Purity Jumping in the Saddle for the Velo 100 Cycle!
At Purity we are committed to make a difference to our local community and environment. We have undertaken numerous charity initiatives from growing various amounts of facial hair for Movember and Decembeard to wearing something funny for money but this is going to be our toughest yet; as we take on the Birmingham Velo 100 cycle ride!
Four members of the Purity team have signed up to this year’s ride in aid of Cure Leukemia a cause that is very close to a number of the team at Purity. Cure Leukemia has been our designated charity partner for the last few years and we have done numerous initiatives to raise funds for this very worthwhile cause. After providing some well-earned cans of Saddle Black to riders of the London to Paris ride the last few years our friend Geoff Thomas the patron of the charity lay down the gauntlet that we earn our beer as well at this year’s Velo 100. The challenge was on the table and four of the Purity team put their bikes in the ring and the phrase ‘how hard can it be?’ was muttered and they all agreed to sign up. Flo Vialan our Director of Brewing who cycles to and from the brewery every day, Andy Cross our Sales and Marketing Director, Peter Kopp, Steven Pitt and Bjorn Richards make up the rest of the team who will be taking on this mammoth challenge later next month.
We were lucky enough to host the Business Club training ride at the brewery earlier in the year which was the first time the team got together and ride out as a team. We also had an honorary member of Team Purity. The ambassador of the Business Club Martin Johnson. The former Leicester Tigers and World Cup winning England Rugby captain along with Team Purity led the 50 mile route around the picturesque Warwickshire countryside. It was a bit of a shock to some of the Purity team with the pace but they all managed to come back safely although there were claims of a sabotage crash. With all the riders back at Purity HQ Martin was on hand for photos, autographs and also some beer sampling.
Over the coming weeks leading up to the ride we will be profiling each member of Team Purity and bringing you some of the behind the scenes action from training as well as getting to know each rider a bit more and what this challenge means to them.
First up is Andy Cross our Sales & Marketing Director.
When you first get into cycling? From before I can remember, my first bike was a Raleigh Burner BMX bike and then progressed into mountain biking and road cycling
Favourite cycle route? Living in Cheltenham there are loads of great routes through the Cotswolds but most involve steep hills so my favourite route is any that avoids those!
Mountain or Roady? Both, road in the Summer and Mountain biking in the winter – after my last one got stolen I need to buy a new mountain bike when my road bike goes into hibernation after Velo!
Favourite post cycle refuel? I always crave a refreshing cider after cycling and Pure Hopped hits the spot perfectly!
We’re raising money for Cure Leukemia do you have any personal reasons why this is important? I lost my cousin to Leukemia when I was 8 so it’s something I have been aware of from a very young age and so finding a cure has always been something that is close to my heart
Finally – who’s going to win out of team Purity and any time targets? – The plan is to stick together as a team for the whole ride, however after Flo took me out in the training ride I might have to out sprint him at the finish!
Can four members of the Purity team ditch the pints and jump in the saddle and ride for 100 miles? Well follow their journey across all our social media channels and if you see them on the 24th September in their Purity cycle jerseys then make sure to cheer them on!
We would be incredibly grateful if anyone could donate what they can in aid of this incredible charity you can support the team via our Just Giving page here – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/puritybrewingco
