On 17^th June 2017, twenty intrepid amateur Brummy cyclists will be trying to beat the Earth’s rotation and cycle 200+ miles in just 17 hours in the aid of local charity Lisieux Trust.

As members of local cycling collective Boldmere Bullets, they have all been inspired by the efforts of a solo member (and local blogger Simon Steggles aka https://twitter.com/brumbrekkieclub) to take on this challenge, and to raise some well deserved funds for their chosen charity of the year, Lisieux Trust, as they do it.

“Chase the Sun began in 2008, when three average cyclists set off on an adventure to find out how far they could ride in one day . . . choosing the longest day, and beginning at the first rays of sunrise, Olly & friends departed from the east coast of the UK to ‘Chase the Sun’. . .   Since then, the event continues to grow as more and more people take on the challenge each year” _{[Link to CTS org]}.

With departure from Minster-on-Sea on the Isle of Sheppey at first rays (around 4:35am) the cyclists have until sunset (around 9:30pm) to make the 209 mile route across the UK to the seafront at Burnham-on-Sea.

Although the ride is taken on as a personal challenge (and apparently for fun!) the logistics of transporting 20+ people, 30+ bikes, and all of the supporting kit, food, and energy gels to the start line, then provide a fleet of support vehicles, first aid kits, spare tyres, and spare parts along the route is a costly exercise.

We are assisting the Bullets team in their charity ride this year by providing a support vehicle as well as asking for any help from businesses, local or national, that may wish to take up sponsorship opportunities, or who may want to donate essentials to this great cause.

If you would like your business’ logo to appear on any of the kit being produced you have the opportunity to sponsor the items for the event. Your logo will not only be seen by the many riders taking part, but also on the media coverage prior to, during, and after the event.

• £200 gets exclusive sponsorship of the riders caps (Sponsored by Disklabs)
• £600 gets exclusive sponsorship of the riders jerseys (Sponsored by Portswigger)
• £80 gets exclusive sponsorship of the support team t-shirts (Sponsored by Disklabs)
• £700 gets exclusive sponsorship of the riders shorts (Sponsored by Nott Group )
• £210 gets exclusive sponsorship of the riders arm warmers (Sponsored by Bar OPUS)

We are also hoping to source some of the essentials required through the day to maximise the charitable donation. The sort of items the team will require and that we are asking for sponsorship or donations of include:

• Gels
• Energy bars
• Electrolyte tablets
• Bananas
• Flapjack type things
• Bottles of water
• Porridge pots
• Nuts
• Inner tubes
• Salt Tablets
• Chamois cream
• Water bottles
• First aid kits

If as a local or national business you would like to sign-up for any of the sponsorship opportunities, or if you could help with donations of any of the above supplies, please contact us ASAP at CTS@outinbrum.com or via the form below to discuss requirements and options as there is a deadline for any kit to be manufactured.

Any individuals can also contribute to the collection for The Lisieux Trust via the Boldmere Bullets JustGiving page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Boldmere-Bullets-ChaseTheSun

The Lisieux Trust

Lisieux Trust, established in 1984, is managed by an elected Board of Directors. The aims and objectives of Lisieux Trust are to provide high quality support/information and/or accommodation to disabled people in and around the West Midlands. Services offered by Lisieux Trust include the provision of 24-hour residential accommodation, supported living establishments with full tenancy rights, information and support to disabled people, carers and their families, and significant others. Support can range from promotion of daily life skills, independent travel, access to work, further education, training, leisure activities, information and support regarding personal benefits, advocacy and access to other support services. The ethos of Lisieux Trust is to recognise and value individual rights above anything else; encouraging people to achieve their full potential and take a valued role in society.

The organisation’s name; “Lisieux” Trust is French in origin and derived from a village in Normandy, France. It is pronounced phonetically as “Liss-yer”.

The History of the Boldmere Bullets

Born in the autumn of 2013, the Boldmere Bullets started with two brothers cycling each week in Boldmere (The Founders). Quite quickly a core group of friends were riding on a regular basis and decided to call themselves the “Boldmere Bullets”. The concept was simple – ride our bikes in a friendly and fun environment without any form of elitism or competitiveness that would turn away other cyclists.

Tom Swinbourne was appointed “The Chairman” (he had the “BIG IDEAS” and the most amount of energy!) and his brother Jon Swinbourne was appointed “The Captain” (he was more sensible). Tom decided to run all the things “off the bike” whilst Jon would run all the things “on the bike”. Jag Sarmotta then started to work his magic, bringing together hundreds of people via the power of social media. Meanwhile Lloyd Norton started arranging our social events and Raich Carter designed and arranged our first kit order. The Bullets was by now well under way and had started to gain a good reputation in the local area.

Tom realised there was a gap for people who wanted to be part of the Collective but did not want to cycle. So in the late summer of 2014, alongside Pard Bagdi, he started up the Running Collective. They quickly found that our approach to free, voluntary-led experiences for our local community worked just as well outside of cycling.

Since that time the Boldmere Bullets have grown to a network of of friends which continue to expand every day. We now have well over a 1000 people connected in the local area with hundreds of people exercising together free of charge every week.

Jon Swinbourne came up with the concept of a “Charity of the year” and the Bullets are now proud that by the end of 2016 we have raised over £45,000 for local charities including Sutton Coldfield Cancer Centre, Breast Friends and the Lisieux trust.

We have so many stories to tell and so many people to thank – we could go on for ever! However we hope this gives you a sense of what the Collective is all about and what we have achieved in in a very short space of time. If you have any questions, ideas or feedback please talk to a volunteer, member of our Core Team or use the Contact Us form.

Major events

In the summer of 2014 we launched the inaugural ‘Tour de Boldmere’, a series of group and individual rides designed to introduce cyclists to group riding, and help people find new routes and challenges. This helped grow the collective significantly, and, at the same time, we started selling club kit, in our distinctive ‘Bullets Orange’.

In January 2015 our running collective started our popular ‘couch-to-5k’ programme to help people start running.

Summer 2015 brought the first major Bullets charity event – le Tour de North – in which twelve intrepid cyclists set off on a week-long cycling challenge covering over 500 miles, and every hill, in the north of England, along the way raising over £9,000 for the Bullets charity of the year, the Sutton Coldfield Cancer Support Centre.

2016 was an even bigger year for the collective. One summer weekend, another plucky group of cyclists known as Team 300 set out from Barmouth in Wales to cycle to Yarmouth (over 300 miles away), in the space of 24 hours, raising a phenomenal amount for our charity of 2016, Breast Friends. In September, we also held our first chip-timed fun run in Sutton Park, attracting hundreds of runners from the local area, and raising more money for Breast Friends.

We finished 2016 having collectively raised over £34,000 for Breast Friends!