Brave cyclists defied the flurry of snow and ice to saddle up at the Farnham Maltings on Sunday for the third annual Rotary Club of Farnham charity Cyclathon.

Tasked with pedalling the longest cumulative distance in an hour on an exercise bike, around 30 teams and just over a hundred cyclists took part in this year’s event in aid of the Rotary Club of Farnham’s Benevolent Fund as well as their chosen charities.

A team from Nuffield Health and Wellbeing Centre, which donated six exercise bikes for the challenge, kicked off the day with a competitive distance of 23.1km.

But they were ultimately undone by a team from the Barley Mow pub in Tilford, the 'Barley Mow Boys', who retained their Cyclathon crown with an unassailable 36.11km.

The Mayor of Farnham, Mike Hodge, also saddled up as part of Farnham Town Council’s 'Otter Team', donning otter masks to promote the Otter Wey Trail and raise funds for the mayor’s charities The Woodlarks Centre and the Brightwells Gostrey Centre.

The town council also provided a 'juicer bike' for the day, while other teams came from the 'Pilgrim Project' led by Reverend Michael Hopkins, The Hedgehogs, Weyside Rotary Club, Abbeyfield Wey Valley Society, Weydon School, 40 Degreez, Friends of Farnham Hospital and various GP surgeries, Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice and many others.

Paul Fry, president of The Rotary Club of Farnham, said: "The weather was worse than we expected but everybody still turned out. What a fantastic effort, and it goes to show how committed people are to their causes."

The mayor, Mr Hodge added: "It’s a fantastic event and it’s testament to people’s commitment that they actually got here. There’s no stopping the Farnham community when there’s a good cause."

Unfortunately the weather did curtail a Health and Wellbeing Day planned by the Friends of Farnham Hospital and Centre for Health, town council, Farnham Integrated Care Service (FICS) and the local Clinical Commissioning Group - but the town’s health professionals still turned out in force to support the event.