Dr Roy Lodge, 84, is cycling round the Cotswolds to raise money for the Shakespeare Hospice

SEVENTY miles is the target for former mayor of Stratford, Dr Roy Lodge, who will once again get in the saddle and cycle around the Cotswolds to raise money for the Shakespeare Hospice.

Dr Lodge, 84, has chosen 70 miles to coincide with the 70 years of The Queen’s reign and will sets off from Stratford at 4am on Sunday, 26th June.

As a former mayor of Stratford from 2006 to 2007, Dr Lodge has supported charities with his bike rides for years and estimates to have raised £50,000 for Parkinson’s, The Jennifer Trust and the Shakespeare Hospice. Even when Covid struck, Dr Lodge still managed a charity bike ride by clocking up the miles on a bike he rigged up at his home.

“As a former Great Britain international athlete, I’ve kept myself in good shape and really enjoy the rides for charity,” he said. “My wife Gina will be in the support car right behind me as she always is, and we will be doing a scenic route of 70 miles around the Cotswold towns of Mickleton, Broadway, Chipping Campden, Chipping Norton and Stow-on-the-Wold.”

Not only has Dr Lodge raised a lot of money over the years, he’s also covered a lot of miles too with John O’Groats to Land’s End and Land’s End to John O’ Groats rides as well as Stratford to Bristol and Stratford to Bath.

In 2018 he said he was going to retire from his charity bike rides but he just keeps getting back in the saddle.

To sponsor Dr Lodge, visit https://tinyurl.com/yausmnan