Metcalfe Ride becomes permanent fixture

Metcalfe died in 2002.

He still holds the record of being the only rider to win both the British road-race championship and the British Best All-Rounder time-trialling tile in the same year.

"He typified the true grit of the county’s character and reputation," said Michael Breckon, operations manager for The National Byway and a former marketing director at Raleigh.

Last year, 150 cyclists took part in an ad hoc ride, many of Metcalfe’s friends and old cycling champions.

For this year’s ride it was decided to create something permanent in memory of the Yorkshire champion, and British Heart Foundation’s Yorkshire office agreed to become involved as the official organiser and beneficiary. The route for the Ride will once again be on The National Byway, based in Easingwold, and the Byway will again provide organisational support for the event.

There will be three routes this year: 53 miles, 28 miles and a family-oriented route of 14 miles. All share the same route for the first few miles, with a “massed-start” in Easingwold town square at 11am on Sunday September 12th.

The route initially heads west into the flat Vale of York, as far as Aldborough near Boroughbridge for the 28 and 53-mile routes, remaining in the Alne-Aldwark area for the 14-mile route. After returning to Easingwold, those going for the longer distance will then head into the hills and follow the Byway’s challenging Easingwold Loop visiting Ampleforth, Wass, Kilburn and Cotwold before returning to finish in the town centre.

The Metcalfe Ride will be one of nearly forty fund-raising cycling challenges promoted by BHF around the country, which annually raise more than £2m for research into cardiovascular disease.

Riders wishing to take part can register at http://www.bhf.org.uk/…/Default.aspx?Page=EventFinderResults&OrderBy=0&Keywords=metcalfe&TypeList=1&RegionList=170%2c118%2c119%2c120%2c169%2c176%2c170%2c55%2c59%2c56%2c57%2c58%2c60%2c148%2c149%2c150%2c151%2c152%2c68%2c69%2c70%2c71%2c72%2c73%2c153%2c154%2c155%2c156%2c157%2c158%2c81%2c82%2c83%2c84%2c85%2c142%2c86%2c87%2c88%2c89%2c90%2c91%2c133%2c137%2c138%2c136%2c139%2c141%2c168%2c140%2c159%2c160%2c161%2c162%2c163%2c164%2c165%2c166%2c109%2c174%2c175%2c111%2c110%2c113%2c114%2c130%2c131%2c132%2c173%2c7%2c8%2c9%2c10%2c11%2c12%2c13%2c1%2c2%2c3%2c4%2c5%2c6%2c14%2c15%2c16%2c17%2c18%2c19%2c25%2c26%2c27%2c28%2c29%2c172%2c30%2c31%2c32%2c33%2c34%2c35%2c37%2c38%2c39%2c36%2c40%2c41%2c42%2c43%2c44%2c45%2c46%2c47%2c48%2c49%2c50%2c51%2c52%2c53%2c54%2c171%2c121%2c122%2c123%2c124%2c125%2c126%2c127&StartDate=0&OnlineOnly=False