The team in Kalimpong. Picture by Chinlop Fudong Lepcha

Siliguri, Feb. 19: Bad roads, unruly traffic and aching sinews do not matter when it is a question of giving back to your alma mater what you received from it.

Vanda Fraser and Kenneth Hammond, who studied in Dr Graham’s Homes in Kalimpong about 30 years ago, are currently on a charity ride for the school, cycling “up the memory lane” from Calcutta to the hills.

Eight others from the UK have joined them for the trip.

“It is a tremendous feeling to be able to raise funds for the school, which made me what I am today,” said Hammond, whose father worked as a tea garden manager at Panighata, 30km from here, till 1976.

The team made a brief stopover at Siliguri on way to Dr Graham’s Homes on Saturday. “It is astonishing that all of us actually made it,” said John Webster, the 74-year-old team leader, after the group reached Siliguri on Day 6 of the trip. “Well, but there was someone who fell off his bike twice,” the oldest member added without elaborating.

The group started off from Calcutta on February 10, and pedalled through Krishnagar, Behrampore, Aurangabad in Bihar, Gajol, Dalkhola and Siliguri before reaching Kalimpong.

They returned in cars.

“The participants are bearing their own expenses,” Webster said. “In addition, they are committed to raising at least £1,000 each in support of Dr Graham’s Homes. In all, we are hopeful of contributing at least £30,000. Currently, the school provides free education to around 200 needy children. We want to increase that number by raising more funds.”

The money will mainly come from sponsors.

While Hammond is an investment manager and Vanda a midwife, the other members, too, come from diverse backgrounds. Andrew Burridge is an architect, Tim Sheilds a building contractor, Alex Hutton a management consultant, James Mac Hardy a retired merchant navy captain and Janice Small the retired head of a village post office.

Webster is a “semi-retired” priest from a small church in Scotland and had first come to Kalimpong more than 40 years ago. The team also includes Neil Dunn (32), the youngest member, and his father Frank, a consultant for aids and appliances for the disabled.