Finally we’ve had a relatively uneventful leg of the ride, with no punctures, accidents or incidents to report!
The team have refreshed themselves at the White Bear Pub and have now embarked on the last leg of the journey into the heart of London.
The relief they must be feeling at being so close to the end of the ride must be palpable, but unfortunately it isn’t shared by our intrepid support van driver Adam, who is sure to be in for the most stressful hour and a half of his year.
AS we crawl into the capital, I’m going to tell you a bit about our last stopping location, but before that something a bit more exciting!
At the last stop I managed to grab a few words from pack leader Gav Pumford, and Max Burrows!
I asked Gav how today had gone and he had this to say:
I asked Max how this year’s ride had compared to the 201.1 mile trek from Doncaster last year:
Rickmansorth
Last stop of the day and I know what you’re thinking already. Could we have possibly have stopped somewhere that escaped the all encompassing snare of the Doomsday book?
Well… No. It’s in there.
Can someone check if there’s anywhere that isn’t in it please, as I’m starting to think they’ve got everyone.
Anyway, what else can I tell you about the place? Erm.. they had a dispute over water that was resolved in 1875. I didn’t even know a place could have a dispute over water so that was my ‘learned something new’ for today.
Lidl of the Law
In 1897 Rickmansworth got a Police station, adjoining the local fire station on the High Street.
This eventually moved to Rectory Road, which was then purchased by Lidl in 2013, who callously razed it to the ground in order to build a store.
Unfortunately for lovers of bargain off-brands, the local residents opposed the construction and it currently sits in limbo.
Big Names
Much like Haddenham, Rickmansworth doesn’t have that many recognisable names associated with it, other than perhaps Irish crooner Val Doonican.
Also much like Haddenham it has a much richer history in film and television, and if you thought they had an impressive roll call, Rickmansworth is going to blow your socks off.
Wikipedia (where I get 99% of my information from) lists 23 separate TV and film credits for the place, including Grange Hill, Life on Mars, Foyles War, Bridget Jones, Doctor Who and even Indiana Jones!
Who needs Hollywood!
Samaritans in Watford and South West Herts
The last location on our Samaritans tour is the Watford branch, which opened in 1969, and won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. That’s the equivalent of an MBE for volunteer groups, and is the highest award that can be given to local volunteer groups so quite the honour.
Let me take this opportunity to say a MASSIVE thank you to all the Samaritans volunteers that supported us along the journey today. Having that presence at the start and the stops along the way is a huge morale boost to all of us!
Special thanks to Alice Firbank, our contact at Samaritans, too! She had these very kind words to say about Ardonagh and the Ride4Life
One of those volunteers told us about their experience:
We want to say a big thank you to the team from Ardonagh for supporting Samaritans with their phenomenal Ride4Life challenge. Every 10 seconds, Samaritans responds to a call for help. Thanks to the incredible fundraising efforts of everyone at Ardonagh, we can continue to be there for anoyone who needs someone to listen, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Together we can make change that saves lives.
– Alice Firbank, Corporate Account Manager
Next Stop… The Big Smoke!
We’re all (hopefully) less than half an hour from Leadenhall Market now, where I’ll try my best to grab some pictures and interviews, and hopefully post one final blog!
Thanks to everyone who has read along with us, and donated!