Our team of 12 intrepid (foolish) colleagues representing all corners of the Tesco Group; Tesco Supermarkets, Booker Wholesale, One-Stop Convenience Stores and Best Foods Logistics will be cycling 230 miles through the relentlessly hilly countryside of Cumbria and Yorkshire, from Whitehaven to Whitby to raise funds in support of GroceyAid, a charity dedicated to supporting employees past and present involved in the grocery trade.

GroceryAid have been providing Emotional, Practical and Financial support to grocery people since 1857. Unsurprisingly the last few years have been exceptional in terms of the number of people reaching out to them for help, with Covid, Energy and Price Inflation across the board affecting thousands.

We're raising funds to ensure they can keep responding to those needs.

Remember the Pandemic? Those magnificent "Essential Workers" that kept the supermarkets open despite the risk, and in some cases abuse that came with that territory? We called them Heroes at the time as that's what they are but even Heroes suffer poor health, financial hardship and mental stress. When they do, GroceryAid step up to the plate and that's why they deserve everyone's support!

This Year's Team Are:

Steve Marston, 57 and should know better by now. Despite this he'll once again be aiming to ride further, faster and up more mountains than any previous year since rediscovering the joys of the bicycle some 10 years or so ago. Steve exists in two basic settings... Riding his bike and thinking about riding his bike. Don't be fooled into thinking he's paying any attention to a word you're saying unless you happen to be talking about bikes! Steve has supported GroceryAid throughout his career in the industry and will, without apology, pester the team senseless to achieve this year's fundraising target

Victoria "Vics" Read, at least 21, perhaps a year or two older but nobody really knows. Vics rode her first GroceryAid event in 2021 when she refused to clip both feet into her pedals in case she fell off. She's been a regular ever since and currently holds the record for being both the fastest and the slowest girl on the team (yes alright, the only girl on the team but she has competition in both categories this year). Events to date include the Wales Coast to Coast, Bike to the Bard and London to Paris and she's gained in speed and confidence at every one, even going so far as to now use both pedals! At the same time!

Lee Edwards, 49. Lee's another born-again biker for whom the hobby has become an obsession. Living on the edge of the Peak District he's well used to climbing the odd hill or two but loves coming down them more than going up. Fearless on the descents, you'll only know he's coming by the whistle of the wind as he plummets past you and the incessant moaning about having had to work so hard to get to the top in the first place!

Mike Caddle, 44. Mike too has the benefit of a few hills to train on, some of them on the actual route of this year's coast to coast. When you live in Cumbria hills are just a fact of life and you can tell by the speed he goes up them that to Mike they're just bumps in the road. He's another GroceryAid veteran and enjoys putting his hobby to great use to raise funds for the cause

Jonny McQuarrie. Passionate about both the industry and it's people, Jonny see's GroceryAid as an absolutely essential lifeline to the staff of the Tesco Group and beyond. A keen cyclist and motorcyclist he's another rider who enjoys the descents more than he does the climbs. He has every reason to given that his home territory is basically flat so hill training opportunities are few and far between. That wont stop him reaching the summit of every climb though and he'll pass a good few on the way, and as every photograph ever taken of him on his bike will attest, he has to ride everywhere with his jersey unzipped and acting as an air-brake so he can actually stop at the bottom!

Steve Tait. Steve's a racer and and a good one at that, he's fast, very fast and very light too which means he'll always be first to the top of any hill you point him at. Always happy to share a good training tip and help anyone achieve their cycling goals he takes his cycling seriously and is the man we'll all be chasing and measuring ourselves against. When we reach our finishing line in Whitby, Steve will set about his pro-athlete warm-down and stretching routine whilst we all scoff Fish & Chips

Paul Whyte. Paul is a keen Cyclist and Runner with a number of gruelling trail marathons under his belt that typically involve mud, cliffs, hills and awful weather. His athletic enthusiasm is rubbing off on his two young sons, Albert (4) and Stanley (2) who already compete in Muddy Monsters cyclocross racing at their local Welwyn Velodrome. Paul is doggedly determined at everything he does and a big supporter of GroceryAid, he'll stop at nothing to ensure the charity coffers are filled to the brim

Modestas "Mo" Kardokas. Mo shares his passion for cycling with his wife Joana and his 4 year old daughter Adelina. The whole family live the "cycling life". He's a data-obsessive, always analysing the last ride and looking for improvement on the next. He'll be competing to be first up every hill and first down the other side too (he'll have more competition with the latter than the former) and he's taking no chances in his preparation for the event by paying a visit to Alpe d'Huez for a bit of climbing practice in the meantime

Neil Jewsbury, 54. A hardy Yorkshireman familiar with the territory we'll be covering during the event. Familiar from the perspective of the driving seat of his car that is, doing it on a bike is something new. He's no beginner though, he specialises in Triathlons which he competes in up and down the country. This will though be his greatest ever challenge on a bike. He's motivated by fundraising for such a great cause and by his determination to succeed as part of a great team (we're not sure he knows about rule 62.3 clause 7 which states "you may only compete on the bicycle in your photo" but we're looking forward very much to the picnic at half distance!)

Steve Charles. Steve has been cycling since the late 1980's when he entered his first road race and caught the cycling bug. Having raced in the UK and abroad for over 25 years he took the decision it was far more enjoyable to stick to club rides to the café for coffee and a large slice of cake. Having broken his foot during Covid he has hardly ridden his bike much in the last couple of years so this year sees him put his kit back on once again and try to get fit for the many rolling roads and climbs that lie ahead