Page 44 - MERCIAN Eagle 2017

Ex SOUTH SUDAN CYCLE
On the morning of the 11 February 2017, A (Grenadier) Company was poised to attempt to cycle the distance from Chester to Juba. The challenge was to complete the 3,863 miles between The Dale Barracks, where the Battalion is based, to the capital city of South Sudan where the Grenadiers would land 3 months later on deployment of Op TRENTON 3.
Cpl Taylor, an avid Aston Villa fan, chose the location; Villa Park Stadium
in Birmingham. Aston Villa FC was kind enough to give us permission to set up a stand on their grounds, right next to the tantalising smell of a burger van to urge us on. The first set of cyclists, Cpl Taylor included, were able to get a photo on the pitch before the match started.
The company was raising money for the Army Benevolent Fund (ABF) who provides support for serving soldiers and veterans from the British Army and their immediate family. In 2017 alone ABF supported 4,500 individuals, their oldest beneficiary was a whopping 105 years old, and their youngest was just nine months.
The company started cycling at 10 o’clock, to a crowd of a few Villa security guards and some unimpressed birds. The teams of six cyclists would rotate through the Watt Bikes over the course of the day, with very quick changes between team members to make sure that the bikes didn’t wipe their memory and lose the precious miles.
On top of the collection buckets, we had brought some kit and equipment for the passers-by to try. A lot of time was spent watching excited dads put on 12kg of body armour and a helmet whilst their kids rolled their eyes. One of the fans, having had a few, offered to jump on one of the bikes for a while. The hard work and the cold soon made him give up on that idea!
It was a close run race near the end, with the last cyclists pushing themselves in order to achieve the full distance. But, in the dark after the match day traffic had well and truly ceased, the lads did a final sprint to the finish of the last mile. In all the company raised £1,900 for the Army Benevolent Fund. A terrific success!
The first team get ready to begin / Villa Park / Birmingham / February 17
Members of A (Grenadier) Coy / Pitch at Villa Park / Birmingham / February 17
42 THE MERCIAN EAGLE