London to Brighton
Last weekend, Mike achieved a personal goal by taking part in the London to Brighton bike ride. He set off at 8am Sunday morning on Clapham Common being waved on by myself and my brother and headed through London out towards the Surrey borders. Meanwhile whilst Mike bravely pushed his way through crowds, up and down hills I was racing back down the M20 towards Maidstone to pick up Charlie and my parents to make the journey to Brighton by car.
After several phone calls to Mike en route it became apparent that despite the 56 miles he had to cover on 2 wheels he was in fact going to arrive in Brighton before us. We on the other hand were stationary in Brighton waiting to move a couple of feet in order to get to a suitable place to park. At 1.00pm Mike crossed the finishing line after 4 1/2 hours of pedal pushing, using the last of his energy to get up Ditching Beacon, the infamous last leg of the ride. I however, was to be found running through the streets of Brighton desperately attempting to make it to the same finishing line with camera in hand. Alas it was not to be, however Mike was awarded with a big hug from his son and a bottle of champagne from me.
It was a marvellous achievement and not only has he raised a tidy sum for the British heart Foundation, it was also personal acolade for Mike as main reason for theride was in memory of Ruby.