Report from the Jon Egging Memorial Coast to Coast ride.

It has been a long and emotional year with our RAF friends.

In March we agreed to support a team of 20 pilots from the Red Arrows and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF) in their charity bike ride – 400 miles in 4 days from St Davids Head to Lowestoft.

These guys were non-cyclists so we provided Road Ride 93 bikes, Alpina Pheos helmets and Birzman tools as well as plenty of advice and training.

The year started well with us producing tens of thousands of posters with RAF and Merida images and a mini catalogue on the back – the pilots gave them away at all the air shows through the season, and we attended a couple of big events sandwiched between the Red Arrows and BBMF displaying to over 150,000 people!

The year took its first terrible turn when Red 4 – Jon Egging was tragically killed in an accident after finishing a display at the Bournemouth Airshow.

In honour of Jon, the cycle ride was renamed and his wife Emma set up a charity in his name with the aim of helping disadvantaged youngsters. Emma also stepped up to take Jons place on the ride.

The ride itself was a superb effort by all involved. 

The MUK truck was in attendance as a service wagon with Jason as a mechanic, the riders had a full support crew who did a phenomenal job, keeping everybody rolling, hydrated and fed. There was a permanent police escort, police motorcycle outriders, masseurs and a physiotherapist!

General Manager – Chris Carter rode on day 3 – 100 miles from Stratford Upon Avon to Cambridge and was blown away by the whole experience.

The day started with a near miss as riding through the misty Warwickshire countryside we startled a group of 5 deer, 4 of whom decided that safety lay on the other side of the road and shot through the middle of the group.

Later, we weren’t so lucky when one rider decided to help undress another whilst riding! The poor unfortunate who normally pilots the Lancaster bomber was helping a fellow rider take his jacket off when he touched wheels and promptly exited into a ditch!

Riding through towns with a police escort is the only way to travel, it was like riding in a professional peleton (just in slow motion!).

The support of the public was amazing, with an emotional turnout at the school Jon Egging had attended in Southam, and an unbelievably generous pub – the Cock Inn in Gamlingay who had raised £1600 in a series of events for the charity.

The final run in to Cambridge was completed in the dark and must have confused many locals as a big group of cyclists surrounded by blue flashing lights descended on them – the atmosphere in the bunch was amazing, you would never guess that these none cyclists had completed 100 miles that day and had done 200 miles before that!

The ride was an incredible achievement for all those involved and the fund raising total is edging up to £90,000. The money will be split between the RAF Association, Fly to Help and the Jon Egging Trust.

Unfortunately, the roller coaster of the year was not over, tragically Red 5, Sean Cunningham was killed in a freak ejector seat accident. Sean had ridden the coast to coast challenge, and his death marks 2011 as one of saddest for the Red Arrows, our thoughts are with his friends and family.

For further details and the day to day diary of the trip please go to www.400in4.co.uk

Images supplied by BBMF.