# Cycling King Alfred's Way for Focus Ireland and Crisis

- URL: https://paolodona.com/blog/king-alfreds-way-charity-cycle.html
- Published: 24th May 2026 (2026-05-24)
- Summary: In June I will ride King Alfred's Way with Staycity colleagues in memory of Keith Freeman, raising funds for Focus Ireland and Crisis.

From 3-5 June 2026, I will be taking on King Alfred's Way with a group of Staycity colleagues: a long circular gravel route starting and finishing in Winchester.

We are riding in memory of Keith Freeman, our former Chief Operating Officer, who passed away last year. Keith lived in Winchester, and he cared deeply about supporting people experiencing homelessness. That makes this route, and this cause, feel especially meaningful.

<div class="charity-gallery" aria-label="Staycity charity cycling photos">
	<figure class="charity-gallery__hero">
		<img src="/img/blog/king-alfreds-way-charity-cycle/staycity-riders.jpg" alt="Staycity colleagues with bikes outside a Staycity aparthotel">
		<figcaption>London to Paris Staycity Charity ride in 2024.</figcaption>
	</figure>
	<div class="charity-gallery__row">
		<figure>
			<img src="/img/blog/king-alfreds-way-charity-cycle/keith-freeman.jpg" alt="Keith Freeman wearing a Staycity shirt">
			<figcaption>Keith Freeman.</figcaption>
		</figure>
		<figure>
			<img src="/img/blog/king-alfreds-way-charity-cycle/training-ride.jpg" alt="Paolo Don&agrave; cycling in Staycity kit during a training ride">
			<figcaption>Training miles in Staycity colours.</figcaption>
		</figure>
	</div>
</div>

The full ride is roughly 350 km, with around 5,000 metres of climbing and a lot of off-road terrain. It will be a proper challenge, but I am lucky in my life. Through my work I get to travel, meet incredible people, and experience opportunities that many others simply do not have. Taking part in this ride feels like a small way of giving something back.

We are raising funds for [Focus Ireland](https://www.focusireland.ie/) and [Crisis](https://www.crisis.org.uk/), two charities doing vital work for people facing homelessness in Ireland and the UK.

If you are able to support the ride, I would really appreciate it:

[Donate to the King Alfred's Way charity ride](https://www.givewheel.com/fundraising/14236/paolo-dona-380km-charity-cycle-ride-king-alfreds-w/)

Any contribution, big or small, will make a difference.

For Staycity colleagues joining different parts of the ride, I have also put together a simple route hub with Komoot, Strava, GPX downloads, and Google Maps links for each stage:

[King Alfred's Way route links](/king-alfreds-way/)

Thank you for your support. I will share updates along the way.