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Prudential Ride London for the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability

On Sunday 2 August, 25,000 cyclists took to the closed streets of London, challenging themselves to cycle 100 miles around the old Olympic route. Amongst them was our tax director Ben Lee, who managed to complete the course in 5 hours and 52 minutes.

The 100 miles was not the only test to be had that day, the first was getting to Queen Elizabeth park, Stratford, for the early morning start for the race. With Sunday train times, this proved problematic for many, and with numerous cyclists taking part, hotels around the area might have been intrigued as to the sudden influx of lycra wielding cyclists.

The route takes riders from Queen Elizabeth park, past Canary Wharf and through the heart of London, emerging on the other side by the Hammersmith Flyover. A quick trip over Chiswick bridge and half a lap of Richmond park puts the riders on route to enter the green surroundings of Surrey, heading out from Hampton Court towards Weybridge. A few miles later, the first of three testing hills rears its head in the form of Newlands Corner. Rewarded with beautiful views from the top, riders are gifted with the descent down the A25 towards Abinger Hammer, where preparation for Leith Hill begins. The toughest ascent of the course, made more difficult by the number of riders on a narrow road, surfaces around the 60 mile mark. From here it is a quick descent into Dorking for the third and final monster – Box Hill. Once completed, cyclists needed to ensure they had enough in the tank for the 30 miles back into London, to be received by gatherings of spectators as they sprinted up the Mall to complete the ride.

The weather could not have been better for the event, reaching sunny heights of 25 degrees, a huge contrast to the stormy conditions riders met in 2014 that saw the hills closed, and only 81 miles available for completion.

The event is gathering momentum, and has already been heralded as the marathon equivalent for cycling, raising more than £10m over the weekend for various charities.

Ben was raising money for the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, WSM's supported charity for the year. If you would still like to sponsor him, then please click on the following link:

www.virginmoneygiving.com/blee

Amanda Menassa

Amanda graduated from Brunel University, with a joint honours degree, achieving a BSC and BA degree in Leisure Management and Television and film studies. Amanda started her career in a customer service role before joining the hotel group Le Meridien as an Events coordinator, she was in the hotel industry for seven years and during her time won an award from a major international airline for her outstanding attitude and dedication to customer service, which she achieved while working for the Rezidor hotel group in the position of Airline Crew Manager. Amanda has over 20 years experience in customer relations and event management.

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