Saddle-sore cyclists raise thousands for Red Sky Foundation

The team rode from Edinburgh to Sunderland to raise £28,500 for cardiac charity the Red Sky Foundation.

Red Sky founder Sergio Petrucci MBE organised the popular Coast and Castle Cycle Challenge for the third year running, this year extending the ride to finish on the Roker seafront rather than in Newcastle.

The team peddled the 160-mile ride over three days, stopping in Berwick and Amble along the way.

The twenty-four riders and five support crew, including a paramedic, policeman and volunteers, started their adventure by leaving the Roker Hotel at 6am on Friday morning towards Edinburgh to start their ride all the way back to Sunderland.

The fundraising riders were led home by a fleet of support vehicles, including cars from Mercedes-Benz of Sunderland, one of Red Sky’s corporate partners.

Other companies who sponsored the event included Erdinger, Everyone Active, AB Roofing Solutions, Par Petroleum, Plumbase, Chubb, Keepmoat and Dunelm.

The £28,500 raised will go towards an ambitious £92,500 project which is funding heart transplant retrieval teams at the Freeman Hospital. It will also be invested back into financial support for those living with complex heart problems and their families, as well as helping the charity’s successful defibrillator campaign to grow. 

Plumbase manager Steve Wilkinson took part in the cycle challenge to raise money for Red Sky in honour of his wife who sadly passed away after suffering a seizure: “With myself fundraising for Red Sky Foundation, we had discussed the importance of organ donation, so we decided to donate her heart, lungs and kidneys,” he said.

“That was the main reason I was pushing to raise as much money as possible, to receive the Red Sky yellow jersey for raising the most money in the group - I was thrilled and emotional.”

Sergio said this year’s ride had been ‘the best yet’: “The dynamics of the team and the enthusiasm to support our charity really shines through, helping us raise vital funds to allow us to continue supporting families relying on our services.

“We’re able to achieve the greatest possible impact on saving every heartbeat and this is only made possible thanks to people like those who go the extra mile and to our sponsors.”

To donate visit www.redskyfoundation.com