OLYMPIC cyclist Chris Hoy led hundreds of people in a charity ride between Scotland's two biggest cities to raise money to help tackle homelessness.
More than £700,000 was raised to build two new villages for homeless people as part of the Break the Cycle campaign for the charity Social Bite.
The cyclists set off from the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow and cycled to the finish line in Edinburgh on Sunday.
Around 540 people took part, including former Scotland rugby player John Barclay.
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Josh Littlejohn, founder of Social Bite, also took part in the ride.
He said: “It’s fantastic to have the opportunity to cycle alongside a sporting hero like Sir Chris and the hundreds of other passionate supporters that completed the route alongside us.
“Having so many people support the cause is incredibly humbling and Sir Chris’ backing of this campaign has been a major boost in our efforts to raise money for two new villages for people in a situation of homelessness.”
Social Bite aims to build villages for homeless people in Glasgow and London after one in Edinburgh opened in 2018 and has been helping people find their feet.
The village - created in partnership with Cyrenians another homelessness charity - offers a supportive community to help people build an independent life, with the village blueprint offering an alternative to how society responds to homelessness.
Hoy said: “I’ve been a huge supporter of Social Bite and the incredible work it does for a number of years now.
“I’ve seen the positive impact the charity has on so many people’s lives and I’m really thankful to everyone who has been able to support the Break the Cycle campaign so far.
“It was fantastic to meet all the other cyclists and join them for the ride which will make such a difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness.”
Money raised from the Break the Cycle campaign will go towards creating the two highly supported communities with the pro bono help of engineering firm Arup and 10% of funds raised from the event will also be donated to SAMH, the Scottish Association for Mental Health.
To find out more and donate to the cause you can visit breakthecycle.co.uk
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