THE heat was well and truly on at the weekend – but a group of dedicated cyclists rose to their fundraising challenge.

The Arkriders have piled on the pedal power in aid of the Ark Cancer Centre Charity from John O’Groats to Land’s End, London to Brighton, and from Basingstoke to Paris – and now they’ve added the Bournemouth Beano to their list of achievements.

The Arkriders have so far collectively raised more than £185,000 for the £5million campaign to fund a new cancer treatment centre in Basingstoke.

The group’s big event of 2018 will be a charity dinner at the Apollo Hotel, in Basingstoke, on September 22 – but they couldn’t resist arranging a 2018 cycling reunion.

Cheered on by family and friends, a 36-strong group of Arkriders, including some new recruits, set off from the Apollo Hotel on Saturday, 14 July, to take on a 70 mile route to Bournemouth, before making the return journey the next day.

The event, sponsored by Ark Our Partner supporter Beaufort Financial, featured all cyclists paying their own way to take part, and some of the entry fee will be donated to Ark after costs are covered.

While the 2018 event was more of a social and awareness-raising ride, 12 of the cyclists set up individual fundraising pages, and there is a group sponsorship page too with a response from supporters of more than £8,400 so far.

Mark Jones, director of fundraising and communications at Ark Cancer Centre Charity, said: “This is an amazing achievement by the Arkriders as the Bournemouth Beano took place in energy-sapping heat. There were several new recruits involved in this event and it was a real challenge for the experienced and debut cyclists.

“It was very moving to hear some of the personal stories of why individual Arkriders had signed up for this challenge, and all of the riders are to be congratulated on their achievement. Many of them have put in a lot of time and training to make sure they could complete this ride, and it was great to see the level of support that they received.

“Particular thanks go to Ark corporate supporter Beaufort Financial, for sponsoring the event, and to Arkriders founder Craig Killick, who was literally a driving force as the main organiser of the event and also one of the support team members.”

To donate, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/craig-killick.

The new centre is largely being funded by Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) and will be built on the existing Basingstoke hospital site.