A PAIR of pedalling superwomen hopped on their bikes for Brighter Futures last week as they took on a night-time cycling challenge through the streets of Edinburgh.

Abigail Lowes and good friend Cat Crowley took part in the Edinburgh Night Ride and managed to raise an impressive £1,414 for the radiotherapy appeal.

The Edinburgh Night Ride, which this year took place on Saturday, June 17, is an annual 50-mile cycle through the heart of the city.

Abigail and Cat set off at 8pm and biked beneath the stars to cross the finish line at 3am, while most of the city was sound asleep.

Abigail, 22, who grew up in Broad Hinton and currently lives near Hungerford, didn’t even own a bike and had little experience of cycling before she decided to take part in the challenge, but she was encourage by Cat, who is a keen cyclist.

Rather by chance, Abigail came across an advert for the night ride online when she was looking for an exciting fundraising challenge.

She said: “It was the first big thing I found that looked fun – the only problem was that I didn’t have a bike. But I spoke to Cat, who knows quite a lot about bikes, and we both got carried away and in half an hour we had signed up to take part.”

And Abigail was certainly glad she did.

“We absolutely loved it,” she said. “The adrenaline is amazing and it really keeps you going. Everybody was pumped and really happy to be there.

“When we finally stopped we were both worn out, but we had really enjoyed it.”

Abigail has been raising funds since the start of the radiotherapy appeal and has raised more than £3,000 with help and support from friends and family.

Speaking about why they chose to support Brighter Futures, she said: “The charity is very close to our hearts. I’m a local girl, so I know all about it and I’ve been helping raise funds for it for a while.

“We know that travelling to Oxford every day for treatment can put a huge amount of stress on the patient and the family, and if we had a unit in Swindon it would take a bit of that stress away.”

So far £1,601,306 has been raised for Brighter Futures. The team is very grateful for every single donation and wishes to thank everyone for their support.

To donate, visit the website www.brighterfuturesgwh.nhs.uk.