Page 85 - Mercian Eagle 2014

CYPRUS CYCLING CHALLENGE 2014 By WO2 Lamonby
In the first two weeks of May, six members of 4 MERCIAN – Capt Chris Hymas (F Coy), 2Lt Will Moore (C Coy), WO2 Jason Lamonby (HQ Coy), Cpl Carl Hickman
(B Coy), Cpl Aidan Rogers (HQ Coy) and Pte Tom Worth (HQ Coy) took part in the 2014 Cyprus Cycling Challenge to raise money for Combat Stress and the Mercian Benevolent Fund.
The challenge is run over four days covering a distance of just over 500km. To ensure that all attempting the challenge had the strength, each team member vowed
to spend a lot of time getting the miles
into their legs covering large amounts of distance on the road. Some did this more successfully than others! As a benchmark: before departure both Capt Hymas and
I (with the CO for company) took part in
the 80km Shropshire Devil sportive. A gentle excursion through the rolling hills of Shropshire and Mid Wales! Suffice it to say that we all suffered, and it brought home that you can never do too much physical preparation prior to this kind of challenge. So with what little time was left prior to flying out to Cyprus, a renewed vigour was found to smash the turbo trainers and get as much training in before departure.
After an overnight stop in the Burton Army Reserve centre where bags were checked, bikes given a final going over, and fearsome tales told by Capt Hymas about the climb of Mount Troodos (he’s completed this nine times!!) we all set off for the sunnier climes of Cyprus.
On arrival after being picked up by the Adjutant of the Joint Services Signals Unit (JSSU), the following morning and the remainder of the days before the challenge started were taken up by acclimatisation rides around the eastern part of the Island covering distances of between 70 and 90 km. What a difference to ride in glorious sunshine with temperatures in the mid 20s! The JSSU also laid on a 16km time trial where all those taking part raced against the clock. Not to brag – but as the second oldest member of the team, I finished fifth overall, with a respectable time of 27:08.
The challenge each day was broken down into set distances. Day 1 was from JSSU to the sovereign base camp at
Cpl Carl Hickman, Pte Tom Worth, 2Lt Will Moore and Cpl A
Episkopi via Laranca and Limassol, which worked out to be 156km. For safety,
the JSSU uses its own ‘Bondu Rats’ motorcycling club as outriders who, over the challenge, ride forward of the peloton stopping traffic at all junctions, thus allowing an uninterrupted ride around the island.
The pace was kept at a steady 20-25kph, with various stops to allow all riders to fill up water bottles and take
on food. As always the
MERCIAN team took to the rear to chat and enjoy the views of a very warm and sunny Cyprus.
What a difference a
day makes! After a well
earned rest at Episkopi
the weather of Cyprus
decided on a turn for the worse, with torrential rain forecast for the next few days. I cannot describe the miserable feeling of cycling for five hours in the rain to our next overnight stop in the little resort of Polis over 100km away. I suppose I should count my blessings, because at least the rain
was warm. However this did make the day harder for most. To get to Polis you have to climb Derusia Heights for 50 minutes (longer for some) and then there is the very fast descent into Polis. Nearly all, at the end, had worn out the brake pads on their bikes so the Adjutant of the JSSU very kindly drove up to Nicosia and bought a load of
new brake pads for the riders to replace their worn out pads.
Day 3: Mount Troodos! Nearly 112km
of riding virtually from sea level to the RAF camp at the top. Apart from a small portion at the start, nearly all of this is ridden by the rider at his/her pace. To make it even harder, the rain was still there all day, bringing the temperature at the top of the
mountain down to 4-5oC. In parts the roads have a gradient of 13% which is a real leg-sapper. A “Well done” to 2Lt Moore who came first out of the 4 MERCIAN team.
Day 4 is a gentle 161km back to the JSSU with a little
excursion arranged into the UN buffer zone. We all got to ride next to the old Nicosia Airport with a very old airliner
and buildings to highlight the continuing problems of Cyprus and the good job the British Army contingent does as part of the UN peacekeeping mission. I can safely say everyone starts to feel it in the legs by now and it’s with a large smile that we all made it back safely to JSSU. On getting back you feel a real sense of achievement at having completed a real physical and mental challenge to be proud of. To celebrate this we all had one or two beers (too many) to toast what we all had achieved!
Teaching the UPDF and working in a group such as this was a huge learning experience.
Pte Tom Worth on Trodos
Cpl Rogers WO2 Lamonby, Nissi Beach
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
83