David Eales Memorial Ride 2023

Congratulations to all 30 riders from the 2023 David Eales memorial ride

Every year Team LCC cycles hundreds of miles from London to Amsterdam to raise money in memory of David Eales. David, who died in 2016, was the heart and soul of cycle campaigning in west London and we’re so grateful for this fundraising in his memory.

This year 30 riders, 13 men and 17 women, rode between four and six days together across Europe to Amsterdam, starting from either London or Dover and travelling across across France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Brian Smith, one of the riders, said:

“I’ve been on five of the six previous London to Amsterdam rides and this was the best so far. It was wonderful having so many women on the ride, and the crew from Cycle Sisters were absolutely superb and kept everyone laughing throughout.

“The best part for me was going to Ghent, where the Deputy Mayor gave us a personal tour of all they’ve done to rid of cars around the city. After that it was really depressing to come back to England where our roads don’t even have protected cycleways.

“We are a long way behind Europe, but this is why supporting the London Cycling Campaign is so important. Hopefully we’ll be an even bigger team next year!”

Nevin Sunderji is a cycling instructor from Hounslow who rides with Cycle Sisters, and was joining the David Eales ride for her first international cycle journey. She said:

“It was amazing. I’ve never been away from home on my bike before, but I thought: feel the fear and do it anyway.

“It was really well organised, our hosts along the way were in awe of us, and it was such good fun. We had a few falls, a few wrong turns, but it was a true adventure on two wheels.

“Seeing how much Amsterdam has improved for cycling even in the past few years was really inspiring. My advice? Pack light. Muck in. And I would do it again in a heartbeat.”

You can donate to the ride team here. And to register your interest in next year’s ride, email ealesride@zork.net – all welcome.