Farmers’ wives Elizabeth Hickson and Margaret Callwood are saddling up for a marathon ride to raise funds for a charity close to their hearts.
The long-time friends are hard in training ahead of their cycle challenge from London to Bruges in September.
Elizabeth, owner of Essence beauty salons in Nantwich and Sandbach, and Margaret who runs Maylands Pantry catering business, are raising money for Bowel Cancer UK.
The pair, calling themselves ‘The Farmers Wives’ on their JustGiving page, have known each other since their teens in Young Farmers and both still live on farms in Nantwich.
Elizabeth said: “At 61 I am now the same age as my dad when he passed away due to bowel cancer so I really want to do all I can to raise awareness of this terrible illness.
“I had never cycled long distance before but during the pandemic Margaret encouraged me to cycle to Audlem and back.
“She’s a seasoned cyclist and really pushes me hard to keep going. We then cycled to Chester Zoo and now we’re out every weekend.
“We both run busy businesses and cycling to Bruges means time out. But it will be an adventure and hopefully a big boost to the charity.”
The pair set themselves a fundraising goal of £2000 each and are close to target.
Their fundraising took a leap forward earlier this month when they staged a lunch at Audlem Village Hall. Tickets were sold to family and friends and more than £1000 was made on the raffle.
Margaret, 69, who caters for large functions, did the food which was on a summer theme and a packed village hall enjoyed turkey and ham salads, summer pudding, lemon roulade and strawberry cheesecake.
She said: “Elizabeth is a great sport and puts the time into train no matter what the weather. Coming from farming backgrounds we’re used to early starts so we’re out on the road first light to get in the miles.
“In total we’ll cycle over 170 miles to Bruges and it’s so nice to have the support from our family and friends and other local business.”
The gym buddies, who train at Studio 121 in Nantwich, will travel by train to London before cycling to Harwich ferry port.
From the hook of Holland they will journey to Vlissingen across the peninsulas and islands of Zeeland before arriving on their fourth day in Bruges. There they will have some time to take in the sights of the fairytale city before heading back on Eurostar.
To support them go to their JustGiving page ‘The Farmers Wives’ or call in at Essence on Welsh Row, Nantwich.
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