Epilogue
The cyclists arrived safely back at Ampleforth on Friday afternoon at 17h00 as planned. Accompanied by Fr Chad they enjoyed a more relaxed and enjoyable day's cycling with favourable weather conditions and a more comfortable mileage to cover.
The whole team was obviously delighted to be home again and they received the hero's welcome they deserved in front of The Abbey. A good turnout of monks, staff and friends and family ensured a wonderful atmosphere, our thanks to all. They were then joined by a sizable group of cyclists for a relaxed pedal across the valley to get down to some proper celebrating at the Fairfax Arms.
This year's challenge has once again been a tremendous success,
the following, from Jozef Mycielski, Director of Fundraising at Ampleforth (and long distance cyclist):
After 573 miles and over 58 hours in the saddle it seems strange that the St Martin's Ampleforth Cycle Challenge is now over and we return to relative normality. It has been an incredibly positive experience for us all and we do not underestimate the amazing support we have received along the way from across our Community. Thank you all very much indeed.
On behalf of all the cyclists I would like to thank Claire Evans for her exceptional preparation and logistical expertise, our incredible support team of Claire and the clan Higham - Louise, Maddy, Mikey and Leo. Their practical support, smiles and encouragement were invaluable.
Janet Lech put in much work with us pre Challenge and took the time and effort to spend two days with us in Scotland - without her expert guidance I know I would not have completed the challenge and I know she also helped my fellow cyclists greatly with typical enthusiasm and positivity. Thank you very much Janet.
Giles Duncan excelled himself with the website. We have had many comments already from supporters commending him for the site and it has been a fantastic contact point throughout the challenge. The site received over 30,000 hits during the week which is staggering. The messages received were such a boost to flagging legs and when we were struggling and we were bowled over by the level of support. We also, and importantly, had a surge in financial support during the week and the site has had a direct impact on the level of sponsorship - funds are still coming in but we have already exceeded our target of £30,000 - thank you all for making this possible, it will make a real difference to the St Martin's Ampleforth Appeal and our ability to take the sports hall development forward.
A new and wonderful dimension to this year's challenge was the Monastic involvement. We were very impressed by Fr Henry's stamina in ascending and descending Ben Nevis for a wonderfully peaceful and moving Mass and very grateful for Fr Chad's humour and strength and final day Mass in bringing us home. The reception in front of the Abbey and then at the Fairfax Arms was the perfect return for us all and thank you to all who could make it.
Finally, it just leaves me to say a sincere thank you, on behalf of the cyclists, logistics team, Giles, Fr Henry and Fr Chad to all our fabulous supporters. We genuinely could not have done it without you.
Jozef Mycielski
Fundraising Director"
One little anecdote that came out late in the day was a confession by the girls in the support team that we couldn't resist relating here:
Just when everyone thought the trip had gone smoothly without any hitches, they admitted to toppling the minibus into a ditch on the side of the road whilst waiting for the cyclists to return from their climb up Ben Nevis! Panic set in when they realised that the minibus, which contained everyone’s bikes, luggage and £2,000 worth of camera equipment not to mention Louise’s eldest child Maddy, was well and truly stuck! Girl power soon took over, they managed to borrow a tow rope from the local youth hostel and tie it to the back of the truck and pull it to safety within minutes of the cyclists returning and managed to maintain a calm facade as if if nothing at all happened ! We don't think our cyclists/climbers would have welcomed the thought of pushing the bus out of a trench after a 68 mile cycle and climbing Ben Nevis! Well done girls ...!
A big thank you to everyone who followed our adventure so enthusiastically and to those who donated so generously.
We wonder what they are going to come up with next year ?
4 June 2008, 17h00
Day 5 - Thurs, 29 May 2008
This report live from the dinner table at Headlam Hall, Durham County:
Nick Says: What's the similarity between Peter Bryan and a spring lamb ? They both cross your path at the last minute...!
Peter Says: I don't care if Mark Harrison IS The Oracle... we're going this way - ooops!
Mark Says: How do you spell "Phraoough" ?
Joe Says: Bonjour, Fabulous, Bonjour, Fabulous ... oh I am so fabulous - Bonjour !
Claire and Louise Say: They think it's all over - it will be tomorrow !
Day five proved to be even harder than the day before. The weather stayed fine, becoming quite balmy by the end of the day. The morning's ride down through Kielder water was peaceful and was most poignant when the teams passed the Scottish/English border.
After lunch it became apparent that the planned route was destined to be a problem so they decided to make a detour further to the east via Consett. As hill after hill stretched the boys to their limits conversation became strained, faces became longer and shoulders began to droop. The last few hours of the day were brightened up by the welcome arrival of Father Chad and Louise Harrison. Father Chad immediately joined the teams on his bike to face the last few hills of the day as a warm up for his stint tomorrow.
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30 May 2008, 00h30
Day 4 - Wed, 28 May 2008
This report verbatim from Claire and Louise:
Today was the hardest so far - the dreaded headwind, rain, Scottish mist and the centre of Edinburgh to negotiate around reminded us all of the first days last year. Three punctures meant that Peter eventually swopped his road bike for the standby mountain bike - no joke cycling that with clip in shoes on flat pedals!
Peter had a brainstorm halfway through the day and decided to do a U-turn at one point which meant that Nick, who had just moved out of Mark''s slipstream, on a blind corner, (travelling at 30mph downhill) had to perform a serious braking manoeuvre akin to a cornering speedway rider. Needless to say the event is still being talked about as I write.
I haven''t mentioned the midges - which came out in force today with the humid weather in the early evening. Windows were wound up, jungle formula applied and Nick took off his bright yellow windcheater which was a magnet for them. Last night in Scotland tonight so final whisky tasting taking place as I write - purely medicinal of course
Special mention should also be made of Simon and Vicky Walker who came to help support today with their children, George and Charlie, just south of Edinburgh - they were great helping us through the afternoon and were a real boost for the guys on their worst day yet
A great effort today, target met in trying conditions, not long to go.
Well done all.
28 May 2008, 11h45
This morning the riders were understandably a little slow to get going considering the rigours of yesterday, but soon shrugged that off and were on the road and underway by 08h30, destination Stirling ! At Onich Mark was unfortunate to pick up the first puncture of the whole trip which was quickly repaired and they were back on the road again heading up Glencoe through stunning scenery and on and over Rannoch Moor which was a long hard slog into the wind.
By 14h30 they had reached a crossroad at Crianlarich where a small debate ensued about the correct route to take. The route decided, the turned east, again into the brisk Easterly that the previous day had been helping them, to face a somewhat arduous cycle for the next few hours. Peter picked up the second puncture of the day at Lochearnhead which was also repaired in no time and soon the team was back on the road heading in a more Southerly direction for Stirling. They arrived at Bridge of Allan at around 19h00, well satisfied with 101 miles on the clock.
The riders were pleased to see Fr Henry and Julian Godwin again this morning after they had joined them for the climb up Ben Nevis yesterday. The support they received whilst climbing Ben Nevis was amazing and no doubt helped them in the vast climb they faced. Team physio, Janet, has been amazing.....she came to look after just one person but has ended up looking after all four cyclists!
Today has been the most challenging day so far given the almighty wind blowing in the cyclists faces all the way over Rannoch Moor. The weather was still warm but the mixture of post-bank holiday traffic and a head wind made for very hard going.
The call came this morning that Radio York were booked at 16h20 for an interview with Joe - it was a military operation to make sure the cyclists did not veer from their route but managed to find a spot with a good enough mobile signal for the interview!! For the support team, the prospect of now having to navigate the cyclists through towns and cities grows ever closer. Having spent just under 300 miles with the cyclists making their own way through barren but beautiful landscape, the thought of Edinburgh and beyond is indeed somewhat daunting for them !
As always we wish them all the best of luck for tomorrow. Weather conditions look set to be not quite as favourable as the first few days so tomorrow could be a tough day !
This message from the support team was posted on the message board:
| The boys are blown away by all your lovely messages. It's great to know you're all watching and thinking about them. It makes a huge difference for all of us. We can't wait to see you as many of you as possible on Friday. Love from ALL of us. |
They've made it... on the summit of Ben Nevis with Fr Henry and friends
All in all a great day. The team left inverness at 07h45 and cycling until approx 13h10 covered just over 65 miles from Inverness to Fort William. As they stopped off in Fort Augustus for a second breakfast they saw a single piper in the car park which was great - especially as young Mikey Higham is part of the Ampleforth Highlanders Pipe Band which saw the team off from Gilling.
Enjoying a fresh tailwind the cyclists made good time along the northern bank of Loch Ness and made it to Fort William in plenty of time where they met up with Fr Henry and Janet Lech in the town centre. After an unintentional detour through the middle of town, they found their way out to the base of Ben Nevis where they managed to get climbing shortly after 14h00. The weather conditions were brilliant if not too hot and the team was lathered in factor 50 sun cream although apparently by the look of the faces at the dinner table this evening you wouldn't have said so.
Everyone enjoyed the climb in the end and found Fr Henry's mass at the summit an uplifting experience. Well done Fr Henry.
By 21h00 everyone was back at the hotel and enjoyed a well earned supper before bed. They are hoping to cover 100 miles tomorrow and although the scenery through Glen Coe promises to be spectacular, the riders may struggle to absorb that side of the ride considering their aching muscles after today's climbing.
Congratulations to the team for a fantastic effort today and good luck for tomorrow.
27 May 2008, 01h15
The cyclists left Lybster this morning at 07h50 to start the official first day of the 2008 Cycle challenge in bright sunshine and fresh tailwinds and quickly made good progress down the A9. Helmsdale was to be the first stop of the morning for bacon sandwiches and then off towards Brora and then on to Skelbo where they would make a quick water stop before pressing through to Tain, the planned lunch stop. Conditions for the morning ride had been perfect, with light traffic and beautiful coastal scenery.By the time they set off after the lunch stop, the traffic had increased and the riders consequently chose to opt for the parallel B-roads for the next session towards Alness.....this took them a little longer but they were bursting with energy when they reached Alness after having some of the best and most beautiful cycling they'd had in a long time. They continued on B-roads before re-joining the A9 to cross the Moray Firth. From there they took minor roads again to cross the Black Isle.....this little detour seemed to be unexpectedly slow and it was only over dinner later in the evening that it came to light that the delay was not due to the breathtaking scenery, or the fact that they were meandering along, enjoying the quieter roads, but rather that they were having a tour of the Black Isle Brewery! As good a reason as any for a delay ?
The final leg of the day saw them cycling over the long and busy bridge into Inverness where they got split up before regrouping at the hotel just less than 12 hours after they set off from Lybster that morning. Total mileage for the day 107.7 miles. All in all a great day and the rather sunburnt cyclists were welcomed to the hotel by Louise, Maddy, Mikey and Leo who had arrived after driving up after Exhibition. With the full team now in place all are looking forward to the rest of the challenge. The cyclists have decided to take the quickest route round Loch Ness tomorrow so will be cycling the A82 all the way along the north of the loch and into Fort William rather than the B-road to the south.
Fr Henry will be joining them after 13h00 tomorrow ready for the big climb at 14h00. The forecast for tomorrow is warm, clear skies and moderate North Easterly winds. Congratulations to the team for a fantastic effort today and good luck for the cycling AND climbing tomorrow !
Thank you to Claire for managing to get these photographs and news out for us in between all her other running around.
26 May 2008, 00h25
After a rousing send-off from Gilling by the Ampleforth Pipe Band and an enthusiastic bunch of supporters our cyclists made their way up to the moors at Fadmoor to squeeze in to their light aircraft and head north for John O'Groats. In an unbelievable moment of deja-vu, on their arrival at the airfield, the gates were all locked so they couldn't get out - just like last year - only this time around they managed to get them unlocked and never had to scale the ten foot high fence !!The hotel for the Saturday night stop-over is some 30 miles down the road from John O'Groats, so in the interests of efficiency, the riders wanted to cover that distance immediately which would mean that they wouldn't have to backtrack the next morning and could set off straight from their over night stop.
They set off from John O'Groats at around 19h45 and from the last report that we had they were just past Ulbster, having covered 23 miles in around 90 minutes and going strong in favourable weather conditions, not far from their over night stop.
For those following the progress on this site we will update the route map as often as possible so please come back frequently to check. We will also be posting updates to this page at least once a day. Remember to make us of the message board as well, to leave messages of encouragement (or others) for the riders.
24 May 2008, 23h55
Build-up
Well, the training miles are over, the carb's are being loaded and the "buzz" is building.
As we lead into exhibition Saturday, our cyclists are chomping at the bit to get to John O'Groats to finish what they started last year.
This year's challenge promises to be both tougher and more enjoyable, the pleasure of cycling through the peace of the Scottish Highlands is tempered by the challenge of climbing Ben Nevis en-route, to join Fr Henry for mass at the top.
With the gowns having claimed the victory last year, the suits are determined to settle the score this year.
As was the case last year, the cyclists will leave Ampleforth on Exhibition Saturday, 24 May 2008 and head straight to John O'Groats where they hope to knock off the first few miles that evening. We look forward to seeing you at the send off.
The total of funds raised is currently £30,673.44, if you haven't yet pledged sponsorship of the cyclists, you can do so here on the web site. This also qualifies you for entry into our competition which has some great prizes up for grabs. To those that have already pledged sponsorship we are very grateful. The St Martin's appeal has been the success it is so far because of your generosity.
Please come back to visit this site regularly, there will be frequent updates to the interactive map with positions and comments and we will try to post reports at least daily. Please leave a message for the team, last year these messages were a great source of inspiration.
As with last year we are encouraging everyone to join us on Friday 30th May to welcome the cyclists back. They are expected to arrive in front of the Abbey Church at 17h00 and those that would like to join in to cycle across the valley are encouraged to do so. Everyone is invited to join them at the Fairfax for a celebratory drink and buffet. We hope to see you there.
Thank you for your support.
| Telephone: | Post: | Email: |
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| Claire Evans : 01439 766777 | Cyclesma Development Office Ampleforth Abbey and College York YO62 4EY |
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