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The R4R Team arrives at Land's End
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BBC interviews Rick
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Our first road side donation was given by these two adorable
children
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06 Aug. 2009
Today, after packing and repacking to stream down the bike bag, I decided to ride to test my re-assembly efforts of the bike. I eventually went over to Land's End Point and this lady and 2 young children walked up and asked out of no where "You coming from John O'groat's?". I Explained that we are leaving in the morning and the purpose of our trip. She asked, without hesitation, "Can we give you a donation?". Aunty Jane explained to wee Katie and Hannah how important it was to do things for others (and then turned to me and, under her breath said "I would rather give you the money than to waste it on the touristy stuff here.") So, wee Katie and Hannah and Aunty Jane are our first road side donation! -Mike Ryan
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Colour Party from the Light Infantry
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Getting Police assistance
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A30 between Chiverton and A390 junction
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08 Aug. 2009
The British Legion led us out of Exeter. We rode through some hilly but, sublimely beautiful countryside: Wellington, Cullompton and Bridgwater and were looking forward to the mythical "Somerset Flats" that the Legion members had sworn to us existed the night before. When we got there, somebody had pulled a prank, they weren't flat. However, the downhill roads did give me at least a fair chance to make up some time and average over 13mph for about 20 miles. We hit Cheddar and the real fun started. Three massive and long climbs, I'm really not sure how I made it up the last one, into the city of Bristol. Literally hundreds of motorists applauded as I slowly but agonizingly cranked my way forward, guided by my ride coaches and navigators. The team worked like a well-oiled machine and after today's hill climbs, we are confident that we can make it through this expedition. We stumbled into the Bristol Airshow where the RAF Red Arrows began swooping overhead as we arrived in the city...of course we assumed this was for us. We hope for more good weather as we are off to Wolverhampton tomorrow. -Rick Ryan
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Fraddon layby with Oliver, Sam and Nia
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A30 approaching Blackwater Bridge
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09 Aug. 2009
The hills heading out of Bristol were as bad as heading in -- and really challenging for Rick to start the day like that when feeling already out of gas. However, we did hit some "flat" road way for about 20 miles. The road to Gloucester and Worcester was rolling and beautiful. During that time, friends from Bahrain and fellow servicemen and service families--Alex, Cass, Graham, Bubbles, Sean and Mandy--came out to ride alongside and with us for a portion of the day. That was nice and took our minds off the misery and monotony.
Riding through the beautiful town of Worcester, many people cheered us on and that was energizing and touching. More big rollers toward Wolverhampton when we stopped to meet Annette Mann, the mother of the famous jazz singer, Andrea Mann. Steve Harrison, Deputy Head of Mission from the UK to Bahrain, also showed up with his family to offer friendship and generosity. At stops, people would come by and say "attaboy" and give a few pounds. You can't watch Rick crank the wheelchair up one of the many hills we see every hour and not been impressed by the dedication and determination it takes. We also had a funny moment when we pulled up at gas station, and an attendant came out asking for a picture with Rick as he had seen him on "the telly".
We have been blessed with good weather (very cold in morning and hot in afternoon, but dry). Next stop, Wigan.
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Royal Air Force Red Arrows
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service friends ride and support between Gloucester and Wigan
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A friend at the petrol station
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 Greeted by the British Legion |
10 Aug. 2009
The morning was wet and drizzling for the first time since we arrived in the UK, but as they say, every cloud has a silver lining, and these particular clouds, dispensing the English liquid sunshine were a blessing in disguise, as we actually made great mileage. The rain keeps the body temperature lower, and this in turn helps prevent over heating, which helped us to cycle harder and faster. In addition to Rick's incredible tenacity and the overwhelming cheers of support, I'm heart warmed by the resolve of the R4R team and how we've become like a well oiled Formula 1 crew at pit stops, getting Rick ready to go again.
Our van, supplied by First Line Digital has been a God send, in more ways than one. It is not only perfect for carrying all of our equipment, it also highlights our mission to all the vehicles following behind. One lorry driver followed us for several miles before being able to overtake us and threw a crumpled 20 pound note into the ambulance window!
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Along the way we had several well wishers and media meet us, including a photographer from the Royal Marine Association, who ambushed us just outside the barracks being used by the Royal Irish Regiment. Later on we met the British Legion chapter in Warrington who also arranged an interview with the Warrington Guardian and with Lancashire Radio. We reached Wigan by 3pm.
In WWII, as a child, Rick’s father was evacuated from Liverpool to Wigan to avoid the bombing Liverpool received
when the Germans tried to destroy the port, and so the choice of location tonight was symbolic. Whilst the crew
prepared equipment and performed other essential tasks, Rick after taking a quick nap, decided to do some extra
miles and so we pushed on and did another 40 kms. - Nabil "Nabs" Al Busaidi
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Taking advantage of the downgrade |
Catching some well deserved rest |
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11 Aug. 2009
Rick was completely spent when he woke up and must have had 10 cups of coffee by the time we arrived at the start point. The day started under reasonable weather conditions, with light mist and cool. The first 50 miles were as expected, rolling hills and cool weather. Then we entered the Lake District. Why it is called that is beyond me because all we saw were mountains! The first was an 800 foot climb. It was grueling. We thought that was it as we rolled down the otherside. But, as soon as we hit the bottom, we hit the hardest part of the trip so far, the biggest and longest hill yet. It never seemed to stop climbing and was made worse by Rick having two punctures (US: flats) in his tyres (US: tires). The road was so steep that if he had stopped to evaluate the leaking tires and how they were slowing him down, he would have been worse off by rolling backwards. Watching Rick just turn and turn the arm crank was unbelievable. I put my head down and only concentrated on turning my own bicycle wheels one rotation at a time. When we got to the top and looked back I could not believe how high up we were. The mountains on "Google Maps" are a lot bigger in person. It was blowing cold, there were warnings about icy roads and sudden snow storms. We were later told that this was the tallest peak in north west England. After a short break to contemplate what had just happened and fix Rick's wheels, we set off for the last 30 miles in a freezing downpour and Rick was soaked and hypothermic when we got back to the hotel. A whisky and a long hot shower later and he was good for another interview with the local papers.
The "Press" along the way took pictures and reporters were calling when we got to the hotel. Interest is climbing.
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At one of our rest stops, a woman came out, emptied out all of her loose change into our bucket and apologized for not having more. The High Sheriff of Lancashire came out to greet Rick and along the way car loads of veterans would trail us in support asking when we were stopping so they could get a picture.
As good as that feels, when it is just you and a long hill, nothing matters but what you can find within yourself. A perfect metaphore for Rick's mission: To find what you have within yourself to help others.
Tomorrow, we cross into Scotland. Ronnie will play the pipes at the border. Then 102 miles to Glasgow where, hopefully, Rick's wheelchair will be stolen and we will be off the hook. That's a joke. A good night sleep will do us well. -Mike Ryan
Oh yes!... The Ride for Remembrance Team grew by two this morning as Ivor and Gillian Prestwood joined us in Wigan. They are the parents of our main driver Ron, and Ivor is also the General Manager of the Crowne Plaza in Bahrain, and arranged half of the hotel rooms for our trip. A very heartfelt thank you to both of them.
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Please, If you haven't done so already, go and make a small donation to:
(Use your browser's back button to return)
The Achilles Track Club
Help for Heroes
The Royal British Legion
Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
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12 Aug. 2009
As we prepared our equipment to start a lady who worked in "Boots" a chemist (us: Pharmacy) walked past us on the way to work. As it was on our way, We offered her a lift in one of our support vehicles and when she got to work, she generously donated several essential medical supplies as a contribution to our mission.
The day began fairly smoothly with intermittent light mist and overcast. Overall, not bad conditions relatively speaking. Launching at 6:45, we left Carlisle knowing we had over a 100 miles to Glasgow. At mile 9, Rick got a flat on front wheel, requiring a lengthened stop. However, thereafter, the ride into Scotland was uneventful.
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The first 10 miles of Scotland were also uneventful. Then, it got bad. Punishing headwinds slowed our progress despite some flat stretches that we figured we could get up some good speeds. Then, in case we thought that was bad, we were given freezing rain. At some points, the winds were so bad that foul weather gear was actually hampering progress. Along the way, there were some of the most picturesque sights I have ever seen. Streams and rivers against the back drop of ancient structures and green pastures. Cows and sheep could be heard as we passed, looking up curiously at our procession. Were it not for the punishing conditions, it would have been a terrific passage.
We were again greeted by veterans along the way, this time of the Scottish Guard. Desperate to get a picture with Rick, they trailed us for over an hour before we pulled over. Because the conditions were so bad, we took few breaks and eliminated our typical long break altogether. Stopping had it's own long term risks -- getting cold and losing momentum.
The last 20 miles were brutal as each road imperfection seemed magnified and each gust of wind demoralizing.
We unanimously chose to skirt around a mountain range and the detour added a significant 54 km extra distance to the total. We finally arrived at the hotel rooms in Glasgow, donated by the "Crowne Plaza" as their contribution to our mission.
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13 Aug. 2009
After yesterday's 120+ mile ride, this morning's rough start was made easier by four of the Holiday Inn Glasgow staff (Sandrine at the front desk, Michelle and Pat in the restaurant, and Brian the previous night’s manager) who patiently and efficiently helped us quickly out the door with food, coffee and our bills sorted in no time at all. Despite my morning misery, this made our departure from Glasgow much more special.
Ten or so miles through the city streets and we were crossing the River Clyde on the Erskine Bridge. Gently undulated terrain brought us more than 40 miles in less than 4 hours. This included a breathtaking ride around the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond on some fairly severe road surfaces. I was surprised not to lose a tire and even more surprised by the roadworks crew members who stopped work to cheer us through their area. We were briefed that we would face a daunting 15 mile climb through the Rannock Moor up to the famous pass at Glen Coe. Daunting it was, but more so rewarding. I was confident that we could conquer the challenge fueled by our dedication to fallen comrades and having already been through a hellish six days. Support was tremendous on a climb which took me continuously up for more than two hours, eventually logging our highest climb on my altimeter at nearly 1,200 feet.
A crowd of tourists cheered and snapped pictures... and also donated generously. Throughout the ride, our van crew was hailed for donations, as well, and it was a good day for our fundraising effort.
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The scenery was too beautiful for me to miss, even through the pain of the climb. There aren't words to describe the beauty and colors of the mountain ranges along the moor and up to Glen Coe and pictures won’t do it justice. It was fuel in my tank.
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14 Aug. 2009
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Medic Rob Field was the first one up this morning, before five, and roused us to scramble as the forecasted deluge had not arrived. We hustled out to our start point and indeed enjoyed two dry hours and twenty miles. Completing a moderately difficult climb to Rannock Moor was probably more difficult because of the 700 miles already on my arms this week. We were rewarded at the top by the Commando Monument at the site of commando training for UK forces during World War II. Our route for the remainder of the day would take us through the Great Glen, a series of Lochs and canals creating a valley through the waist of the Scottish Highlands which would take us the 65 miles to Inverness. The road, however, was not as flat as the water through this Glen and, frankly, it didn't feel like a Great Glen, maybe just a mediocre glen. Plugging away up hills on the road which meandered across either side of the glen was only rewarded with brief descents.
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After two hours, the forecast rain began to arrive. In short order, I was so cold that I told my brother I wasn't going to stop for the last 36 miles, which would have taken 4 hours on that terrain. Every time I stopped cranking, my upper body muscles would seize and I would begin shivering, so it was less painful to just keep going and do all my eating and drinking on the roll.
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Gradually, I started to lose my gears, first two, for a while and thankfully the high speed ones, as I was doing mostly climbing anyway. Gradually two went down to 21 and I realized the strands on my gear shift cable were parting. I felt like I was back in the helicopter navy! Eventually, as we arrived in Spean Bridge, 15 miles short of our destination, I couldn't shift any more. I pulled over in the pouring rain and the team was quickly on the problem. Rob had me in layers of dry clothes, Mike was loading the bikes, Ronnie and Ed were off to the bike and climbing shops for repairs and more foul weather gear, Ivor and Jill were sorting rooms and Nabs was our all-rounder, as usual. Three hours, a bath and a nap later, and the bike was partially mission capable. We drove back to the site of our emergency landing, the rain gradually slackened and our pace gradually quickened. What looked like "Ride For Remembrance" dead in the water, turned into another 35 miles and took us 19 miles past our goal by 7 pm. Mike and I were on a real high and would have gone farther but a vehicle accident shut down the road and so we elected to get the team some food and rest. We face 101 miles tomorrow but I know anything is possible now. As always, when the road gets rough, I think about our coalition servicemen and women in harm's way facing much worse, I think about what we can do to remember their families and help them with small charitable contributions, and my own small challenge feels even smaller. I thank you for your wonderfully touching support in getting the message of our injured and fallen comrades out. I'm off to sleep...there's a "world record" to set tomorrow! – Rick Ryan
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15 Aug. 2009
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WE DID IT!
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A new world record: Land's End to John O' Groats by hand-crank wheelchair in
8 days: 10 hours: 9 minutes: 10 seconds
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Now it's your turn to make a difference. Please, make a donation to each of the charities below:
(Use your browser's back button to return)
The Achilles Track Club Help for Heroes
The Royal British Legion Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)
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