TOUR DE HALLAM DAY 3

June 4th 2025 - A sting in the tale - No Crime nor Reason

We have completed Day 3 of the Tour de Hallam, journeying across Sheffield, Barnsley, Penistone and Stocksbridge calling in at all the churches on the way. Again, the welcomes we received (and as you can see from the pictures - the cups of tea) were very much appreciated and really helped with the pedalling.

Two minutes after I left the Centre, a police van drove alongside me at the traffic lights. Leaning out of the window, the officer said, “Is this a sting operation?” I laughed and groaned with equal measure so when I ended up alongside them at the next set of lights, I said that a joke like that at least meant a donation to St Wilfrid’s Centre was required.

Being ever-hopeful, at the next set of lights I did manage to get alongside and to my surprise, he jumped out of the van and placed a pocketful of coins in my bucket on the back of the bike. What a great start to the day - and thank you so much for the donation.

On our first day of the Tour de Hallam, a lovely lady had spotted us from her office window in Chesterfield (It’s not every day that you question ‘Three bees or not three bees?). She looked us up on the website and made a donation online. It’s not just these wonderful acts of kindness that make it worthwhile but also the generosity of those we have met, the real interest they have shown in the Centre and the smiles we have encountered throughout the journeys that remind all of us of the real meaning of community (as symbolised by our bee).

Back at the Centre, clients, staff and volunteers completed the miles before me. Today we managed to make contact twice with video calls and it was great to hear the progress they had all made on the bikes and listen to their cheers and support (see the pictures). I do think we might have to increase the resistance on the exercise bikes as I can safely say that after cycling from Barnsley to Penistone, inclines are definitely part of the challenge! And - if anybody has ever visited the church at Stocksbridge (the end of our route today)you will know that when I turned off the main road to go up Nanny Hill and I saw how steep the hill was, a few choice words came into my head. The gears had to be reduced but I made it - as can be seen from the picture and we were all pleased to have completed over half of the challenge.

Tomorrow we head to Hackenthorpe and then to the east edge of the Diocese at Retford, stopping as always at the churches along the way and the way back, finishing at Dronfield. If you haven’t had a chance to sponsor us or make a donation (however small) each contribution does help us (me and the clients) push that little bit harder but most importantly it makes a huge difference to the work we can do at St Wilfrid’s Centre, helping those in need and giving a voice to the voiceless and a place where everyone can feel safe.