Annual Jo Cox cyclists set off on 290-mile ride

A group of cyclists from as far afield as New Zealand are riding 290 miles from Yorkshire to London in memory of Jo Cox.

The Labour MP for Batley and Spen was murdered outside her constituency surgery in Leeds in June 2016.

Her sister Kim Leadbeater, MP for Spen Valley, said: "Perhaps the greatest tribute we can offer Jo is not merely to repeat her words, but to live by them, and show that we really do have far more in common than that which divides us.

"This is exactly what this bike ride does: women and men, young and old, from different places and different backgrounds, spend time together and real friendships grow."

Issy Doudney and Ruby Boyden, both 27, travelled from New Zealand to take part in the annual Jo Cox Way ride.

Boyden said: "It's a reminder to turn toward community not away from it, particularly in times of increasing polarisation and divisive rhetoric.

"The 'more in common' message continues to resonate, as a positive and hopeful message, and this bike ride feels like it embodies that."

The youngest rider this year is 22 years old, with the oldest, Kath Lyons from Skipton, being in her 80s.

Safraz Mian, from Stokesley in North Yorkshire, had not met Cox or been to her constituency but organised the ride soon after she died.

He said her message had become "even more poignant, significant and important to humanity" in the years since her death.

"Wonderful people doing great things for their communities is the normality. The negative stuff that goes on in the world is not normal," he said.

"I think the ride is important because it is a reminder that there is all this wonderful stuff that goes on up and down the country, from Cleckheaton to London."

So far, more than 360 cyclists have completed the journey, which takes four-and-a-half days and involves 13,000ft of climbing.

They have set off from the Princess Mary Athletics Stadium in Cleckheaton and will finish in Southwark in London on Sunday.

One of the cyclists, Sally from Ilkley Cycling Club, said the prospect of the five-day challenge made many of the riders nervous, but all would be well once "the first day was out of the way".

"I've been long distances over one day, but long distance over four-and-a-half days is very challenging.

"Plus it gives the opportunity to raise money for a really useful cause."

She said she was "proud" to be doing it for the values epitomised by the Jo Cox Foundation.

"When memories fade, hopefully Jo's memory will live on through the work the foundation is continuing," she said.

Leadbeater said the turnout was "absolutely brilliant" and the event was "bigger and better" every year.

"It's just a wonderful feeling of community, people coming together in that shared endeavour," she said.

The MP said such challenges were "heart-warming" and while the family would "never, ever" get over Cox's death, these events were what kept the family going.

"It's 10 years since Jo was killed and we'll never ever get over that, but what's kept us going is events like this," she said.

"It's the way the community and the country pulls together when something horrific happens.

"This shows who we are as a country and it shows the very best of our community - the fact that total strangers are coming together and doing that in Jo's name."

Leadbeater said there were significant challenges in life but to address those, people needed to pull together and celebrate common ground.

"It's not pretending that we agree on everything; we don't and if we did, that would make life boring," she said.

"But if we can connect on a human level we can have those disagreements respectfully. We can try and find that common ground as we much as we can."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North