Great British Hero Ride

Ricky Murphy, Public Service Student, reports

On 1 June three students from Dunstable College Public Services department grabbed our bikes and made our way to London Whitehall for a sponsored bike ride. Joining a further 3,000 riders, the aim was to raise money for a charity HELP for HEROES that supports injured troops across the country and helps them back onto their feet.

Chris Robinson, Joel Freeman and I arrived in London and made our way to Whitehall. We were met by 3,000 other riders, a TV crew and the press. We chatted to other riders who had just completed a 350 mile ride around Europe visiting WW1 and WW2 battle sites and laying reefs.

At 1:45 an RSM from the army gave us a final talk on the ride and then a representative from HELP for HEROES set us off and 3,000 riders entered the roads of London surrounded by the public and veterans. Every so many miles we stopped and laid a reef at different memorials on the way.

We arrived at the horse guard parade just after 3:30 where we were applauded by hundreds of bystanders and then received a final talk by the chief of the army who congratulated all the riders on the amount of money that had been raised so far. After the talk, we spoke to more of the riders and had photo opportunities with the horse guards.

We all agreed that this was an experience of a life time and were proud to have been applauded for the effort and money we had raised.

We are all signing up for next year to complete the 350 mile ride across Europe and hope to double the money we have raised this time, which is estimated at just under £400.