19th July 09

The team

Let us talk team

We have talked about the route now lets talk about my amazing team without whom none of this challenge would have happen.

The team was broken down into the support team; they went on ahead and the road team that was the team that went with me on the road.

Our team leader was Graham Harrison, a TA sergeant. Graham was only to be with us for the first two weeks but decide that he would see the challenge through to the end. The whole team know that this made a vast outcome to us getting to the end and we hope a world record...

Grahams roll as team leader was many. He drove my support van. Decided, with Philip my cyclist, the route for the next day. He was the guy who pushed me in the early days when my fitness was not too good and he realized I was not meeting my mileage target. I think he and Philip said one or two pokies saying that I still had more miles to go than I did. It worked.

Graham also sorted out problems between the team, which by the way I did not know about until I got back. We, the team, described ourselves like being on Big Brother. Eight people who did not know each other before, except Jenny and her dad Graham, being put in the Big Brother house in our case campsites, halls, YHAs and hotels, and told their tasks for the day. We had to get on or we would not complete the daily task. We all had to accept each other’s funny ways; mine was making funny notices at when receiving my personal care. I will keep the other secret!

Graham was the guy that when we stopped on the road, and he did let me stop sometimes, had a brew on. Philip noticed this and made up a flask of hot water to save some time. Some of this hot water was used to clean out my wee bottle. We had to maintain good hygiene while we were in camp and on the road.
I was once asked to describe Graham after I meet him. “100% prime beef!” Thanks Graham.

The person who was with me all along the route, mainly behind me, was Philip. Philip as I have already written was the guy whom I put 100% trust in and he never let me down once. I am blind in my right eye and so relied on his judgement without question….I will share a little story with you to illustrate Philip.

We were going up a step hill, the batteries were running very low and we needed to cross a level crossing. Now I am a 62 yr old weakling of a female and crossing that small distance, say 3 feet on low batteries was scary. Okay laugh at me, I can take it. After debating the crossing of the said line, Philip said to me what the worse that can happen is. Reasonable question. My reply,” I would tip over, the train would come along, hit the chair and kill me and you would have to take me over the finishing dead, nothing in the rules that says I have to be alive!” “No” said Philip! “The worst thing that could happen, would be you would tip over; a train would hit you; you would still be alive but then you would burst into flames; a family of weasels who are very hungry would come up from their burrows below the lines and eat part of you and we would take you across the finishing line pulling strings so you could wave at every body. That is the worst than can happen to you!” Needles to say I crossed the train line and nothing happened.

Keeping with Philip, he also asked me on a number of occations to stop in a safe place while he would check out a road junction or a cycle path. He also shared this barley sugar with me. “Philip thanks for everything you did for the team and me.” For a cyclist to ride over 965 miles, mainly behind a power chair with only the odd bit for freedom when we got to going down a steep hill on the moors, took some doing. Other cyclist will know what I mean...

I have talk about two of the male team members and there are still two more to talk about, Alan and Jason.

Alan, to quote a famous saying “a quite man” was the driver of the second van. Alan was the guy no matter was asked of him, and we did ask a lot of him he did it without a mone or a question. Alan was the guy who could see something that needed to be done and did it. Alan was the guy who when called upon would feed me, wipe my nose, give me a drink, put up tents, cook a meal, smile when you needed to see one. We all loved him very much and if I can get another challenge together, he has said he would love to be involved. He is one of the five of us that went from LE 2 JOG and is an End 2 Ender in is own right. Thanks Alan for all or your support.

The last guy was Jason. Jason was our dogs’ body and drove a third vehicle. He helped put up the tents, unload the vehicles and did some cooking. He also played his guitar at sing alongs.Jason left after three weeks to be back with his family.