‘Ian came up with an idea that we could go and watch Scotland play England at Murrayfield and then cycle from Edinburgh to Cardiff in time to watch Wales play Italy’, explained Simon, who has an implant referral practice near Cardiff. As an ex-international rugby player he was fairly undaunted by such a sporting challenge, but was mightily impressed with Ian’s enthusiasm for such an idea. ‘I was amazed that Ian had suggested this, as the last bike he’d been on was a Chopper,’ he added.
By the time Ian realised what he had let himself in for, it was too late to back out. He obviously wasn’t prepared to suffer alone so quickly recruited Martin Docking a dental technician from Cornwall, Adrian Watts a consultant in restorative dentistry in Cardiff and a couple of other unsuspecting friends. On March 14, a group of nine cyclists, three support vehicles and an orthopaedic surgeon, set off from Murrayfield to pedal the 450 miles to Cardiff.
The trip took them over snow covered mountains in the borders, up hills and dales in the Lake District and through the beautiful Brecon beacons. ‘The first few days were fairly hard, but day four was certainly the most difficult. We cycled 94 miles from Warrington to Church Stretton in Shropshire which included an unplanned detour with some hideous hills,’ explained Adrian.
As if that wasn’t challenging enough, Adrian cycled the whole way on a single speed bike, earning him the coveted yellow jersey which was presented at the end of the tour. ‘I’m still not sure whether the award was for recognition of my courage or my stupidity, but I have a suspicion it may have been the latter,’ he joked.
The group covered the distance in six days and arrived at the Millennium Stadium in time for kick off. ‘To arrive in Cardiff on match day and be greeted by family, friends and rugby fans was fantastic. To then cycle into the Millennium Stadium before the game was incredible, and really quite emotional’, said Martin.
The group managed to raise over £9,000 for the Wooden Spoon Charity which will be spent on local groups in Wales and Devon. ‘It was a marvellous experience, although I’ve had to do all my dentistry standing up since I got back,’ quipped Ian who is based in Devon.