The Last Final Days of Operation Long Road Blog.

Apologies for the recent delay in updating the blog but I have experienced problems recently with my hand held computer on which I use to compile all the data.

Tuesday’s ride was long and hot and went pretty much to plan, although we completed the mileage in quick time and got ourselves sorted administrationally ready for a visit by old friends Tony and Maggs Harrop. Tony, who was recently posted to USA as well as being promoted to Warrant Officer (Congratulations Mate) read about our cycle across the States in a recent copy of the RAF News. He managed to contact us via the MCO and so we arranged for him and his wife to visit. It was great to see an old friend and to sit and have a chat about the way of life in America. Tony is currently employed at the New Cumberland Army Depot in Pennsylvania and deals with Foreign Military Sales (FMS) between the UK and the US. He is thoroughly enjoying his job and his gigantic wage packet and is currently on a 3 year tour. A special word of thanks must go to Tony and all his work colleagues as they all had a whip round and managed to put together a fantastic sum of $150.00 which was donated to our funds for Help 4 Heroes. Also on behalf of the Op Longroad Team a very big thank-you must go to Maggs who made us two outstanding meals at home and brought them down for us to devour. ‘Maggs they were great’ Thanks very much..

Wednesday saw us continue across Pennsylvania at a fairly steady pace in good conditions, we had good support from Pete as always who ensured that we were continually taking fluids on board as well as keeping us fuelled with carbohydrates. We were unfortunate to have a bad spell of 3 punctures during this leg which meant Andrew alias ‘Cake Boy’ had a busy evening repairing them. The conditions were good for cycling throughout and we covered the 103 miles in good time. The RV team were squared away with a good site in which Roy had worked his magic touch with his silver tongue and managed to get the nights accommodation free of charge from the owner in recognition of what we were undertaking this cycle for. Fair play to Roy, there was not many RV parks that we had to pay for due to him using his ‘Gift of the Gab’ and manipulating the opportunity in our favour.

Thursday saw us in an eager to get started mood as this was to be our last full days cycling. We had approximately 150 miles to New York left and we had planned to cycle a 100 miles today, enjoy a night out this evening, recovery and admin day on Friday, before we finish the ride on Saturday covering the last 50 miles. Unfortunately the weather was not so good and we encountered thick fog during the early part of the morning before it deteriorated further into heavy rain. At one point we had to stop cycling as the fog made it to dangerous to continue. We managed to find a coffee shop and waited for approximately an hour till it was safe enough to continue onwards. During this leg we crossed from Pennsylvania into New Jersey which apart from New York State was to be the last. We were in good spirits and were relishing the thought of not having to set the clock alarm for the morning as it was to be our day off tomorrow. We finished the leg and once again met up with the RV team who had secured a slot at a State park in really pleasant surroundings. However, we were to get a real shock as the sight of wild bears was not what we had expected to see during our journey. One came very close and was exploring the area around our neighbours RV which allowed for some great photos’ although very cute we were all well aware of what damage a wild bear can do to both equipment and personnel if it gets to close. So we treated each encounter with the respect it deserved and had no problems. All in all we had 5 separate visits over the time we were in the park.

We had a good time out on the Thursday evening and were interviewed live on American Radio with regard to Op long road. This had been organised by Lt Col Paul Fanning of the American National Guard who had been very interested and supportive of our trip since we started. We explained exactly what we were doing and why, in the hope of generating more funds state side to bolster to total money raised.

On Friday Jason, Pete and ‘Cake Boy’ recce’d the final leg in the car so we were fully aware of the route into New York on Saturday. We had managed to secure a police escort across the George Washington Bridge and so Pete touched based with the NYPD and the Port Authority to sort out where and when we needed to be and at what time. Myself and Roy had volunteered to clean and tidy out the RV in readiness for its return on Sunday. There were one or two accidents that had happened to the RV over the last six weeks so there were some minor repairs that needed doing before we could hand it back? On their return from the recce run the guys explained what had been sorted and that everything was pretty much in place for our arrival at ground Zero. Whilst the guys had been away into New York the family in the next RV next to ours had been over for a chat and had invited us all over for a BBQ. Myself and Roy had gratefully accepted the offer which proved to be a popular idea with the guys when they returned. We got ourselves sorted out for the last leg of the journey packed the car with the essentials that we needed for the final day and went over to the BBQ next door.

Andy, Emma and children Joshua, Alexander and Savannah were a great family who were very supportive of the whole concept of Help 4 Heroes? The BBQ of venison sausage, enormous pork chops and trimmings was enjoyed thoroughly by us all and made for a really nice change from Pasta. It was a great evening and a chance to meet and make some special new friends. We would like to express our sincere thanks and kindest regards to the whole family for all their hospitality and kind gestures and wish them all the very best for the future.

When the alarm went off at 6am on Saturday morning it was a great feeling to think that this was it. THE FINAL DAY had arrived. It was a glorious sunny morning and there was no wind to make life difficult for us. Everyone was up early, even Cake Boy and Royston, (wonders will never cease.) we got ourselves sorted and headed for the finishing point that we reached on Thursday. We set off along the route that had been tested by the guys the previous day and it wasn’t long before we began to get into heavy traffic which was expected due to it being a world capital. We edged along cautiously and it wasn’t long before we began to see some of the famous landmarks that are so synonymous with New York. We reached the police station that was going to escort us over the bridge and once we had spoken to the station lieutenant we were off. The police car led with flashing lights and we were very close to the finishing point, Then disaster struck I hit a large crack in the road which punctured my front tyre immediately. I couldn’t believe it. The police officer was a great help to us, as he went back to the RV and picked up a spare wheel for me so that I could continue. It cost us around 40 minutes but we were in no real hurry as we had planned for the finish to happen at 1300 hrs. I quickly changed the wheel and continued onwards. We crossed the bridge and headed along the waterfront admiring all the buildings and landmarks. It was weird in a way as all the way across America we had hardly seen anyone partaking in any type of physical exercise, yet it seemed that the whole of New York was doing some type of exercise as we cycled through, there were cyclists, skaters, joggers, runners, walkers, etc.

As we turned a corner along the waterfront I could see the huge hole that had been left in the skyline where the twin towers once stood. The whole area was now a massive construction site and a large rebuilding project was taking shape. We had done it. The Op Long road team had completed the 3200 miles across America and it felt great. We had arrived earlier than we had predicted, so decided to partake in a cup of coffee and a chocolate muffin. Roy, Pete and Cake’s soon arrived and joined us; they then said they were going round to the finishing point and wait for us to arrive. We finished off our coffee and headed the 5 mins or so round to the finishing point outside the fire station at Ground Zero. To our great surprise there was a tremendous finishing welcome for us from a large section of the Public, US Army, Fire fighters, Police Officers and other services who had an affiliation with 9/11. There were also further surprise’s, in that Jason’s Mother and Father had flown out to be present at the finish before departing to Florida on holiday. Also our special friends Andy, Emma and their children, Joshua, Savannah and Alexander had travelled across from the previous nights RV site in New Jersey to celebrate the finish. There was cameras clicking everywhere and people giving us so much respect and best wishes, it was a really good feeling of achievement for the whole team who had worked very hard to achieve a successful outcome in aid of Help for Heroes.

Lt Col Fanning had been instrumental in the organisation of the finishing post welcome and we sincerely wish to thank him and his guys for all that he did for us to make it such a spectacular finale. After some very kind words from LT Col Fanning on behalf of and the fighting 69th New York National Guard and the American people, the Op Long Road team laid a wreath at the memorial site at Ground Zero in remembrance of the personnel that lost their lives on 9/11 and also to all those who have subsequently lost their lives in the war against terrorism.

The team had finally done it, the journey was now over and Santa Monica seemed so far away. It has been a fantastic journey in which the whole team has worked well to ensure the operation was a great success. I am not sure as yet on how much has been raised for the charity, but will make the figure known as soon as possible. We would like to thank everybody who has helped make this journey possible both within the UK and America and feel really privileged to have been able to take part and be successful in such a worthwhile operation such as this, in aid of our very special troops who continue to put their own lives on the line in search of an end to both War and Terror.

Till next time

Nick