19 December 2024: Report on charity bike ride
On 29 August this year the widow of one of our late members set off on a sponsored bike ride of some 395 miles from our city to Edinburgh to raise money for two causes dear to his heart, ourselves and the Samaritans. She attended today’s meeting to tell us about it.
Where she could she stuck to cycle paths. She started from a village green about a mile from the city centre, accompanied by our President and one of her husband’s good friends. One of our other members was there to see them off. The two who started with her did not accompany her all the way; our President peeled off to cycle to his home in Deddingham and the other friend said goodbye to her in Huntingdon the following day and caught the train home.
After saying goodbye to him, she cycled for another two hours to reach Peterborough. She was not impressed by the outskirts, so was pleased when she reached the attractive town centre, where she stayed overnight in a guest house.
31 August saw her reach Melton Mowbray. She said when she started the cycle ride she was wearing a pair of padded shorts. Feeling achy and stiff, she followed a friend’s advice and wore two pairs, which helped.
The following day, Sunday 1 September, saw her reach Nottingham, where she stayed overnight with her niece. On the Monday she rode the relatively short distance to Bulwell, where she stayed with a friend.
The next overnight stop was in Doncaster. From there she cycled to York, which she looked around before joining another friend and her husband to spend the night with them on a campsite in their campervan. They loaned her an electric bike, which she used for the next leg of the journey to Thirsk. She said it proved useful on the inclines.
After that it was back on her own bike. The ride to Stockton on Tees on 6 September made her realise just how hilly that part of the country is. The overnight stay that night was with a relative’s friend.
On 7 September she rode to Cleadon, managing to get totally lost on her way through Sunderland en route. The following day she continued to Morpeth, having to cope with some torrential rain on the way. Then it was on to Alnwick, where she met up with her sister and brother-in-law.
From Alnwick she had intended to cycle to Berwick on Tweed. She booked somewhere to stay via an app on her phone, only to discover the accommodation it chose for her was in Duns instead. It was a long day on the bike because of a strong head wind, which even blew her off her bike on one occasion.
The next two legs of the route took her from Duns to Dunbar on 11 September and then on to Tranent on 12 December.
On 13 September she reached her destination in Edinburgh, where she was due to meet another friend. She again managed to get lost but eventually found the way to her friend using her satnav. The friend and her brother drove her to the base for a climb to Arthur’s Seat, a place her husband had loved.
As a result of her sterling efforts, She raised an impressive total of £4,000, to be shared between us and the Samaritans. After her fascinating talk she presented our President with a cheque.