Page 41 - The Wish Stream Year of 2022 CREST

On the 29th of October 2022, 21 Platoon Alamein Company undertook a 24-hour charity bike ride to raise money for Mind
UK, the Sandhurst Trust, and the Army Benevo- lent Fund. Inspired by OCdts who had under- taken charity challenges in the past, 21 Platoon aimed to ride the 4824km distance on Watt Bikes from the Royal Military Academy Sand- hurst to El Alamein, our company’s namesake. The ride would be split up so that each OCdt spent one hour on the bike and three hours off resting. A mammoth undertaking; however, with morale high and three fantastic causes to per- severe for, there was great confidence that we would achieve our intended goal.
Before setting off, the task of the bike ride was made significantly more challenging as the pla- toon returned from seven days on Ex TEM- PLER’S TRIUMPH on the 28th,
OCdt Long
As the sun rose on Sunday morning, we were happy to know that we were still on track to complete the distance within the 24-hour win- dow. This was a massive boost to the whole pla- toon, who were beginning to tire mentally and
El Alamein Charity Bike Ride
mentally and physically drained.
On the morning of the 29th over
half of the platoon had to under-
take fitness tests and inter-com-
pany sports in the afternoon, all
before starting the ride. Safe to
say, not the preparation we would
have wanted; however, we all
knew we just had to press on,
and, at 1900hrs on the 29th, 21
Platoon set off into the night. We
knew that if we averaged 33km/
hr across six bikes for 24 hours,
that would be enough to get us across the finish line. This proved to be a challenging yet achiev- able pace and one that could be sustained for an hour but no longer at a time.
Unknown to the platoon, it was not the muscle fatigue that kicked in first, but sleep deprivation. Overall, the pace was maintained; however, the dismay of leaving our comfortable beds to stroll over to the gym in the early morning hours in the rain was understandable. The impact of the lack of sleep due to exercise began to raise its ugly head, and people started to struggle. Despite this, we could maintain the required pace through gritted teeth, and a visit at 0315hrs from our Company Commander helped to motivate us through the night.
physically. In addition, the news that we had smashed the £2000 fund- raising mark gave us extra motiva- tion to ensure we succeeded. As the day continued, the donations were non-stop, providing a revived sense of purpose and buzz around what we were doing. Messages of support flooded in from all corners of the planet, pushing us through. As we approached the final five hours, we still had 1000km to ride. This was a challenging task, but the feeling within the platoon was one
of defiance. Individuals were refusing to hop off the bikes, wanting to do extra shifts to ensure we finished on time. A visit from the Academy Sergeant Major ensured that any waning legs pushed on.
The final 1000km flew by. At one point, we had eight bikes on the go rather than the six planned. This just demonstrated the willingness of the pla- toon not only to reach but exceed the target dis- tance. In addition, the final five hours also saw a significant increase in generous donations. We watched our total fly through the £2500 and then the £3000 mark, a total that we never believed we would come close to reaching. The support from our friends and family created a fantastic atmosphere in the gym, which continued to
As the day continued, the donations were non-stop, providing a revived sense of purpose and buzz around what we were doing.
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