Ian McPhee and Keith McNee from our Hornsea Gas Storage recently collected and donated all of the £750 they raised earlier this year from their sponsored Coast to Coast bike ride.
Starting from the beach in Morecambe at 05:45 in the morning, they cycled the coastal route to Hornsea in less than a day, finishing at Hornsea beach around 11:00 the same night.
The route took them up some extremely steep hills, through magnificent countryside and in parts, covered the same route as the recent ‘Tour de France’. They cycled around 160 miles in total over the 16 hours they were on the saddle.
Keith McNee, Safety Technician said: “I have cycled on and off for more than 40 year. I competed in time trials and road races in the late 60's and early 70's, however I gave it up because of the time and the cost. I started cycling regularly on the roads again about 2/3 years ago and started increasing the time and length of rides about 2/3 months before the challenge.
“Apart from actually completing it in less than a day, I would say my highlight was the views across the Yorkshire dales – they were stunning. The toughest part of the challenge without a doubt was the hill climbs, firstly over the Pennines and then West to East over the Yorkshire dales. It was not just the gradient of the climbs it was also the length!”
Ian McPhee, Electrical Engineer added: “Earlier this year we decided we wanted a real challenge. I’d never cycled that distance before and Keith was approaching retirement. Usually the whole thing takes 2 to 3 days but we did it in just 1 so we’re exceptionally proud. We did several long hilly rides together in the last few weeks before the challenge but we were blissfully unaware that the toughest hills we climbed were nothing compared to some we faced.
“Settle stood out as a very picturesque town, our first stop, the large piece of jam cake and latte coffee was first class. I’ll never forget the ride into Pately Bridge though. It is at the bottom of a very steep two mile hill and I got a puncture within 200 metres of the bottom. Luckily I was able to control the bike and stop safely but it was a bit concerning!”
Keith and Ian are both exceptionally grateful to those who supported them: “We would like to say a very big ‘Thank You’ to all those who have sponsored our efforts and we’d like to extend a special thanks our ‘support crew’ Geoff Allen. Geoff works at Hornsea as well and proved to be invaluable as the ride could not have been completed without his help, encouragement and motivation.
“We raised over £750 and it was split between Great Ormond St Children’s Hospital and The Samaritans.”