Huge Thank You to all Volunteers and Riders

added 13 May 2009

The Fred Whitton Challenge is the result of lots of preparation and a huge number of volunteers making it all happen. We've already had loads of messages from riders saying thanks. So this is to say a HUGE THANK YOU to everyone who helped - at the start & finish, at the feed stations, all the paramedics, first aiders and marshals who were out on the course to help, etc., etc. - it simply wouldn't happen without you all!

The event also wouldn't happen without the supreme effort of all the riders to tackle such an ultimate hard event - made even harder this year by rain, hail & even snow at times! WELL DONE on a great effort and thanks to you and to all your sponsors for supporting the event and helping us raise money for the event charities.

10th Anniversary Dinner

added 1 Dec 2008

To celebrate the 10th year of the Fred Whitton Challenge we are holding a one-off Fred Whitton dinner in October. Keeping to the spirit of The Fred Whitton it will be a good night out, with a live band, dinner and a few special guests. All costs will be covered by the ticket price and any proceeds go to the charities. The dinner will be at the Castle Green Hotel in Kendal on Saturday 10th October 2009 - Kendal has been chosen since it's easy to get to from all over the country and has lots of accommodation. Tickets will be £40 and all past & present riders, friends, event helpers/volunteers etc. are welcome. But numbers are limited. so to book places for the dinner call Paul or Sally Loftus on 01229 716582.

Other Challenge Rides

added 28 Jan 2009

If you haven't been able to get a place in the Fred Whitton then see the following links for other good challenge rides:-

The Three Counties Challenge      The Cumberland Challenge      Cycle Cairngorms Sportive

Biketreks Win Best Bike Shop Award

added 7 Jan 2009

Congratulations to Biketreks, who have been voted the best bike shop in the country by readers of Singletrack magazine.
Enough said!

New Address

added 22 Sep 2008

Just after the 2008 event the organisers, Paul & Sally Loftus, moved house to:
    Greylags, Foxfield
    Broughton in Furness
    Cumbria LA20 6BX. Tel: 01229 716582.
The telephone number is the same and post was redirected, but there was some disruption so please call if anything is outstanding.

£55,000 Raised for Charity !

added 22 Sep 2008

This year's event raised this fantastic record total - many thanks to everyone who raised sponsorship for the event, to all the riders (your entry fee also contributed to this total for the charities), to our event sponsors Biketreks of Ambleside and to all our helpers with the event. This year's presentation night was on Wednesday (18th June) and cheques were presented to the charities, followed by an enjoyable evening at the Prince of Wales pub in Foxfield. (At the time the total was £45,000 but since then more sponsorship has come in and the final figure is over £55,000.)

La "Nove Colli" inglesi

added 4/08/2008

The Fred Whitton Challenge went Italian recently when the most important bike magazine in Italy, CICLOTURISMO, featured the event with this headline in an article by Mauro Posarelli. The headline refers to the Nove Colli ("Nine Cols"), which is a major Italian event based in Cesenatico.

Mauro heard about the Fred Whitton Challenge through his friend Allan Nelson from the UK and rode our event this year and really liked it. Mauro joins the select group of continental cyclists who have ridden 'The Fred', and articles like this will probably bring more Italian riders to the event next year.

Fred Whitton Photos

added 30/05/2008

Kennedy Images photos of riders in the 2008 event are available at www.kennedyimages.co.uk.

Added 13/05/2008
Revised 15/5/2008

The full Biketreks Fred Whitton Challenge 2008 results are now AVAILABLE HERE. (It's a large page so be patient!!) Please note that after first publishing the results on Tuesday (13/5/2008), we discovered that some riders had inadvertently been omitted from the results list. Sorry to those riders, who now correctly appear in the revised results list - see the link above.

Rider Registration

added 4/05/2008

Riders can EITHER register on the Saturday afternoon (1-4pm) OR on the Sunday morning (from 6am) before doing the ride.

Registering just involves telling us your rider number and signing the start sheet, being given your rider number card and then collecting your dibber. The dibber is a timing device that is strapped around your wrist, and which you 'dib' (push into a timing box) at the start, at each of the two checkpoints, and at the finish. The rider number card needs to be tie-wrapped onto your bike (normally to the handlebars - tie wraps supplied).

The advantage of registering on Saturday is just that it gets these things out of the way and means that on Sunday all you have to do is turn up, 'dib' your dibber with the start marshal and set off. Registering doesn't usually take long - for most riders only a few minutes. But we do tend to get a bit of a queue when we first open up on the Sunday morning (6am) and it also tends to get a bit busy with people registering round about 7:30am. And of course you need to allow time to tie the rider number card to your bike.

Event Leaflet & Photographers

added 25/03/2008

The event leaflet will be sent out to all riders in mid-April. Kennedy Images will be the photographers for this year's event, out on the course to capture the ecstasy and agony, and the images will be available to view and purchase on their website.

Accommodation + Printing Route

added 17/01/2008

Our Links page now has suggestions on where you could look for accommodation for the Fred Whitton Challenge. And our Route Details page now has a link to a pdf version of the route map, profile and description, which is suitable for printing.

added 23/12/2007

We would like to welcome Biketreks as our main sponsors. The specialised shop in Ambleside has helped the Fred Whitton Challenge from the first event in 1999, and again this year they will be offering a mechanical service on the event. Visit their new shop in Ambleside for all aspects of cycling.

Website : www.biketreks.net