Today was a great example of why it pays off to lug a couple of cameras around with me in the car even though my work for the day is completely unrelated! I got caught up in the traffic that had backed up due to Team Rickshaw and decided that if I couldn’t beat them then I might as well join them. Since the cars were going nowhere, I pulled off of the road, grabbed the camera and waited with what felt like a million school children.
The one thing that the camera didn’t capture was the noise. It was incredible. The children – both primary and secondary students – had obviously been well briefed and knew the name of the rider that was cycling their way. Cheers of Ciaran were almost deafening at one point as the seventeen year old battled his way up the road. Ciaran, like others on the Team, had been chosen specifically as he had either been supported by Children in Need in the past, or was currently being supported.
Last Year Team Rickshaw was the presenter of The One Show, Matt Baker. He battled his way from Edinburgh to London. This year, it’s all different. Six young people and two reserves made up the team who are cycling from Wales to London as part of the challenge. It’s 411 miles and nearly all of the team have a physical disability which makes this challenge even more amazing.
It was nice to be caught in a traffic jam that was caused by something positive, rather than an accident or incident, BBC Radio 2 presenters had great delight in announcing that over the radio this morning!
Kathryn Dawson Photography 