Those feeling energetic opted for the 73 mile journey from Worcester while those who wanted a slightly shorter challenge decided to start from Gloucester (49 miles), Reading (50 miles) or Bath (33 Miles).  All of the cyclists set off on Saturday, 20 June 2009 with the sun beating down on their backs. Some donned Lions rugby shirts while others showed their support of Wooden Spoon by wearing a Wooden Spoon tie for the journey and everyone had a smile on their face, (for the first few miles anyway!) 

Each route had a pit stop where cyclists could replenish their water bottles and have a bite to eat. However, the lure of the pubs on route proved far too tempting for some and the orange squash was replaced by a sneaky Guinness. The second half of each route proved more challenging as the cyclists hit some hills. Fortunately the welcoming finish was in sight, which spurred the cyclists on and encouraged them to stay on their saddles.

Family and friends of the cyclists arrived at the finish site on Yatesbury Village Green throughout the afternoon and set up tents in preparation for their loved ones arrival. Phone updates started to come through, advising everyone to get the beer and BBQ ready and children lined the lane armed with cow bells, ready to cheer the first cyclists over the finish line.

There was a steady stream of arrivals from 4.30pm to 7pm and all were greeted by the same roaring applause, cold beers and the smell of sausages and bacon cooking on the BBQ. Rugby supporters from each start point congregated in the village hall to watch a recording of the Lions first test match and the entertainment continued throughout the night with a local jazz band taking over and playing some rugby anthems and sing along requests!

Most people stayed up celebrating until the early hours, however some headed to their tents for a good nights sleep in preparation for watching the sun rise early the following morning. A congregation of weary supporters gathered on the village green at 4.30am and were escorted to one of the white horse monuments to watch the breath taking view of the solstice sun rise (seen below at right).

Although there was a brief shower, the early riser’s spirits were not dampened and they returned with some fantastic photos in time for a cup of tea and a bacon roll. After some breakfast and a hot drink everyone started to dismantle their tents and pack their bags ready for the journey home. Those who didn’t have family coming to collect them were chauffeured to their start point along with their bikes and everyone went for a well deserved rest and sneaky afternoon nap. Although some of the challengers swore not to go near their bike for a long time, there was a lot of talk about the other spoon challenges and some competitors are already signed up to take part in the Four Peaks Challenge (which is just two weeks away) and the Great Lakeland Challenge in September.

All in all the Summer Solstice Bike Ride was a fantastic event that brought supporters of different rugby clubs together with supporters of Wooden Spoon to take part in a mid summer bike ride! The only question on the evening was whether the event will return in 2010 and our advice is to keep checking our website for more information and for dates of our 2010 challenges. We would like to finish off by saying a huge thank you to the Rugby Clubs for providing their ground as a start point, recruiting their fans and in some instances entering staff members into the challenge! We couldn’t have done this event without you and we hope to have your support in future years. Huge thanks must also go to the challenge sponsors, Highland Spring for hydrating our cyclists, Eat natural for providing energy boosting snacks, Guinness and Green King for making our celebration BBQ a night to remember and Ford for extending their support to equip us with support vehicles. Thank you!