After Dark: Aico facilitate the Midnight Ride
Saturday 19th June saw Aico host the Midnight Ride in support of Adrenaline Sporting Events. The Midnight Ride is a cycling event that brings together a community of active people taking part in sporting events to achieve goals ranging from fitness, competition, charity, health, fun or to simply finish the race. Aico have a strong working relationship with Alan Lewis, founder of Adrenaline Sporting Events, and were eager to support and get involved with the Midnight Ride this year.
Adrenaline Sporting Events was established in 2015 to offer new and exciting sporting opportunities and bring together a community of people to raise money for fantastic local charities. Aico are proud to be a sponsor of Adrenaline Sporting Events, supporting their events across Shropshire, Mid Wales and North Wales in various ways, including volunteering and colleague participation.
In 2019 Aico hosted the race at their previous headquarters with over 100 riders, however due to lockdown restrictions, the event was unable to take place in 2020. With the steady return of normality, Aico were delighted to host the Midnight Ride this year. The route covered a total of 71 miles with breath-taking scenery. The competitors visited Chirk Castle at the beginning of the ride and stopped for a refreshment break during sunset at Powis Castle, before cycling back over the border to finish at Aico’s headquarters in Oswestry.
This year the race was in aid of The Movement Centre, a local charity who specialise in developing children with movement disabilities through their Targeted Training. The Movement Centre are celebrating their 25th birthday this year with a goal to put 25 children through their specialised therapy. With the vast support of the local community, Adrenaline Sporting Events have been able to assist in this endeavour, raising vital funds that could change a child’s life forever.
Alan Lewis, founder of Adrenaline Sporting events, commented “After 15 months of no events it’s great to be back doing what we are passionate about and it’s brilliant seeing the cycling community here for the 7th Midnight Ride. Being able to start and finish at Aico is a dream for the event, the facilities and help that Team Aico provides is amazing. To see the Aico team either volunteering or riding at the event is very rewarding for me, two years ago David Jennings, Technical Advisor of Aico, volunteered and this year he is riding – to see the pathway that sport provides is inspiring for everyone. This is the start of a busy few months with the Brynkinalt Running Festival up next on the 4th July.”
Aico colleagues Matthew Small, Commercial and Finance Director, David Jennings, Technical Advisor and Michael Wright, Product Development Manager, challenged themselves to take part in the ride. Michael Wright said “The Midnight Ride has been a great event to be part of. To be able to have a unique experience of riding with other cyclists through the sunset into the dark across some great roads, whilst supporting a local charity in The Movement Centre has been fantastic. It’s also been good to see fellow colleagues supporting the event through their volunteering roles, making sure the event ran smoothly.”
The event was held in a Covid-safe manner, with nine Aico colleagues volunteering to facilitate the efficient running of the event, registering contestants and providing refreshments, as well as ensuring that Government guidelines were followed throughout.
Emma Ferguson from Aico’s Internal Sales Team who was part of the volunteering team commented “I wanted to volunteer to help support this fantastic charity but knew that riding a bike was not my forte. I’m delighted that I could help out in other ways, supporting the riders during their challenge whilst giving them all plenty of encouragement.”
