Worcestershire opener Daryl Mitchell is clocking up the miles in preparation for the Professional Cricketers’ Association Big Bike Ride 3 which will raise money for the PCA Benevolent Fund and the Tom Maynard Trust.
The 33-year-old – the current chairman of the PCA – will be accompanied by his father in law Mel for the five-day 360 mile event between October 13 and 17.
And New Road will mark the conclusion of the third leg on October 15 – and the starting point for the fourth the following day.
Anyone wanting to back Daryl and donate to the causes he is riding on behalf of should go to the page https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/darylmitchell1
Mitchell said: “I’ve done a little bit of training. Obviously the little hamstring problem I’ve had has put me back a week or 10 days.
“I wouldn’t say I’m looking forward to it! I think it’s going to be a really tough challenge for someone who has not done much road-biking before.
“It’s been interesting to get out of the road and been quite hard work at times. To take in 360 miles in five days will certainly be a challenge.
“But when I look back on it after it’s been completed, I guess it will be something to be proud of and it’s for some great causes.”
Mitchell added: “The most I’ve done so far in training in one go is 50 miles. I’ve done lots of 25 mile rides and tend to average 16-17 miles an hour.
“I’ve invested in all the ‘kit’ now and my father-in-law is quite into his cycling so he has given me and lent me bits and bobs as well.
“It’s been quite good fun training. There will be a lot of pain when it comes around to doing the ride for real but, like I say, it’s for some great causes.
“I’ve set up my donations page for the PCA Benevolent Fund and Tom Maynard Trust and, in the PCA’s 50th Year, it is their legacy appeal as well which is pretty special to be involved in.”
PCA CEO and former Worcestershire CEO David Leatherdale is also participating along with a host of ex and current players including Geraint Jones, Marcus Trescothick, Michael Vaughan and Ashley Giles of the 2005 Ashes winning team.
The first two Big Bike Rides in 2013 and 2015 raised more than £320,000 and this year’s event takes on added significance as 2017 is the Professional Cricketers’ Association’s 50th anniversary.
A Legacy Year Appeal has been launched to raise an extra £250,000 for the PCA Benevolent Fund.
Big Bike Ride 3 will be launched with a dinner at Warwickshire’s Edgbaston headquarters on October 12 with the riders setting out on their 400-mile journey early the next morning.
Big Bike Ride 3, which is generously sponsored by Full-Time Cover insurance and Sanderson Contracts will travel from Edgbaston on October 13 via Sheffield, the Peak District, the Cheshire Plain, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and South Wales to its conclusion at the SSE SWALEC Stadium in Cardiff .
That is where former Glamorgan batsman Tom Maynard, who died in tragic circumstances in 2012, played his formative cricket and where the Trust set up in his name is based. Big Bike Ride 3 is also supported by Yorkshire Tea and Toyota.
The peloton of cricketers, which includes past and current county players, PCA and England and Wales Cricket Board staff, sponsors and cricket fans, will link the recreational and professional games by stopping off at clubs along the route including four that have hosted first-class cricket in the past – Sheffield Collegiate, Buxton, Lydney and Abergavenny.
All proceeds from Big Bike Ride 3 will be shared between the PCA Benevolent Fund and the Tom Maynard Trust.
The PCA Benevolent Fund was set up in 2000 and supports past and present cricketers and their immediate family members in times of hardship and upheaval.
The Tom Maynard Trust was set up in 2012 and supports aspiring young sports people in a number of ways including sponsorship of the PCA’s annual Rookie Camp.
The full Big Ride 3 route is:
October 13: Edgbaston to Sheffield Collegiate CC via Atherstone CC and South Wingfield CC
October 14: Sheffield Collegiate to Crewe Vagrants CC via Buxton CC and Middlewich CC.
October 15: Crewe to Worcestershire CCC via Calverhall CC, Broseley CC, Cleobury Mortimer CC
October 16: Worcester to Monmouth School via Ledbury CC, Ruardean Hill CC, Lydney CC
October 17: Monmouth to SSE SWALEC Stadium via Abergavenny CC, Newbridge CC, St Fagans CC
