Road to paris as part of charity cycling team

This year I had the pleasure to be part of Team Rynkeby, a Nordic charity cycling team. Every summer Team Rynkeby teams cycle to Paris to raise money for seriously ill children. This year, there were 2100 cyclists from 54 teams in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Germany. Each team consists of member from different backgrounds: men, women, young, old, experienced and unexperienced. In Finland, all raised money is donated to Sylva ry and Aamu Suomen Lasten Syöpäsäätiö.

I was chosen to represent Team Rynkeby – God Morgon Espoo. Each year the applicants are chosen during the fall and fundraising and training begins right away. The cycling trip to Paris is the most visible part of this project, but work is done all year round: spinning classes, long walks and most importantly: searching for sponsors. Even though they are called sponsors, no money goes to cyclists or support staff, everything goes to charity and as a token of their donation, companies get their logos on team clothing and support trucks.

The trip to Paris is approximately 1200 kilometers, travelled in 7 days with all teams arriving to Prairie du Cercle Sud -park at the same time! This is no trivial task, and lots of preparation goes to ready the team. During the winter, there were spinning classes once per week and bi-weekly long walks. Immediately after roads are clear from snow and ice, three weekly rides are started: two 50km rides on Tuesday and Thursday and a 100km ride on Sunday. The goal is for every rider to have 2500km of team rides before the trip to Paris. The rides have important goals: to learn safe riding in a group of twenty riders and to get fit enough to ride at goal speed of 25km/h the whole trip to Paris.

Total donation sum of 2019 is still yet to be published, but in 2018 this sum was 890 000 €. Total sum from all teams was 9 440 000 € which is a huge contribution to an excellent cause. Team Rynkeby project is expanding every year, with more and more visibility through teams, School Run events and other local events.

WeAre Solutions Oy is a proud sponsor of Team Rynkeby and I’m sure I will be joining this project for another season in the future!

Tuomas Metsälä, WeAre Solutions Oy

Team Rynkeby – God Morgon on eurooppalainen hyväntekeväisyysprojekti, jossa pyöräilyjoukkueet pyöräilevät joka vuosi Pariisiin ja keräävät siten rahaa vakavasti sairaiden lasten hyväksi.
Team Rynkeby

Sylva Ry – tukee syöpää sairastavia lapsia, nuoria ja nuoria aikuisia sekä heidän läheisiään

AAMU Suomen Lasten Syöpäsäätiö