What: Charity Ride, London to Lille (France) via vDunkirk
When: Saturday 11th / Sunday 12th June 2016
Where: London – Lille route (details available here)
Seven riders jump on two wheels to support those affected by war in Ukraine, as they ride to support Ukraine. The riders squad is made up of 5 third generation Ukrainians living in the UK; Ewhen & Peter Chymera, Stepan & Bohdan Luczka and Nick Favell, alongside two English friends keen to support Ukrainians effected by Russia’s invasion -Euan Holloway and Ben Mansfield.
Since hosting the last version of the European Championships alongside neighbours Poland in 2012, Ukraine has seemingly been in perpetual crisis. In 2013/4 the EuroMaidan movement saw over 100 lose their lives as the corrupt regime of Viktor Yanukovych came to an end and Ukraine made a shift towards Europe. However Russia had other ideas, and quickly moved in, occupying and annexing Crimea before starting an uprising in Ukraine’s Eastern Regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
The subsequent war between Ukraine’s volunteers battalions and the Russian backed proxies has resulted in over 10,000 deaths, upwards of 30,000 wounded and up to 2million people forced to leave their homes. Periodic violence continues to affect the region with more deaths and injured reported almost daily.
Working with British-Ukrainian Aid, the Ride for Ukraine aims to raise money for those affected by the ongoing crisis. Cycling from London, 7 riders will ride over 200miles to Lille, in time for Ukraine’s first game in Euro 2016 against Germany on Sunday 12th June. Many of those riding visited the effected regions during the 2012 championships, travelling through towns such as Horlivka, Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, spending considerable time in Donetsk and Mariupol while supporting Ukraine. None of them could have envisaged how drastically different life would be for those they met, and the area they visited just four years later.
British-Ukrainian Aid is a UK based charity that is supporting people suffering from the armed conflict and humanitarian crisis, including the injured, wounded, orphaned children, the elderly, internally displaced persons and families who have lost their breadwinners. All monies raised will go towards supporting British Ukrainian Aids projects in the region.
Saturday, 11th June 2016
7 cyclists will depart from the Ukrainian club in London (at 6.00 pm) and head South East to the port of Dover, through the Kent Downs along the first 100 miles of the journey. From Dover a ferry will take the cyclists to the Port of Dunkirk for an overnight stay.
Sunday, 12th June 2016
Departure from Dunkirk at 8.00 am – Cycling through the fields of Flanders, on route to Lille arrival time around 1pm.
On Sunday, 12th June 2016 is a race against time to make it to Lille in time to present a cheque for money raised to the Ukrainian National Team (details TBC). The route goes through the Fields of Flanders in south Belgium, tackling some of the famous cobbled climbs of the Spring Classics including the Kemmelberg4 (scene of the Battle of the Lys, where 200,000 soldiers died) before arriving in Lille, ready to support Ukraine’s journey through Euro 2016.
For more information contact:
Stepan Luczka, e-mail: s.luczka@ukrainiansupporters.
Ewhen Chymera, email: [email protected], mobile: 07787449675
To Donate
Donations can be made through the Ride for Ukraine Just Giving pageor directly to the Ride participants.
Follow the reiders on social media
Twitter – @DonestkWay2012
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/DonetskWay
WordPress – https://donetskway.wordpress.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
Vkontakte: https://vk.com/club119957851
Youtube Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Just Giving Website: https://www.justgiving.com/
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Tags: charity, Cycling, Donate, Euro-2016, Euromaydan, France, Fundraising, ukraine