Be Careful What You Wish For Humber Bridge to Runcorn Bridge Charity Bike Ride |
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Monday 6th July - Wednesday 8th July 2015 |
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See Update at bottom of page. |
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| Well, it's been & gone - the old men of Temple Lodge - plus one young lion all made it home safely! | |
| Monday 6th July - a bright sunny morning in Liverpool saw Stu Hyde & Steve Walls board the 6.22am train for Leeds & after changing trains their eventual destination of Hull - whilst Don McComack, John & Chris Bruffell travelled over in the support vehicle with the trusty steeds that Chris, Stu & Steve were to ride back to the Runcorn Bridge & the eventual finish at the Liverpool Liver Birds | |
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THE START AT HUMBER BRIDGE |
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| The official start of the ride was under the Humber Bridge. The weather was cloudy but dry, with a slight headwind - to start... The riders, Chris, Stu & Steve set off at 11.45am to follow the River Ooze inland before leaving the riverside to pass through several villages en route to Goole where they would eventually join the Aire & Calder canal. | |
| Having reached Goole & having been fed & watered by the support team of John Bruffell & Don McCormack the intrepid trio set off for the second leg of the day to Castleford where they arrived just after 6.00pm. Not a bad first day 56 miles in a actual ride time of 5 hours 27 minutes | |
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THE VIEW FROM OUR BEDROOM NIGHT 1 & ENJOYING THE EVENING MEAL |
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| Staying overnight in the Wheldale Hotel directly opposite Castleford Tigers Rugby ground. Day2 dawned all having enjoyed an evening at a restaurant & a good nights sleep & plentiful breakfast. The task for the day - 62 miles to Sale in Cheshire. | |
| It wasn't long before the weather turned nasty with a headwind & heavy rain slowing progress & at one time forcing the riders to take shelter & a change of clothes! Undeterred, the weather eventually broke in the afternoon just as Steve got a puncture. Finally back on the road progress was made towards their goal but before the rain returned! Having lost time due to the weather & puncture it was 7.00pm before they arrived at the Belforte Hotel in Sale - a gem of a find. | |
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END OF DAY 1 OR WAS IT THE BEGINNING OF DAY2? |
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| Day 3 dawned & the riders were greeted by more overcast skies with the threat of further rain. This was to be the best day of the ride & the shortest - just 44 miles - along the Bridgewater canal to Runcorn Bridge & on to the Liver Birds & home. Now we all know that Cheshire is a 'genteel' place - even the rain that fell landed softly on the riders heads & the wind blowed gently in their faces. | |
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TRAFFIC LIGHTS ON THE CANAL? |
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YES WE ARE DEFINATELY OUT IN THE COUNTRY NOW |
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| Passing through Lymm & onto Preston Brook where the riders had just 6 miles to Runcorn. En route to Runcorn they were joined briefly by Ian Black from Temple Chapter. Ahead of them now laid was just the 12 miles into Liverpool. On the Mersey, the tide was coming in & as they crossed the Runcorn Bridge they started to feel the effects of the strong headwind they were to face all the way home. No rain though for once - be thankful for small mercies. | |
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OOPS! |
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OUR ADOPTED MASCOT (MOTHER GAVE PERMISSION) & OUR HOST |
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| Across the Runcorn Bridge, onto Hale village & the Liverpool Sailing club in Speke where Howard (& Cath) Youdan of Temple Lodge a keen sailor had arranged to short 'pit stop' & hot cuppa before the final push home. Refreshed & their 'pit stop' completed off the trio set into the teeth of the wind. | |
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I'M SURE WE'VE MISSED THE JUNCTION WITH THE M62 (LYMM) |
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LYMM |
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| Stopping briefly at the Liverpool Marina to change into fresh shirts & to tidy themselves up the riders pressed on to their finish where they were met by family & friends including Bob Povall the (Vice Chairman (Craft) of the Lpl Grp) arriving at 3.10pm | |
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TAKING THE DOG FOR A WALK CHESHIRE CANAL STYLE |
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PIT STOP LIVERPOOL SAILING CLUB |
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| The riders had once again been delayed by almost an hour which unfortunately meant that Sam Robinson (Lpl Chairman) who had been present was unable to meet them, having to leave to collect his grandson | |
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LIVERPOOL MARINA - CHANGE SHIRTS |
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HOWARD YOUDAN & THE BRUFFELLS AT LIVERPOOL SAILING CLUB SPEKE |
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| At the time of writing this report there is no final figure for the amount raised as there are pledges to be collected & 'gift aid' to be calculated but at present it is estimated that the ride has ridden +/- £2500.00p | |
The funds raised are to be shared by the R Charity & Clatterbridge Cancer Care who are currently treating Norma Hyde (wife of Stu): Stephanie Fisher (wife of Temple Lodge Brother) & Phill Taylor (Temple Lodge) & will all be used to purchase new equipment for the new hospital.
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HOME AT LAST WITH R CHARITIES ROCKET RON |
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| Also present was Loren Slade & 'Rocket Rob' from the 'R' Charity at the Royal Liverpool Hospital who were representing the Linda McCartney Cancer Care Centre who would benefit from the funds raised. The funds raised from the 2014 event that were donated to the 'R' Charity for the Linda McCartney Centre have been 'ring fenced' & will be added to by this years donation & the funds will be held to purchase a piece of equipment for the Cancer Centre at the new Royal Liverpool Hospital which is due to open in the not too distant future | |
| UPDATE 29TH JULY 2015 | |
| The funds are now in & the total raised is £3500.00 - bar a penny or so, (We set out to raise £2500) | |
| Two cheques will be presented with The 'R' Charity (Linda McCartney Cancer Care Centre) & Clatterbridge Cancer Care each receiving £1750.00p. There will be a delay in the presentations as we have to apply to the Relief Chest for the release of funds which takes a little time & it is the holiday season. | |
| The R Charity have ring fenced last years donations as well as this years making a total just over £5000.00 which will go towards the cost of a specific piece of equipment for the new facilities at the new Royal Liverpool Hospital | |
| The Clatterbridge Centre have also 'earmarked the £1750.00p for the same purpose. | |
| No item of equipment has been identified at the moment although we have received some suggestions which are well in excess of the funds raised so we shall need to discuss the matter further - there is time to do so. | |
| Article and Photographs Courtesy of Steve Walls | |
