Evening, Slightly off topic for a match day, but I wanted to say thank you to quite a few from the BBS who kindly sponsored me and supported the Royal British Legion for my 5th cycle ride from London to Paris on their behalf. I won't embarrass them by naming them, but the gratitude is heartfelt, I've ridden with, and met, current service personnel and veterans who've benefitted from this support on different scales. I've managed to raise just over £1,700, an amazing amount in the current financial climate and despite a field of only 100 riders, the cost of living hit this massively as entry of 250 usually sells out, the running total for the event this year is over £260,000. It's an event I've fallen in love with. The ride was around 285 miles over four days and included the worst rain I've ever cycled in on Friday, pretty much a non stop monsoon from Calais to Abbeville, the weather also drowning my mobile phone so been offline until this morning. We had a rider end up having emergency surgery for a smashed shoulder, 5 broken ribs and a punctured lung caused by a pothole near Folkestone, so the rain was pretty insignificant in comparison. The real hero of this year's ride though is ex squaddie and Wakefield chap Steve Harrison, tetraplegic with limited arm strength, who managed to ride the route on an adapted bike having had to bail out in 2022 with mechanical issues. I've no shame in saying he had us in tears when he led the group to the end point at the Arc de Triomphe. Thank you. Andy
