Twins Ariel and Kylo, age 4, raise £280 for Ride + Stride

Intrepid four-year-old twins Ariel and Kylo Wilson-Smith undertook an epic 2.4-mile cycle ride on Ride + Stride day, raising nearly £300 for their local church and the Sussex Historic Churches Trust.

The twins, who live in Shoreham, visited four churches in all, escorted by their grandparents Andrew and Rachel Matthews.

The children started off on foot, walking from St Mary’s church to the Methodist church, before taking to their bikes and cycling to the Church of the Good Shepherd on Shoreham beach and then back over the River Adur to their local church St Nicolas.

Mum Nicole, 30, a full-time baby ballet teacher and singer, said: “They absolutely loved it even though they were totally shattered by the end of it. We told them how much they’d raised but, as they’re only four, it didn’t mean much to them - until we told them how many sweets and toys it would buy!

“As a family, we’ve been attending St Nicnolas for decades – the twins come with us every Sunday and at times we have had four generations of our family in the church at the same time.”

Ride + Stride also runs in the family. Nicole said: “My Mum did Ride + Stride with my sister Becky for years when we were growing up. They would cycle round all the churches from Shoreham to East Preston.”

The twins only recently graduated from balance bikes to “real” bikes and Nicole says it was touch and go whether Ariel would be able to manage it. She said: “They did Ride + Stride last year as well, but on trikes which we could push. This year they had to cycle it themselves. Kylo goes at 90 miles an hour but Ariel can’t steer so she crashes into every bush she sees.”

Praising the twins’ fundraising efforts, St Nicolas churchwarden Sue Bartlett said: “Our parishioners are fairly elderly so none of them actually took part, but they have been generous with their sponsorship!”

Half the money raised during Ride + Stride goes to the church nominated by participants while the other half goes to the Sussex Historic Churches Trust.

This September, the Sussex Historic Churches Trust awarded a £7,000 grant to the Grade-1 listed, thousand-year-old St Nicolas church to help towards roof repairs. Grants from the Trust play an invaluable role, countywide, in helping churches carry out essential care and conservation of their historic buildings and the grants are often the ‘make or break’ factor in enabling church repairs to go ahead. For more information on Trust grants, please visit our Grants page.