AFTER the pain and exhaustion of long stretches in the saddle, the 14th Crudwell 24-hour bike ride ended outside the village hall with cheers of appreciation from spectators on Sunday.

It had been a tough ordeal for many of the 355 riders who, between them, completed 786 laps and a total of 5,502 miles - or the equivalent of Crudwell to Calcutta.

The weather could have been kinder, described as variable at best, 19 teams of riders aged from under 11 to their 50s braved wind and rain around the seven-mile route that stretched from the village hall to Ashley and partly along the Fosse Way.

Saturday was taken up with a barbecue after the race kicked off at noon but the summer spirit was soon dampened as a night of scattered showers made conditions difficult for the cyclists.

Most of the teams were local but some had travelled from London and Bristol to take part and raise money for this year's nominated charity Cancer Research UK.

Trophy winners in the different age groups managed to heave aching limbs to accept their award and a jaded smile to the cameras as the sun briefly came out and bathed them with warmth of success they deserved.

First up were the under 11 victors, a team from Crudwell Primary School who achieved 28 laps with some of their number cycling until 1.15am on Sunday and then starting again at 5.15am. Crudwell School teacher Elizabeth Churchill said: "It was fantastic, the children threw themselves into it and they all did wonderfully well."

A special award was given to the Malmesbury School pupils who made up Knickerbocker Glory with their theme of St Trinians.

Their team captain Sophie Marston, 14, said: "It was really good fun. We decided to get dressed up because it made it a bit more entertaining for us."

The King Butts of Crudwell won the adult event, beating off competition from the Bright Spokes and the Tornadoes. The Butts also raised the most money by one team with £2,822.

Team captain Gordon MacPherson, 44 of Crudwell, won the individual fundraising award after raising £2,000.

He said: "It was fantastic we had a great event. The weather and the fact my lights packed in made it hard. We had hoped to complete 65 laps but made 64 which we thought was a good result."

Mike Credicott, chairman of the fundraising committee, paid tribute to all the riders.

He said: "Everyone kept going throughout the bad weather. The number of laps was down on the previous year but it is about raising money as well as having fun and I think most people managed to do that."

This year the bike ride made £16,000 to add to the £133,000 raised in the past 14 years.

cramos@newswilts.co.uk