READY TO RIDE: The team of pedalling posties ahead of last year's cycle from Leatherhead to Littlehampton
POSTAL workers are planning a sponsored cycle ride in memory of a beloved friend who died of cancer.
Bob Hogan and colleagues at the Royal Mail's delivery office in Leatherhead have held a fundraising event for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity every year since Geraldine Jones died in 1999.
Building on the success of the first events the riders also arranged international trips, cycling to Marseilles in 2001 and Barcelona in 2003, raising £92,000 and £62,000 respectively.
Ms Jones' leukaemia was treated at The Royal Marsden Hospital for eighteen months before she died aged 60.
Mr Hogan, 59, said: "Sadly she didn't make it, but because of the fantastic treatment, and the way everyone at the Marsden seems so dedicated to whatever they do, I decided to see if I could help a little.
"So every year we saddle up and cycle 44 miles from Leatherhead to Littlehampton and raise as much as we can. Last year we raised £14,000 thanks to the generosity of local people, which is pretty good."
To sponsor the group send a cheque payable to The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity to Leatherhead to Littlehampton Cycle Ride c/o Leatherhead PDO, Station Road, Leatherhead, KT22 7AE.