On a glorious sunny Saturday morning on May 12, over 2,000 cyclists set out from Cardiff at 7.30 am to ride to Tenby. The weather this year was the best for many years and the first four riders completed the journey in five and a half hours. They were met by the Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane and the president of Tenby and District Lions Derek MacGarvie who both congratulated them on their fine achievement.

Once over the finishing line, the riders headed down to the harbour where members of the Lions Club were waiting to serve them refreshments. The Lions were kept extremely busy from 1 until 9 pm serving a choice of pasta, beefburgers or hot dogs. There was also a bar to quench their thirst.

The riders were given a celebratory Carten t-shirt and there was an opportunity to have a massage which many gladly accepted.

In spite of having cycled 100 miles, some of the cyclists even cycled back to Cardiff the next day, while some of the local cyclists had even cycled up to Cardiff from Tenby the day before the event.

One of the members of Tenby and District Lions, Andrew Milward, was in the first Carten which consisted of just six cycling friends.

Thirteen years later, it is now eagerly looked forward to by thousands of cyclists and raises thousands of pounds for many charities.

The Tenby and District Lions Club would like to express their thanks to Pembrokeshire County Council staff, Delmon and Charles Fecci, Wayne, Molly and Tracy at Tenby and District Ex-Servicemen’s Club, Phillip Kidney and Event Bar Staff, Clare at the Harbour Café, Tenby Sailing Club, Tenby Sea Cadets and friends of the Lions Ken, Frank and Marlene for all their help in making this event a success.