K20 Cycling Club Charity Sportive 2025
Our annual charity sportive was held on the Sunday 1st June this year. We have been building this event year on year since our first in 2022. Every year it has got bigger, every year it has got better, and we now believe it to be the Number One “must do” cycling sportive in Kent.
Last year we set the entries limit to 200, and with a month to go it had sold out. This year we increased the limit to 250 and entries went on sale in mid-January. We sold out in eight weeks and, had a waiting list of 40!
Our philosophy with the Sportive is quite simple, - we want it to be a cycling event that raises money for our chosen local charities, but is also different, memorable, and enjoyable for a price that is affordable, that riders want to return to the following year.
We partner with numerous local Kent businesses to make this happen and are extremely grateful for their continued support and participation.
Our theme for the Sportive is “A Taste of Summer” and once again were very thankful to the weather Gods who layed on a lovely warm and sunny June day. Consolidating the theme is the outstanding spread of food that we put out at the food stop at Rolvenden Village Hall. Once again this was provided by the Old Post Office coffee House in Marden and once again drew a plethora of compliments from the riders.
The Summer theme doesn’t end there as once back at the Start/Finish location in Marden, the riders are offered a full-on Cream Tea with fruit scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam, along with an abundance of fresh strawberries and blackberries, - plus an ice cream to go with all that!
A great thing about our Sportive is that riders don’t just finish their route and disappear off home. This is a real cycling event where riders take time for a couple of hours to enjoy the camaraderie, the food, the fresh coffee, the classic bike display, or perhaps talk to Ben Wright from Ben-efit Performance who was on hand to discuss all things performance with regard to bike and shoe fitting.
A particularly memorable element of the event was the free prize draw that comes as part of the rider entry package. Such was the generosity of our event partners that we accumulated 100 prizes for the draw with a value of over £3,200!
This year we included a paid for raffle prize to run alongside the Sportive. Made available to the wider cycling community, just £2.00 a ticket got you a chance to win a framed K20CC jersey signed by Mark Cavendish.
As well as Kent, riders came from far and wide to take part, - Oxfordshire, East Sussex, West Sussex, Surrey, London, and Essex. Some 21 cycling clubs were represented, with our old friends from Oxted Cycling Club and 7Oaks Tri Club once again supporting us in significant numbers, aided and abetted this year by large contingents from Kent Velo Girls, Shipbourne Road Chain Gang, and San Fairy Ann CC.
We have realised a profit of £3.200 from the sportive which will be split between the two local charities we support, - Marden Scout Group, and Dementia Friendly Community Marden. Thank you to all the riders who paid their hard-earned money to ride in our event enabling us to raise money for these charities. We will be back next year on Sunday 7th June, - so put the date in your diary and get in quick when registration opens, - everything is pointing to another sell out event!
As ever I really must put out a huge “thank you” to our members who volunteered to help before, during and after the event. It just couldn’t happen without you!
A collection of photos from the day may be viewed at the following link:
And finally, our sincere thanks go to our sponsors and community partners for supporting us so generously.
47 Homewares (Marden)
Arte Blanca Café (Tunbridge Wells)
Betty Boo’s Café (Headcorn)
Biddenden Vineyard
Brissenden Vineyard (East Sutton)
Brogdale Cider
Camel Valley Wine
Ceci’s Café (Tenterden)
Control Induction (Plaxtol)
Copper Rivet Distillery (Chatham)
Cosy Kettle Café (Hamstreet)
Cycle-Ops (Tonbridge)
Cycles UK (Maidstone)
Davy’s Wines
Driscoll’s Berries (Linton)
Frankie’s Farm Shop (Staplehurst)
Garden Café (Four Elms Garden Centre)
Garden Restaurant (Ripley’s Garden Centre Bethersden)
Giant (Paddock Wood)
Grovewell Garden Centres (Tenterden/Hamstreet)
Gusbourne Wines
Hamilton Airfield Tearoom (Bilsington)
KPO Architecture (Hawkinge)
Larkfield Cycles
Laurent Perrier Champagne
Lime Wharf Café (Bodiam)
Marden Scout Group
Oad Street Café
Off Piste Wines
Old Post Office Café (Woodchurch)
Old Post office Coffee House (Marden)
Prendas Cyclismo
Rodmersham Coffee Shop
Saddleback
Santini UK
Scarab (Marden)
Silcocks Farm Café (Tenterden)
Sleek Shutters (Horsmonden)
Teal Café (Hildenborough)
The Canterbury Ales
The Kitchen on the Farm (Fawkham)
The Ridge Golf Club
The Velo Works (Tunbridge Wells)
Tonbridge Brewery
Turner’s Cider (Marden)
Welcome Gym (Maidstone)
Wellington’s Electrical (Belverdere)
Westerham Brewery
Wildside Cycles (Tunbridge Wells)
