Haywards Heath and Burgess Hill bike rides postponed until 2021

In 2019, the Haywards Heath event was moved from spring to autumn due to concerns over road closures, and as a result organisers struggled with adverse weather conditions and a decrease in attendance.

Ruth de Mierre, chairman of Haywards Heath Town Team which organises the Greater Haywards Heath Bike Ride, told the Middy: "As we have our huge Yesterday and Tomorrow event in September this year, we’re going to ‘miss’ the Bike Ride so we can continue again in the spring of 2021.

"It really didn’t work having it in the autumn and there’s not enough time to organise for this spring."

The Yesterday and Tomorrow event is to celebrate Haywards Heath and the Mid Sussex area, its past and to look forward to what the area is becoming.

The team's chosen charity last year was the Dame Vera Lynn Children's Charity, for which they raised £8,000.

The Burgess Hill Bike Ride has run for 27 years, and took place on Sunday, June 9 in 2019, when the main beneficiary was Headway East Sussex, a centre for brain injury support services.

The ride is organised by the Burgess Hill District Lions Club and Burgess Hill and District Rotary Club.

John Thomson, one of the organisers, said: "We have decided to have a break this year (after 27 years of doing the Bike Ride) but plan to hold another one in June 2021."