For more than half of his 70 years, Rabbi Geoffrey Hyman has taken on cycling challenges.

He has participated in bike rides in Israel in support of Ravenswood and ridden from London to Paris and London to Amsterdam in aid of Shaare Zedek Hospital. For his 40th birthday, he took the Land’s End to John o’ Groats route for charities including Magen David Adom. For his 60th, another marathon cycle raised funds to renovate a Sefer Torah dedicated to the memory of child Holocaust victims.

Now to belatedly celebrate his 70th, the Southend and Westcliff Hebrew Congregation minister will next week embark on a 350-mile odyssey, taking him from the coastal community to St David’s in Wales.

He hopes to raise £15,000 in total for Magen David Adom and two causes literally close to his heart — the local Havens hospices and City Of Southend Jewish Community Support (COSJCS). The latter is a hardship fund established by shul member Graham Berg, which offers grants of up to £500 to Jews within 15 miles of Southend who are experiencing financial hardship.

The rabbi’s “sole support will be my dear wife Michelle”, who will be accompanying him by car over the five days. However, the first night’s stop is scheduled for Borehamwood, enabling him to stay with one of his three daughters.

When communal duties allow, he has been getting up to speed, cycling through 70 miles of Essex countryside on Bank Holiday Monday.

He anticipates the toughest element of the challenge to be the Welsh segment with its hilly terrain.

With his right knee “not what it used to be”, Rabbi Hyman now uses a custom made e-bike, “which eases a bit of the strain as I climb hills. The electronic motor cuts out at 15k and has various degrees of assistance — I tend to keep it on the lowest setting for most of my cycling.”

He says he is loving life in Southend, having joined the Orthodox congregation in 2019 after serving the Ilford United community for 12 years.

And he intends to keep pedalling: “Please God, if I’m healthy, I’ll do something for my 80th.”
How does his wife feel about that? “She prefers it to my motor-biking. I’ve given that up… for now.”