A PRESENTATION of this year's LiDBA charity cycle ride has taken place at the Millennium Centre in Liphook.

Forty-three charities were represented and 150 people converged on the centre to hear about the annual event.

Current LiDBA chairman Philip Jordan handed over to his successor, Roger Miller, who will take over the 19th charity bike ride for 2008/09.

Mr Jordan, who confirmed that preparations for next year's event have started already, said: "Once again this year's bike ride was blessed with good weather and a fantastic turnout of riders, both on the road for the 25-mile countryside jaunt and the junior riders who enjoy en masse the pleasure of hurtling around the playing fields of Bohunt Community Centre.

"There were 1,114 road riders, with 653 riders representing the charities and causes and 461 paying a higher entrance fee for the pleasure of joining the event. With 258 juniors this made a total of 1,372 riders in all – the biggest ride in 18 years!

"Liphook and District Businessmen's Association undertakes this event in pursuance of one of our objectives, which is to help raise money for local charities and causes. This year with the help of many people in the community we have together raised £54,982.75, the largest amount raised in the 18 years of the ride.

"This added to past totals means that some £660,000, in terms of today's value, has now been raised for the benefit of the very young, for schools, for youth groups, sports clubs, support groups for the ill, infirm and less advantaged and also for the senior citizens of our community."

The 2008 ride had 51 charities and causes teams entered with the largest team coming from Mill Chase Community School with 57 riders. Six charity teams raised over £1,000; the largest total was BLISS with £3,471 and Myasthenia Gravis with £2,205.

Mr Jordan thanked the sponsors who purchase space in the ride booklet and route map thus providing the monies to cover the costs of staging the event and Ben Lawrence of BCL Technical Ltd for providing the speakers and PA system .