Great British Bike Ride diary – Day 4

route-map-3That's it, 340 of the 350 have been cycled from Land's End and the riders have made their way back to Rugby Club in atrocious weather conditions.
After a dry start of the week, the rain poured down on the 30 cyclists for most of the last 65 miles from Winchester to the club. Some even got lost and ended up in adding an extra 12  miles to what was already a grueling day on the saddle.
But just after 4pm, Lynne Hinchliffe, who rode the whole distance for the second day on the trot, arrived in tears realising her achievement and the celebrations could begin.
It seemed a long way off when they left Land's End at 7am on Tuesday but after between 27 and 43 hours on the saddle, all that's left is the 10 miles to roll through Twickenham in time for the London Double Header and the start of the season.
Two-time GBBR veteran and winner Phil Vickery, who will be on his bike today to ride along the other riders, reckons the rugby spirit around the event makes this challenge unique.
He said: “Some charities event can be very elitist but not the GBBR. Of Course you have people going pretty fast while others struggle from day one but once we are all reunited in one of the rugby clubs for our overnight stops on the way, the camaraderie kicks in.
“From the volunteers making sure the event runs smoothly to the army who sets camps every day, everyone stick together and it can make you forget the sore legs.
“From my experience on the bike, it's a very tough challenge and you spend a lot of time on your own wanting to give up but you keep going and the reward will be to ride into the home of rugby in front of 82,000 cheering fans.
“Wooden Spoon is great charity and I know the money raised from the event will make a huge difference in children and their families' lives.”
If you're coming to the London Double Header, you can watch the riders arrive at HQ just after noon.

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