A Wet, But Successful, £1,000,000 Ride

- Wed 15th Aug 2007

The Bike Ride returned in good spirits on Sunday 15th July, finishing at Hayling College to welcome refreshments provided by Hayling United Football Club, after the wettest ride on record. Preliminary indications are that we should reach our £1,000,000 target for funds accumulated over the 22 years of the Ride, with pledges already made bringing us up to a total of £990,000 – riders generally underestimate the amount they eventually collect and the current £75,000 of pledges also does not include the £5,000 or more in matching funds promised by Vodafone for their ‘Team Sim’ members. All we have to do now is collect the money!

There are many highlights of the ride to mention, but also some ‘lowlights’! The first highlight was that everyone turned up for both outward crossings, on Sunday 8th and Tuesday 10th, with smooth sailing for all. For me, the second major highlight was we had no real problems with accommodation at all of the 27 hotels used, with some lesser hotels getting an unexpected ‘thumbs up’! The next was the magnificent support crew, adjudged by team leader, John Adcock, as the best crew in his experience, possibly because they were either old hands or had done the ride on a bike before. They were complemented by four young members of HUFC, who did a tremendous job with the baggage. Fred Dyer’s route was superb, although on quite long stretches the rain meant that the countryside and villages could not be satisfactorily appreciated! A final significant highlight was the special treatment we received courtesy of Brittany Ferries, who, together with the Calvados Tourist Board, facilitated a superb dinner in Caen Castle and grounds on the last night, preceded by an hour or more of complimentary cocktails, on a lovely evening. This was followed up with champagne all the way on the fastcat on the return crossing next day – no wonder Peter McQuade and I had difficulty co-ordinating parallel cycling for a Portsmouth News photo!

As mentioned, there sadly were a few ‘downs’, including the theft of two bikes, locked together in a hotel garage in the centre of Versailles. After reporting the theft to the police, the couple, who had done the ride the year before, were transported to Rouen, but were then lent spare bikes for the next two days, which they completed in surprisingly good spirits. The knees of one of our Island riders gave up on him, after two arduous days and he had to return home, which was a disappointment. One or two others had to have rest days due to various problems with joints and a committee member had a fall on day 3, damaging her wrist and making riding inadvisable, so she joined support. Apart from that, what was there? Oh, yes the rain! I estimate that over the six days, we had eight to ten hours of rain, which was about 25% of the time, meaning 75% of the time without rain – so what are we complaining about? In fact, it was hot and sunny on the Friday, we had good weather at Pegasus Bridge, the conditions were perfect for the Saturday night party, on our return crossing and the ride back to the Island. So, all in all, the good things certainly outweighed the bad!

A more detailed report about what happened during the days of the ride will be published in September, together with personal mentions of riders and support crew making memorable contributions. We may also be in a position to give confirmed details for Ride 2008.

Thanks to the superb support crew:

John Adcock
Andy Brown
Dave Collins
Mark Cook
Kev Crocker
Rod Elliott
Mags Graham
Georgie Gross
James Hinsley
Geoff Kerr
Roger Key
Helena Key
Nathan Kirby
Jo Macey
Maryon McQuade
Paul Mumford
Sylvia Randall
Jack Salter-Baile
Mike Stevens
Barbara Upton
Chris Upton

Thanks to sponsors and suppliers:

Barclays Bank
Bosham Industries
Brittany Ferries
Burras Ltd
C.J. Driscoll Chartered Accountant
Gable UK
Hayden Vehicle Rentals
Hayling Ferry
Hayling Property Management
Hayling Window Centre
Kuehne & Nagel
Langstone Technology Park
Large and Gibson
Morris Crocker
Newtown House Hotel
P. M. Leisure Homes Ltd
Portsmouth Police
R.J. Morris Jewellers
Vodafone
WKB Toyota
Woods Coaches

Bike Ride Awards 2007

Heidi Ormsby - Most Impressive Newcomer - Eberhardt Signs Trophy
Rosemary Leiss – Most Improved Rider – McQuade Cup
Team Ditcham Park – Best Group – Bavent Cup
Mark Enticknap – Proof That You Can – Oracle Shield
Vicky Prentice and Tom Hayden – Special Award - Reg Beacher Trophy
Ron Spencer – Veteran Rider – Montfort Cup
Al Murison – Young Rider of the Year – Les Trois Pics Cup
Geoff Kerr and Mags Graham – Best Support Crew – Judy Dyer Trophy
Paul Mumford – Character Award – Value Added Trophy
Rear of the Year – Alison Taylor
CB Award – The baggage handlers

Phone enquiries to 023 9246 1412 or by post to Paris to Hayling, PO Box 30, Hayling Island, Hants, PO11 9UD. Mobile – 07770-888501.
Website - http://www.hayling-cycle-ride.org.uk

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