"We really want to re-establish this as the nation's favourite bike ride":
British Heart Foundation hoping to return London to Brighton participation
to pre-pandemic numbers

The British Heart Foundation says participation levels for its London to
Brighton ride have fallen following a two-year break due to Covid, the
charity's head of events hoping to "re-establish" it as "the nation's
favourite bike ride".

Around 10,000 people tackled the 54-mile route last year, which had 16,000
participants during its pre-pandemic peak. Anna McCaughley says the charity
hopes levels will pick up again this summer, with 12,000 riders the aim for
2024, and growing the event to 20,000 participants the goal over the next
few years.

"We really want to re-establish this as the nation's favourite bike ride
and it's really important for the amount of money we raise so we're working
really hard to attract new audiences and improve the experience people have
on the day," she told the BBC (link is external).

"Understandably, people were anxious about attending large-scale events and
out of the habit of attending in-person events."

Since its inception the BHF London to Brighton has seen nearly 700,000
cyclists complete the ride from the English capital to the south coast,
raising more than £50 million.

<https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-live-blog-15-march-2024-307293#live-blog-item-55981>

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Spike