Lands End to John O'Groats - Tandem with the British and Irish Lions

Land's End to John O'Groats: 10 days, 1386 km, 13,209 m

The Doddie’5 Ride LeJog* was conceived by Rob Henderson, ex Irish and British and Irish Lion, in the early hours of the morning in a pub in London.  It seemed like a good idea at the time as an event to support Doddie Weir in his fight against Motor Neurone Disease but with the 10 day, 900 mile cycle looming ever closer Hendo wishes that he hadn’t been quite so ambitious. The challenge will be attempted by 4 tandems each representing the four home union rugby teams. Hendo leading the Irish challenge, Craig Chalmers the Scottish, Peter Rogers the Welsh and Peter Winterbottom the English. It is not a race but I’m sure there will be plenty of competition over the 10 days, especially in the bar area trying to keep up with Hendo.

*The LEJOG cycle ride is the grand daddy of all cycling challenges in the UK, starting at Land's End in Cornwall (the extreme southwest point in mainland Britain) and ending at John o'Groats in northern Scotland - very close to the most northerly point of mainland Britain.

My Name'5 Doddie Foundation

Motor neurone disease (MND) is a rare condition that progressively damages the brain and nervous system. It's caused by a problem with cells in the brain and nerves called motor neurones, which gradually stop working over time. This leads to muscle weakness, often with visible wasting. It's always fatal and can significantly shorten life expectancy, but some people live with it for many years. There’s no cure, but there are treatments to help reduce the impact it has on your daily life. It mainly affects people in their 60s and 70s, but it can affect adults of all ages.

George "Doddie" Weir, one of rugby’s most recognisable personalities, is a Scottish former rugby union player who played as a lock, making 61 international appearances for the Scotland national team. An excellent lineout specialist he was selected as part of the British and Irish Lions tour of South Africa in 1997. Weir was famously described by legendary commentator Bill McLaren as being "On the charge like a mad giraffe".

In June 2017, the Scot revealed he was suffering from Motor Neurone Disease. From the outset, Doddie has been driven to help fellow sufferers and seek ways to further research into this, as yet, incurable disease. In November 2017, Doddie and his Trustees launched the registered charity My Name’5 Doddie Foundation:

• To raise funds to aid research into the causes of Motor Neurone Disease and investigate potential cures.
• To make grants to individuals suffering from MND, to enable them to live as fulfilled a life as possible.

Doddie says: It is frustrating that there has been so little progress over the last two decades. I want to push the need for research into MND further up the agenda. We may be too late in finding something that can help me, but I am committed to doing everything I can to help find a cure.

Doddie Weir BBC Interview

With your support, you will help Doddie and the Trustees make a difference to the lives of those coping and battling with Motor Neurone Disease.

Donate

The Irish Tandem; Rob Henderson (Centre)

Rob “born under the white cliffs of Dover” Henderson: according to Wikipedia, Hendo is 6ft 1 and weighs 93kg which only goes to show that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet! Hendo has an illustrious playing career behind him with London Irish, London Wasps, Munster, Toulon, Ireland and of course the British & Irish Lions.

Highlights include tackling Austin Healy so hard in the Heineken Cup that Austin even stopped talking for a few minutes. Hendo is a regular up Box Hill where he has completed the near impossible feat of eating the whole of the ice-lolly selection at the cafe there before then cycling back down to do the same at the café at the bottom. This ride will be a piece of cake for Hendo followed by several beers, then another piece of cake but he is as strong as an ox and will take some beating on the down hills.

The Scottish Tandem; Craig Chalmers
(Fly Half / Centre)

Craig “my sister has more Scottish caps than me” Chalmers: a natural on his bike having been brought up in Galashiels where he went on to play for Melrose, Harlequins & Worcester amongst others. He has 60 Scottish caps and 1 for the British & Irish Lions and rumour has it might make the next Scottish 6 Nations squad too!

Craig now lives in Esher which must mean he is a stockbroker so will have ridden the Surrey Hills andtamed Box Hill in training for this Doddie’5 Ride LeJog event. Craig has 166 points for Scotland but is perhaps most famous for his 3 penalties against England in Scotland’s 1990 Grand Slam success. We expect Craig in his lycra kilt, to be leading from the front of his peloton and to be refuelling on McEwan’s super strength lager whilst munching on a deep fried Mars Bar at the designated feed stations. That’s enough stereotypes hit there me thinks.

The Welsh Tandem; Peter Rogers (Prop)

Peter John Daniel Rogers born in Maidstone, England but played for Wales via Gauteng Lions gaining 18 caps. Rogers attended Llandovery College in Wales before playing rugby in South Africa and he was initially implicated in the 'grannygate' scandal before being exonerated.
Peter was a wafer thin hooker when he left for South Africa but acquired a taste for Biltong and came back a solid loose head prop. He played club rugby for Gauteng Falcons (Transvaal), Bridgend RFC, Maesteg RFC, Pirates Johannesburg, London Irish, Roma, Newport RFC, Cardiff RFC. Highlight of his career is Wales beating the Springboks for the first time in the inaugural match in the Millenium Stadium.
Between his commitment to his property business PPR Ltd and playing the odd Vets rugby match Peter has become an accomplished cyclist and now looks rather more at home on the Tour De France than a rugby pitch. Peter is sure to be leading the Welsh tandem to the front of the peloton.

The English Tandem; Peter Winterbottom (Openside Flanker)

Peter “don’t push me up those hills” Winterbottom: it’s a far cry from the Yorkshire moors where Wints first rode his bike delivering the bread in the Hovis ad, but now he is as happy in the saddle as he was on the open side for Headingley, Hawkes Bay, Transvaal, Harlequins, England and the British & Irish Lions.
At a touch over 50 (and that’s not his waistline) he lets his riding do the talking and whilst he may not be first up the hills he is one of the quickest coming down! Be warned he can be known to fall off from time to time and will quietly tuck in right behind you within a wheel’s length before you can say “NeilBack off!”. If the headwinds pick up Wints will sure to be one of the most popular riders to draft and the sight of those ample buttocks can be quite hypnotic and the long lonely hours will fly by.

The Route

Sunday 16th Sep: First Day – Land’s End to Okehampton (103.95 miles, elevation: 6785ft)

Monday 17th Sep: Okehampton to Bristol (107.90 miles, elevation: 4643ft)

Tuesday 18th Sep: Bristol to Shrewsbury (101.50 miles, elevation: 6722ft)

Wednesday 19th Sep: Shrewsbury to Preston (88.30 miles, elevation: 3219ft)

Thursday 20th Sep: Preston to Carlisle (93.14 miles, elevation: 4305ft)

Friday 21st Sep: Carlisle to Edinburgh (89.60 miles, elevation: 4000ft)

Saturday 22nd Sep: Edinburgh to Blair Atholl (78.49 miles, elevation: 3586ft)

Sunday 23rd Sep: Blair Atholl to Inverness (79.94 miles, elevation: 3487ft)

Monday 24th Sep: Inverness to Lybster (88.50 miles, elevation: 5475ft)

Tuesday 25th Sep: Final Day – Lybster to John o’Groats (30.02 miles, elevation: 1117ft)

Join in

Come and join the Peloton for a day and give your support to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation.
Pledge £150 to the charity and spend the day in the Peloton.

Just email [email protected] for further details.

Donations

Please kindly donate to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, raising funds to aid research into Motor Neurone Disease

Donate