On Sunday 2nd July 2017, spearheaded by six members of The Lodge of Dawn, a small group of a dozen brave cyclists departed from Freemasons Hall in London at 4.35am headed for Castle Grove Masonic Hall in Leeds. The 200+ mile trip, titled ‘The L2L Cycle’ covered 341km with a total distance climbed of over 285m and was done in aid of Breast Cancer Haven in Leeds as well as West Riding Masonic Charities. The trip was completed in an impressive 15 hours and managed to raise and whopping £6000.
The event was dreamt up, and led by, Nigel Ziff of The Lodge of Dawn. Nigel is well-known in lodge as a keen cyclist and can be seen regularly pedalling through the lanes and roads across Leeds and Yorkshire. Nigel said, “The idea of cycling from Freemasons Hall in London, back to Leeds had interested me for a long time. The hard part was mobilising enough other cycling masons who were daft enough to join me in trying to make the trip in under one day!” The intrepid cyclists were met at the half-way point in Leicestershire by the non-cycling preceptor of The Lodge of Dawn, W Bro. Raymond Diamond, and when the group reached Doncaster, several other cyclists added to the ranks.
When the group finally arrived back at Castle Grove Masonic Hall in Headingley, not only were they met by The Assistant Provincial Grand Master, Anthony Llewellyn, but also the first British cyclist to complete the Tour De France, Brian Robinson. A large group of family, friends, fellow masons and well-wishers also made sure that the L2L cyclists received a warm and rousing welcome home.
Freemasonry is of course well known for its commitment to supporting local, reginal and national charities and this event was no different.
Debra Horsman, Breast Cancer Haven Manager, said “We are so grateful to all the masonic cyclists for raising money for Breast Cancer Haven through this incredible challenge. We rely entirely on charitable activities such as this to fund our Yorkshire centre, so we are extremely thankful for their support”. WhilstTom Robertshaw, Fundraising Manager, wrote: On behalf of Breast Cancer Haven I would just like to send a huge thank you to everyone involved in [Sunday’s] L2L Bike Ride. It was an incredible achievement and you should all be extremely proud of yourselves.
The ride also raised money for West Riding Masonic Charites Ltd the designated charity of the Masonic Province of Yorkshire West Riding, which supports past and present Freemasons and their dependants and helps the non-masonic community with grants for community projects and general donations.
On 11th July Nigel, along with presented cheques for £3650 from the L2L team to West Riding Masonic Charities and the same amount to Breast Cancer Haven at the Yorkshire Show in Harrogate.
Charitable giving is a key part of masonic life, as is the social side of things. You can read more about The Lodge of Dawn’s charitable activity here.
If you are not a Freemason and would like to find out more read our Seven Reason to Join The Freemasons or our simple ‘What is Freemasonry?’ guide.
And if you would like to join The Lodge of Dawn in Leeds, please feel free to get in touch via our ‘Contact Us’ page.