London to Brighton with BGO

Investor BGO is organising a London-Brighton cycle ride to raise money for charities, as part of the social strategy for its 105 Victoria Street development in London.

Charities including Westminster Wheels, which trains previously unemployed Westminster residents as bike mechanics, as well as Wondering Minds, Mind, The Abbey Centre, The Grey Coat Hospital School, St Matthew’s Primary School, Westminster City School and Cardinal Hume.

• Date: Friday 17^th of May  
• Full cycle starting point: 
  Time: 8:30am departure 
  Location: Howick Place, behind 105 Victoria Street (Look out for the 105VS flag!) 
  Distance: 105km 
• Halfway starting point: 
  Time: 11:30 departure 
  Location: East Grinsted, location TBC 
• Distance: 48km  

Sign up to ride via SurveyMonkey here.

• To maximize our charitable contributions, we kindly request participants to procure their own hire bikes and team tops at a nominal cost. For those interested in securing a hire bike, please note that the provider has generously reduced the costs. Secure yours now through the SurveyMonkey link provided here.
  For those of you who have already signed up and selected this option, this change will have been made for you automatically. Specialized will be providing us with some very smart bikes!  
• Helmets will be provided for those renting bikes, but if you are bringing your own bike and would like to borrow a helmet, please let me know directly.  
• The deadline for ordering tops will be Friday 5^th of April, via the SurveyMonkey link.  

The route is now also available for you to take a sneak peak: https://ridewithgps.com/events/305323-105vs-2024-l2b  

A huge thank you once again to everyone who has shown their support and donated towards our amazing charity partners so far. Here is the crowdfunding link to share with friends, family and work colleagues, with a goal of reaching £150 per person.

With some of you already doing some training, you can now begin showing your support online by sharing the following: 

• How have you and your team supported the 105VS social strategy  
• Key hashtags:  #105VictoriaStreet #findalternative  
• Include your personal and or business LinkedIn accounts, including BGO, Alexander Morris, Westminster City Council and @westminsterwheels /@westminsterwheelsNW8  
• Do mention our charity partners, Westminster Wheels, Wondering Minds, Mind, The Abbey Centre, The Grey Coat Hospital School, St Matthew’s Primary School, Westminster City School and Cardinal Hume  

And lastly, regarding travel, a reminder that everyone should make their own journeys to their respective starting lines, aiming to arrive an hour beforehand for smooth check in and sharp departure times.  

Travelling Into London:  

For those travelling to our Howick Place (105 Victoria Street) 8:30 start line, please note that you can travel in via the following:  

• Victoria Street Station 
  Southeastern, Southern and Gatwick Express trains 
  Circle, District and Central Lines  

• St James’s Park 
  Circle and District Lines  

• Westminster 
  Jubilee, Circle and District Lines  

Please note that no un-foldable bikes are allowed on TFL public transport (including Elizabeth line) during rush hour times, 7:30 – 9:30 and 16:00 – 19:00. 
Southeastern, Southern and Gatwick Express trains request that journeys into London with a bike should be complete by 7:00am at the latest. I have linked all websites for further information, however, we would recommend that If your office has bike space, it would be good to leave bikes overnight the evening before to make the journey into London a little simpler.
If you do get the train and arrive a little early to avoid rush hour, I recommend fuelling up at local venues: Iris & June, open from 7:30, Regency Café, open from 7:00 and Ravello, open from 6:30.  

From London to East Grinsted: 
For those travelling to East Grinsted for their 11:30 departure, please note that you can get the Southern train from London Victoria to East Grinstead for a breezy direct journey. The 8:50 and 9:20 will get you there with enough time for check in, with all bikes on journey’s going out of London permitted.  

Returning from Brighton: 
You will have the option of arranging transportation of bikes from Brighton back to London through Just Pedal via the SurveyMonkey, or you can get the Southern, Thameslink and Gatwick Express after 19:00. Hopefully Pizza on the beach will be so enjoyable, you’ll want to stay until then anyway.  

A huge thank you once again to all sponsors:  

• Platinum: Skanska, Erith and Carey’s  
• Gold: Simmons & Simmons, Ambit and Severfield  
• Silver: Modular, AKT2, Gleeds, Avison Young and Patera  
• Bronze: BDL, Lockton, KPF and Sweco  

Please note that riders who have not signed up via the SurveyMonkey will not be able to ride!