A BIG RIDE for little lives
We've been following Russ and his mates on this little adventure for a great cause.( http://twitter.com/RussellMBaker )
From: Russell Baker
Date: June 11, 2010 04:55:35 PM
Subject: A BIG RIDE for little lives
Colin was the gent organising it all, so here's what he's put together about it. We all rode it on big AM type bikes due the terrain we were covering. Had my Hemlock with the 120 rockers and some bolt thru RS Revs set to 135mm with a full SLX build and it went up and down everything brilliantly :-)A Big Ride for little lives
On the 3rd – 6th June 2010 I rode from Aberystwyth to Prestatyn with three friends Russ, Gaz and Connor. We followed a 180 mile, 4 day, Coast to Coast mountain bike route across North Wales that I had pieced together over the previous four years. After the traumatic time my wife, Sabine, and I had with the birth of our daughters Mara and Elisabeth in 2009 I decided to ride the completed route for the first ride to raise as much money as possible for Wrexham Special Care Baby Unit, the Alder Hey IMAGINE Appeal, Cherish Wrexham Parents Support Group and the Ronald McDonald House at Alder Hey, all those who had helped us through this difficult time.
Details of why the ride charity happened, the route, the charities and how to donate are on my website: http://www.flattyresmtbroutes.com/ABigRideForLittleLives.html
It was a hard ride. Each day we climbed at least twice the height of Snowdon and spent between 8 ½ - 9hrs on the bike. This wasn’t made any easier by temperatures in the high 20’s for the first three days. But the experience of riding so many great trails through the stunning scenery of the Cambrian Mountains, the Berwyns and Clwydian Range is something I will never forgot.
By the end of the four days we all shattered Our legs were very tired and it wasn’t comfortable to sit down any more but we were overjoyed to have completed the ride. After dipping our wheels in the sea at Prestatyn we had just enough energy left to crack open a well deserved beer and celebrate the achievement with our families.
The hard work hasn’t finished yet. I am currently sorting through all the photos we took so I can illustrate the route guide I plan to publish in the next couple of weeks. When it is complete it will be available to download for free on the MTB Routes section of: http://www.theedgecycleworks.com/
The fundraising page connected with this ride will stay open until the end of August so there is still time to donate towards the fantasic causes if you haven’t already:
We also have a blog page that we are in the process of uploading photos taken over the four days to share with everyoneColin Down
Posted by Kelvin
