29th September 2010

Under 8s Coach Lloyd Harris, has completed The Great British Bike Ride from Lands End to Twickenham to raise funds for 'Help for Heroes', the 'Rugby Players' Benevolent Fund', and the 'RFU Injured Players Foundation'.

The training is a distant memory, hundreds of miles have been covered and tens of thousands of pounds have been raised for charity by participants taking part in this year's Great British Bike Ride.

If you’re not up to speed, the 2010 event began on the 1 st of September, with 150 riders setting off from Land’s End with the aim of riding into rugby's Twickenham stadium just four days later.

Despite longer stages than expected – including a very gloomy stint through Dartmoor – those taking part stuck to their promise of riding every mile, and when asked if they would it again everyone said “Absolutely – yes”. Also taking part were rugby 'greats' Martin Johnson and Jason Leonard, who joined the riders on day three.

The camaraderie was immense, with every rider pulling together to provide much needed encouragement to reach the finishing line.

And what a finish it proved to be. A packed Twickenham Stadium rippled with applause as thousands of rugby fans greeted the riders midway through the day’s scheduled rugby fixtures, and a cheque for £89,000 was presented to event ambassador Richard Hill MBE.

On returning home to Helston, Lloyd, aged 37, commented:

“Taking part in this event was one of the most challenging things I've ever undertaken, involving months of training and preparation out on my bike for hours at a time.

“Someone asked me on day two at a pit stop in the middle of Dartmoor whether I'd ever contemplate doing something like this again, and I answered - No way!

“Of course, after eventually arriving at and riding around Twickenham in front of 70,000 rugby fans, it was an amazing thing to be part of.

I remember looking up into the crowd, seeing people on their feet cheering us as we went by, which made me feel very proud of what we had achieved. Ask me now if I'd do something like this again, and my answer would be – Yes! In fact, I have actually already signed up for next year's challenge.

“One of the best things was meeting Martin Johnson and Richard Hill, as they are both great guys, and sitting next to them at breakfast one morning talking about the day ahead and their rugby achievements was a conversation I will never forget.

“The night before the start of the challenge some of the Cornish Pirates players came down to show their support. It was good to see them spending time to mix with everyone and chat about the season ahead.”