Rangers supporters clubs to combine for charity cycle ride

MEMBERS of a Coleraine based Rangers Supporters Club are teaming up with Belfast counterparts to help raise money for charity with a sponsored cycle this summer.

Coleraine True Blues RSC and KOB (Kelvin Old Boys) RSC, based in Belfast’s Sandy Row, are hosting an event on Saturday June 29.

A charity cycle ride, the event will start from outside Patsy’s Bar on Coleraine’s Ballycastle Road at 8am.

Breakfast baps, tea and coffee will be available to fuel the cyclists and also the organisers and supporters for the day ahead before cyclists set off on their 58 mile trek.

Participants will proceed from Coleraine passing Ballymoney along the Frosses Road, A26 dual carriageway, Ballymena and Antrim, stopping off at Burnside Orange Hall on the Loughanmore Road Antrim for a comfort break and some light lunch.

The sponsored cycle will then proceed along the Loughanmore Road, Templepatrick, Seven Mile Straight, Horseshoe Bend, Crumlin Road, Shankill Road, Duram Street and finish at the Kelvin Old Boys RSC Clubrooms at St George’s Gardens in Sandy Row.

“The two Rangers Supporters Clubs have teamed up to undertake to complete a sponsored charity cycle from Coleraine to Belfast in aid of the Emmie Smillie Charity Foundation,” explained a spokesperson for the organisers.

“The event was launched earlier this year in the Trophy Room at Ibrox Stadium with the chairman of the Charity Foundation, Mr Andy Smillie, and members from both clubs present.

“The 'bike' in the Ibrox Trophy room and which can be seen in the photos sits proudly under the portrait of the club’s most successful manager, Mr Bill Struth.

“It was a gift from French club St Etienne when Rangers played them in the European Cup in 1975.

“The bike is an iconic piece of history in the Ibrox Trophy room and the reason why the organising committee decided to officially launch the charity cycle event with it at the forefront.

“The sponsored cycle is open to all so if you are a cycling enthusiast and wish to test your endurance and complete the whole route, or indeed you are a mere novice and want to complete a part of the route, please get in touch via the Facebook page - Here we go, Coleraine to Sandy Row for further information or email [email protected].

“You can also donate via the just giving link below and all proceeds will be donated to the Emmie Smillie Charity Foundation.”