Supporter Spotlight: Simon and FMB Cycles
Who can really put a price on a cyclist’s peace of mind as they tackle the Alps thousands of miles away from home?
Hope Against Cancer has become almost synonymous with cycle challenges and we couldn’t do it without the support of Simon Holyoak and FMB Cycles.
At every Hope Against Cancer cycle challenge since 2015 there has been a bright red van quietly following at the back of the group, there to keep the bikes running safely and all the riders riding.
Without Simon and FMB Cycles none of the rides could have happened in the same safe and smooth way they did.
Simon’s first HOPE ride was the Geneva to Milan tour. He arrived two days ahead of the riders to meet the bikes which had been separately shipped to Switzerland. Once there, they unpacked and checked over all the bikes ensuring that each one was in the best condition for the ride to come.
Over four days the HOPE riders cycled 360 miles, covering 90 miles per day on a gruelling route which took them through the Swiss and Italian Alps. The FMB van followed them all the way fixing any issues that cropped up, and then stayed on to ensure all the bikes were properly re-packed for the journey home.
Two years later FMB were back in action on the ride named ‘Hope to Hope’.
Fifty cyclists set out on a 320-mile round trip through the gruelling hills of the Peak District, stopping at the key town of Hope in Derbyshire.
Once again FMB were there to fix punctures, broken chains, tire alignment – or indeed any other bike maintenance concern that raised its head.
They did the same in 2019 on the ‘2,500 Furlongs Cycle Challenge’ which toured British racecourses and again in 2022 on the ‘Wild Atlantic Challenge’ in County Kerry.
Their constant presence has brought reassurance to every HOPE rider who has joined a HOPE ride over the last decade – and they continue to do so, most recently at the incredible 2024 ‘If Alice Can, Anyone Can’ cycle ride from Leicestershire to Norfolk.
This ride is happening again on 23rd August 2025 and so anyone with concerns about the ‘what-ifs’ of bike maintenance on the long ride can rest easy in the knowledge that such a skilled crew is on-hand support everyone.
Yet, technical support is not all FMB do in aid of HOPE. At the shop on Saffron Lane people often pop in for little things like pumping up their tires. The team is happy to accommodate and each time the customer is told it costs a £1 donation to HOPE.
They also part exchange bikes, or are the recipients of donated old bikes, and the value of this part exchange is donated to HOPE.
Over the years FMB Cycles have raised over £1,500 alongside the incalculable amount of free technical support they have provided. Who can really put a price on a cyclist’s peace of mind as they tackle the Alps thousands of miles away from home?
Our endless thanks go out to Simon and FMB Cycles, Hope Against Cancer is privileged to have such a team supporting us.
