A canine-themed charity bike ride supported by just a handful of cyclists which raised £10,500 in its first year has now topped £131,000 collected for St David’s Hospice Care.

The annual Dalmatian Bike Ride, nowadays attracting hundreds of riders, is sponsored by Newport based multi-specialist recruitment and training agency, Acorn.

One of the new routes for 2017 will be from Brecon to Newport and Caerleon, 45 miles along the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal towpath, with places for 196 pre-registered riders.

Organisers have now set themselves the target of raising £50,000 from the event on Saturday June 10.

Cassie Ward, team leader for the Canal and River Trust, said, “We’re really happy to support the Dalmatian Bike Ride 2017 and St David’s Hospice Care. The canal is a beautiful place to visit, home to a wonderful community of boaters, cyclists, walkers and more. It should provide a really scenic route for all those who take part in the event and a fantastic opportunity to continue our Share the Space campaign.”

The ride in 2016 followed two routes, one twenty miles the other forty, taking in Newport, the Gwent Wetlands, Magor and Caerleon, raising a total of £30,000 for the Gwent-based charity.

The name Dalmatian was chosen because, after the first year, the organisers decided they wanted to the ride to become an annual event and to make it bigger, with at least 100 riders taking part.

They wanted a catchy name and one of the people taking part suggested they should have 101 riders - so naturally it became known from then on as the Dalmatian Bike Ride.

For more details contact Dave Rees at [email protected] or call Gemma Carter at St David’s Hospice Care on 01633 851051