FAMILY and friends of Viola Beach band member River Reeves are embarking on a marathon bike ride next Monday (Sept 19) with the aim of raising £15,000 for a foundation set up in his memory.
River’s dad, Penketh High School head Ben Dunne, is helping co-ordinate the event which will see the team cover more than 400 miles cycling from Penzance to Warrington.
On February 13th this year River, 19, together with his three band mates Kris Leonard, 20, Thomas Lowe, 27 and Jack Dakin, 19 and their manager, Craig Tarry, 32, were killed in a car accident in Sweden. They were travelling home from their first international gig.
River lived in Penzance, Cornwall, before he moved to Warrington in 2007 where he went on to join Viola Beach who’s album went to Number 1 in the album charts posthumously over the summer.
Riv’s Riders is a team of River’s family and friends, who will be making the same journey, on their bikes… cycling from Penzance to Warrington to raise money for the River Reeves Foundation. There will also be a donation made by the foundation to The Viola Beach and Craig Tarry Memorial Fund so that a permanent memorial, celebrating the lad’s short lives and all that they achieved in that time, can be erected in the town centre.
The River Reeves Foundation has been set up to support young musicians and those involved in the performing arts, who need financial support to help them overcome the many barriers to fulfilling their dreams and which Viola Beach also faced in their too-short musical careers.
It is a hardship trust that can support all manner of personal causes linked to the performing arts and it is a fantastic legacy for River – who was an all-round performer from when he could walk and talk!
Riv’s Riders will be covering a distance of 410 miles, averaging approx. 75 miles per day (and around 5000ft daily climb), setting off from the Jubilee Pool in Penzance on Monday 19th September, planning to arrive at the Warrington phone boxes made famous by the band, at lunchtime on Saturday 24th September (5.5 days total).
They will be joined by additional cyclists – Riv’s Rainbow Riders, including about 200 from Priestley College and Clubs across the town riding in rainbow colours for the last 3 miles as well as a group of another 50 riding in from 5 miles out.
It is hoped they will be joined by at least one Rio Olympic cyclist for the final leg of the journey.
All costs will be covered by the team – every penny donated goes to the charity.
Donations can be made online here https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/RivsRiders2016CycleChallenge
Confirmed Team (doing full ride):
Ben Dunne (River’s Dad)
Stella Judson (Sister)
Mark Judson (Brother in law)
Fin Reeves (Brother)
Gabriel Reeves (Brother)
Dave Darwood (Family friend)
Jodi Darwood (Family friend)
Tilly Holton (Cousin)
Jamie Prisk (Family friend)
Lindsay Hales (Family friend)
Viola Beach pictured at Warrington Festival last summer – Picture Paul Jackson
