Rugby players touch down after 1,000-mile trek
After enduring battering rain, gusty winds, steep hills, and three tyre punctures, two rugby players completed their Land s End to John O Groats bike ride. Nick Alford and Jack Hilman from Royston Rugby Club were raising money to fund new changing rooms
After enduring battering rain, gusty winds, steep hills, and three tyre punctures, two
rugby players completed their Land's End to John O'Groats bike ride.
Nick Alford and Jack Hilman from Royston Rugby Club were raising money to fund new changing rooms for their ground at the heath.
They suffered an early setback when the third member of the party, Robert Turner,
had to pull out of the trip after injuring his ankle in a match the day before their
journey began. But he supported his teammates in a vehicle during the
Most Read
- 1 Herts sex offender assaulted victim while she slept
- 2 Vehicles, greenhouse and fence 'smashed' in Royston
- 3 Former company boss fined after illegal waste dumped at quarry
- 4 Royston Bloomsday marks 100th anniversary of James Joyce's novel
- 5 A505 long delays between Royston and M11 motorway at Duxford
- 6 Duke and Duchess of Cambridge view portrait of themselves at Fitzwilliam Museum
- 7 Artists open up in record numbers for Cambridge Open Studios 2022
- 8 Stansted Airport and Cambridge trains disrupted after tree falls on tracks
- 9 Property: How could the new laws for renters affect you?
- 10 Wanted burglar caught in Grafton Centre with 'hoard of stolen goods'
course's later stages.
Their trek was not made any easier by the rain that met them in Land's End as they set
out, and it followed them for most of their journey, which covered nearly 1,000 miles.
Despite riding for large parts in wet clothes, the pair remained in high spirits,
and this was helped by the encouragement they received along the way.
Jack said: "We certainly drew some attention in the hostels we stayed at, and even
people in supermarkets asked what we were doing. I think people felt sorry for us and
we ended up getting further sponsorship from complete strangers."
After reaching John O'Groats the pair took a 13-hour train journey back to Royston, where they were given a heroes' welcome by family, friends, and club members.
Money is still being collected, and anyone who sponsored them can pay by cash or cheque made payable to Royston Rugby Club. Nick and Jack can be found at the Heath Sports Club on Saturday
afternoons where sponsorship can be handed over in person, or it can be
dropped off at 47 Garden Walk, or 22 Blake Close, Royston.
