World Cup Ride
British cyclists ride 1,500 miles for charity

***image1***The road to the World Cup was long and hard for four British Royal Air
Force cyclists as they cycled 1,500 miles in 10 days, visiting all 12
stadiums where the FIFA 2006 World Cup football matches will be played.
 

The charity bike ride began May 30, starting in Kaiserslautern and
finished back at Ramstein Air Base on June 9 just in time for the first
game featuring Germany and Croatia.

Squadron Leader Pete Edwards, Flight Lt.Lea Dean, Cpl. Kristian
Harrison and Cpl. Andy Ackers had never done any long distance cycling
before but thought it would be a good way to see the World Cup venues
and raise money for charity at the same time.

The 1,500-mile trip took the cyclists, riding in teams of two, all over
Germany taking in the World Cup venues of Kaiserslautern, Berlin, Köln,
Munich, Stuttgart, Leipzig, Nürnberg, Hamburg, Hannover, Frankfurt,
Dortmund and Gelsenkirchen along the way.

“The team hopes to raise in excess of €5,000,” and is also organizing a
sports auction when the team gets back, said Corporal Harrison.

The main charity set to benefit from the marathon bike ride is Children
in Need, both within Germany and the UK. (Courtesy of the RAF British
Cyclists)