Page 55 - Mercian Eagle 2013

the only training cycle event turned into an early Sunday morning start of London to Brighton, approximately 60 miles. After a rather ‘busy’ evening prior, only 4 cyclists turned up, with 1 struggling to finish! Was the challenge going to be too much?
The overcast morning in May arrived and only a fantastic four could attend, one of the 4s training ride being up and down his drive the previous morning. So a rather daunting test lay ahead, but this was well masked with excitement of the unknown as we set off on our adventure.
the right hand side of the road, feeling the constant pressure of Lorries speeding past. When the initial morning rush had past we settled into a steady pace and started to enjoy the cycling. Moving through a number of quaint French villages and historical battlefield sites in the sunshine, we picked up a local lunch of sliced meats and bread, the day went extremely well. We arrived in Amiens ahead of schedule just as the sun was starting to set, a good days cycling.
Early morning, two thirds of the way through and there was an excitement in the air, although still
The ride was split
into 3 stages: London
to Dover; Dover to
Amiens via Dunkirk;
then Amiens to Paris.
The first task was
getting out of London,
through busy morning
traffic. Even with good
cycle lanes and a direct
route we were well over our estimated
time leaving the big smoke, which had a knock on effect. Instead of appreciating the beautiful days ride, we were focused on getting to Dover before dark. We arrived late and dejected after having 1 crash and 3 punctures. After a good meal and a pint of Guinness we slept like logs.
The ferry over to Dunkirk was uneventful with the main aim being to eat as many calories as possible for the days ride ahead. Arriving on foreign soil, it was apparent
we would have to get used to cycling on
nearly 100 miles to go, it was the final hurdle to meet family and friends under the Eiffel Tower. A refreshed feeling in the legs, aided by Ibuprofen gel, we dashed through the morning’s ride. Gliding through the
idyllic country lanes was going extremely well so we stopped for lunch. After the stop, the initial burst of enthusiasm had subsided and the realisation of the terrain we had cycled over in the previous 2 days was burning in our legs. With every glide of a downhill came a leg burning climb on the other side, to then find another long downhill with almost a mountain arising
in the distance. As a group we were tired physically and mentally.
We reached a road sign telling us that Paris was only 50 km away; this was the
We arrived late and dejected after having 1 crash and 3 punctures.
Capt Vosper Dekitting
spark that relit the fire. This spurred the group on and we dug deep and found the reserves that were required to battle on. The pace was good and morale was high, until we hit rush hour in the Parisian suburbs, with red light after red light, taking almost 2 hours to do the final 20 km. At almost 324m the Eiffel Tower came into view, with elation we cycled into the centre to families and Champagne with the realisation that not only had we completed quite a feat and had done it for very good causes. As a group £2500 was raised, with £350 being donated to the Mercian Benevolent Charity. Thank you to those who kindly donated.
Battalion Rugby by Capt P R Marriott 2IC B (Champion) Company
Four tours of Afghanistan will inevitably take its toll on a Battalion. Some of the manifestations of this tempo of operations are by their nature more visible or perhaps more obvious than others. The medals parades, the wounded in Headly Court and the list of names on the memorial at Crich serve as a reminder of long hot days in Helmand Province. But for now Afghanistan is a thing of the past, there is no MST coming just around the corner and in its place we must now strive to deliver a stronger degree of routine and normality to life within the Battalion.
In years gone by sport was a vessel through which this could be achieved, and rugby with its focus on teamwork, fitness and high levels of physical competition epitomises a sport which matches many of the needs of the Army. With all that in mind, the last year has seen a deliberate effort to promote rugby within the Battalion and to compete across the UK, particularly in the 7s format of the game.
The first competitive run out for the Battalion team was at the Carrickfergus 7s. Initially we had promoted the idea of entering a Northern Ireland Garrison side to 38 Brigade in order to promote rugby within the Province. However in the event only a Battalion side was entered into what proved to be a very competitive field. Several hard fought victories in the group stages saw the Battalion side reach the Semi-Finals before being soundly beaten by a side from Queens University. It had proved a useful demonstration that the squad had the talent to go so far in such a competitive field, but that we still had a way to go yet.
Wounds were licked, lessons learnt and within a fortnight the Battalion entered two teams into the Loughside 7s held within Palace Barracks. The other teams in the competition came from units based within Northern Ireland and a number of teams from the Security Services. The tournament went well, with the “A” team
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