Cumbria RU Charity Bike Ride 2011

The weekend of the 8th-10th July 2011 saw a very different task ahead of the Cumbria RU Development Team, as they swapped their Development Plans for Bicycles!

Earlier in the year RDO Liam Nicholls had the birth of his second child Harry who unfortunately at one week old was taken very ill and rushed to the RVI at Newcastle. During the extensive testing by specialists within the Special Care Baby Unit the worry of where to stay was taken away by Crawford House, this purpose built accommodation ran by The Sick Children’s Trust meant a huge burden had been removed from the shoulders of Liam and partner Sarah so that they could focus on caring for Harry during this tough time. Almost 6 months on and Harry is coping with his Galactosemia through a controlled diet but many other babies who were in hospital at the same time will still be there due to premature births and specialist attention being required. This means that Crawford House will be providing a constant oasis for the parents at this difficult time.

This is what sparked Liam and team into a fund raising effort to support The Sick Children’s Trust rather than giving a smaller one off donation. To raise the target of £1500 it was felt that a unique challenge had to be presented and so the 265 mile cycle around all the Rugby Clubs in Cumbria was decided to be the best option.
The core team consisted of; Liam Nicholls (RDO), Martin Grealish (CRC Copeland), Graham Kidd (CRC Carlisle), Garry Holmes (CRC South Lakes), Kieran Marshall (CRC Barrow) and Ryan Young (Brother in Law of Liam). Support was provided by Trevor Richardson (CRC Allerdale), Russell Gainford (CRC Copeland) and Shelley Atkinson (CRC Eden) with guest riders joining in at various sections of the route.

DAY 1 After a crisp & early morning bus trip to the Furness peninsula courtesy of S H Brownrigg Coaches Egremont, the team got their final preparations in prior to setting off back up the coast on a journey taking in Hawcoat Park, Furness, Millom, Gosforth, Egremont, Moresby, St Benedict’s, Whitehaven, Workington and eventually Cockermouth where they would be camping for the evening. En route the cyclists were met my members of Millom RUFC and lunch was provided by Egremont RUFC giving a much needed boost to the team after a tough mornings work. The next main refreshment stop was at Workington RFC where some ice cold juice and mars bars were provided for all the team, these were key to getting through the final leg into Cockermouth riding into a headwind all the way. In the evening the team received an excellent meal provided by Cockermouth RUFC on completion of a very hilly and challenging first day. Seizing the opportunity to capitalise on some tired legs Cockermouth then challenged the team to a game of ‘Touch Rugby’ which was a competitive event despite the aching limbs!

Trevor ‘Monty’ Richardson who was in charge of logistics also managed to talk Sandra and Steve Stainton into cooking breakfast for the team as well, so a huge thanks to the Cockermouth Club for everything they did to support the fund raising effort. Due to his youthful exuberance Trevor also manage to damage his ribs during a game of touch which prompted a consequent doctors visit and a lack of activity for 6 weeks to allow some healing to take place.


DAY 2 Day 2 produced some very stiff team members and packing up the bags and tents took substantially longer than usual, however the smell of breakfast cooking in the clubhouse was the carrot for all members to increase their pace. After a substantial refuelling the team set off to Netherhall the first call of the day, Netherhall provided more refuelling which was very handy as this proved to be the longest day of the trip, again the hospitality of the club was excellent despite dealing with another convention on the club site. Silloth was the next port of call and then the up and down road to Aspatria was calling all riders! A brief stop at Aspatria saw the riders then set off to Wigton where lunch was waiting in the form of Harrisons Cumberland Sausage Baps, this prospect excited everyone and was probably the fastest 8 miles of the trip, no one travelled the miles faster than Trevor Richardson in the red support vehicle, as anyone knows ‘Pies and Sausage are his forte’! After stocking up on sausage sandwiches the team then set off for Carlisle getting caught up in a horrendous downpour on the way with flash flooding, thunder and lightning all thrown into the equation. However everyone plodded on at their own pace knowing that it would not be too long until we could get dry and warm again. The usual hospitable welcome ensued at Carlisle with a large welcome party but again the stay was brief to ensure we remained on track to complete the ride in a decent time. However the team still managed to take on plenty of Calories thanks to the efforts of Graham Kidd’s wife Suzanne. A brief photo at Creighton was the next stop before the team picked up the pace to cross into the Eden Valley.
Penrith was the next destination where the weather was beautiful, sunny and very warm. Some ice cold Lucozade and King Size Mars Bars courtesy of Geoff Matthews were just the tonic to drive the riders through the final 22 miles of day 2 towards Upper Eden. This was a stunning part of the journey with a lot of up and down riding but the sun shone on the righteous and the arrival at Upper Eden at around 8:15pm was a very welcome one clocking up 104 miles for the day. The news that the tents were not required for the evening was also extremely welcome as the club invited us to sleep on the clubhouse floor coupled with a BBQ to take replenish some more energy.

DAY 3 On the third and final day the team awoke to a beautiful morning in Kirkby Stephen and used the Upper Eden Facilities to make some bacon sandwiches and refreshments to prepare for the day ahead. The morning involved a cycle downhill towards Sedbergh and then onward to Kirkby Lonsdale around 34 miles which unfortunately contained a slight headwind! The weather improved as the day progressed and arrival at Devils Bridge in Kirkby attracted many odd looks as we arrived on non engined bikes amongst the multitude of motorcycles at this famous landmark. After unsuccessfully trying to swap mountain bikes with a number of true bikers we carried on to the club where we were confronted with a Harley Davidson Convention and more bikers! The temptation was almost enough to break a few of the riders but we decided to carry on with leg power for a while longer. Kirkby provided some more sandwiches for the gang and also a crossbar challenge which was won nonchalantly by Graham Kidd who had clearly been saving his energy for this task!
There was unfortunately no avoiding the main A65 road towards the motorway from Kirkby so the riders had to be extra vigilant. We did manage to lose one rider at this point, Calumn Howse who could be seen entering Kendal later on via the main dual carriageway and not the suggested ‘back road’, he was however difficult to miss in his luminous orange top to match his hair!

Looming in the back of everyone’s mind was the upcoming trek up Dunmail Raise after we had left Ambleside, but the team enjoyed the quiet and scenic ride up to Windermere & Ambleside Rugby Clubs with the latter providing some well needed refreshments and snacks plus a blindfolded kicking challenge which Kieran Marshall looked like he had been doing for years! He converted his first effort easily suggesting he maybe needs to do a bit more work!!

The team chatted to members of Ambleside / Westmorland Barbarians happily delaying the departure and hence the climb up the formidable ‘Dunmail Raise’. The ‘calm before the storm’ was a beautiful winding ride bypassing Ambleside Centre followed by the extremely tough ascent of the aforementioned Dunmail. Some riders were beaten by the sheer size and length of the pass but other just ground out the yards and reached the top eventually after what seemed like hours of pedalling. The reality of the situation however was, that we were less than an hour of completing the whole journey with loved ones waiting in the Keswick sunshine for our arrival. An easy rise to the east of Thirlmere and a sharp rise to the Lonsties area of Keswick saw the group congregate ready for the ‘Freewheel’ down into Keswick. The town was doused in sunshine and the breeze blew as all the riders accelerated down the main road hardly touching the pedals for the first time in 3 days! The final turn into ‘Davidson Park’ was excellent as families and friends welcomed back the team after a fairly epic journey, it was extremely emotional moment with all riders embracing one another in recognition of the effort invested in the last 72 hours cycling. Also on hand was a very alert Harry Nicholls welcoming all the riders back from their trek.

Keswick RFC supplied meals of the riders choice which was the most ideal way for the riders to finish and was appreciated by every single individual.
The Cumbria Development Team would like to thank each and every club who came out to support, donate and offer motivation and challenges to the members. Thanks also to SH Brownrigg Coaches, West Cumbria Learning Centre for their support. Final thanks to Liam Magennis of UK Screening Solutions who provided; A Support Vehicle, Liquid Refreshments & Energy Bars, First Aid Provision, Tshirts & Cycling Jackets and a £500 donation towards The Sick Children’s Trust.

Day 1 Miles = 86
Day 2 Miles = 104
Day 3 Miles = 71
TOTAL MILES = 171