Subaru Appeal For Japan Cycle Relay

Although we cycled our leg of the ‘Subaru Appeal For Japan Cycle Relay’ together, nothing could have prepared us for the appalling weather that awaited during Wednesday 12 October.

It really was terrible, as it had rained heavily the night before and the deluge continued throughout our stage of the cycle relay, with passing cars having to use their lights, in order to be seen. Still, after our 10.00am departure time from Middlesbrough, we travelled the back roads, through Yarm, Hornby, Scorton and Brompton-On-Swale, to our final destination in Richmond, North Yorkshire, approximately thirty miles away.

Even on some of the quieter roads, we encountered heavy traffic, including both lorries and buses. Ian Pattison - Warranty Manager at Derek Slack Skoda, did an excellent job of driving the safety car, by ensuring he was right behind us, not allowing traffic to squeeze between the safety car and bicycles, a move several less-considerate motorists actually attempted.

We made only three brief stops on route for refreshments, which enabled us to maintain a steady pace throughout.
On seeing the final 5-miles road sign for Richmond, we were spurred on to escalate the final lengthy climb uphill. Fortunately, the team at the next Subaru dealership were waiting, just as we arrived on the forecourt.

Despite the soaking conditions, we enjoyed the challenging route, which has gained some local publicity interest already from the local radio station, TFM (thanks folks). If you would like to join in with the fund raising and allow the charity to benefit from the UK’s Gift Aid scheme, log on to: http://subaru.co.uk/japan-appeal