A popular charity cycle ride will be returning to Beccles once again this May, with riders urged to show their support.

Now in its 17th year, the Beccles Cycle for Life will take place on Sunday, May 13, organised by the town’s Rotary club.

The ride raise funds for the East Anglian Air Ambulance and the Rotary Club’s charitable trust in equal shares.

It is suitable for all ages and abilities with five possible distances of eight, 16, 25, 41 and 50 miles to complete and the event usually attracts families and regular cyclists alike.

Family entries and teams are at a special rate and the shorter distances are especially suitable for younger riders.

This year, for the first time, riders of all categories can enter directly online through the event’s revamped website and those who prefer postal entry can download a form from the same site.

Having had to change all the routes slightly because of the construction of the new Beccles Southern Relief Road, the organisers have also made bigger changes to the shortest route, which is on a different circuit, though all routes will start the same way as last year, heading south from the Sir John Leman High School in Ringsfield Road.

Maps of all the routes are available on the websit and prizes are awarded to the riders who raise sponsorship.

Norfolk and Suffolk Financial Services Limited is again donating five valuable prizes this year for sponsored riders to win, some for children, which will be drawn at Beccles Hospital Fete on the last Saturday in June.

Lord Somerleyton is also offering two prizes, which are for the rider who raises the most sponsorship and also for the runner-up. The first prize is dinner, bed and breakfast at the Fritton Arms and the second is dinner at the Dukes Head in Somerleyton.

The Rotary club’s trust supports both local charitable causes and international charitable needs, including the provision of survival supplies for disaster relief.

Anyone wishing to sign up is encouraged to do so as early as possible, and more information can be found at becclescycleforlife.orgYou can also keep up-to-date with the event by searching for Beccles Cycle for Life on Facebook.