as we all got back on our bikes after the break I knew it was only coincidence that Bruce fell off his bike right beside the rest of us!  Thankfully Bruce was completely unhurt.  So 15 miles done 52 to go!

The serious riding really started over the next 15 miles as we started to hit some of the hills in the Yorkshire area.  For every hill we climbed there was thankfully a downward slope that eased the pain of the previous climb BUT the sad truth is that every time we went down a hill you knew it was only a matter of time because another hill was just waiting round the corner!

I thought to myself “cycling is not like real life at all – in real life the up’s are a good thing, something to really look forward to but the down’s are something unhappy and best avoided.  On a bike it’s the other way around – up is something to be unhappy about but down is good and something to look forward to!”

Needless to say I have come to learn to hate hills with a passion and decided that we really should have done this ride on flat landscapes (Holland would have been perfect!)

After 40 miles, I thought I’d seek some reassurance by asking my fellow amateur riders about their experience on a bike.  Big mistake!  Instead of being re-assured that I was not the only novice bike rider going up and down the hills in the Yorkshire Dales, I was told that Bruce has previously cycled competitively over a 106 mile race and John cycled competitively and has previously done 260 miles in one day!  My heart sank.  Robin and Paul like Richard were effortlessly (or so it seemed to me) powering on and they had two competitive cyclists with them……. and me!

I had a moment of satisfaction on the route but sadly this was nothing to do with cycling and purely to do with eating a magnificent scone with jam and lashings of cream but that aside this bike ride was torture.

We finished in time to see the England game and I have never been so delighted to see a pint in my life.  So we achieved the 67 miles and all I can say is my admiration for Richard, Robin and Paul could not be higher.  What they have achieved so far is awesome.  To Bruce and John, thank you for completing the whole leg and making it more bearable with your encouragement and camaraderie – you were brilliant!

The support driver did a magnificent job of keeping us ‘fed and watered’ but describing that “if you think the last 15 miles was hilly you wait till you see the next 15 miles!!” perhaps wasn’t the most motivational speech you could have given – but at least you were honest!

And so, having finally reflected on the ride yesterday all I can say is “never again!” which is exactly what I said in the office this morning to Kelly and Michelle only for Michelle to smile and say “Yeah…… except for Sunday!” 

Ken

A warm Cumbrian welcome!

Day 8 – Sedbergh to Lockerbie.

The cyclists arrived at the Penrith bakery at about 12noon, the biggest cycling team so far, with the Greggs People team and a team from the Penrith bakery, totalling about 20 cyclists.

A huge THANK YOU to the wonderful staff at Penrith, who (despite a slight bit of rain) threw a fantastic welcome party, with a BBQ, raffle and games including mini golf; darts and table football.  The table football proved a big draw, with Paul (Retail Finance Analyst, North West Region) receiving a whopping 8-1 thrashing from Cavello, Penrith’s Portugese Hygiene Supervisor.   The BBQ was devoured in minutes by our hungry cyclists, so a big thank you to the cooks!

Ian Gregg and his wife Jane turned up to say hello and wish the cyclists well.  Ian has also kindly donated to the Bike Ride fund.

The 20 strong team departed after an hour – ready to face the next 50 miles to Lockerbie! 

THANK YOU PENRITH for the fantastic party and for all your fundraising!

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