Cadets complete Area Officer’s epic bike challenge!

The first week of the Easter break was far from restful for two adventurous cadets: Leading Cadet Hadley of Accrington Unit (North West Area’s First Sea Lord’s Cadet) and LC Felix from Burton Unit, who had decided to join the Eastern Area Officer, Cdr Charles Bagot-Jewitt RN, on a 260-mile bike ride! 

The six-day ride was conceived by Cdr Bagot-Jewitt as a challenge to mark his return to Eastern Area, following almost eight years as North West Area Officer. The aim was to raise donations for the MSSC charity and units along the route, to help support life-changing opportunities for cadets.

Also along for the challenge were Burton Unit’s mountain biking instructor Nick Crane and S/Lt (SCC) Nikki Scully-Crane RNR – who provided vital logistical support in her camper van! Setting off from Accrington Unit near Blackburn on Saturday 28 March, the riders were aiming to reach MSSC’s National Support Centre in London by the following Thursday – at a rate of over 40 miles a day, mainly off-road, and much of it uphill.

The English weather provided some of the biggest challenges, with driving rain and headwinds for most of the opening weekend. But thanks to the hospitality of Tameside and Chesterfield units, and a kind farmer who let them shelter in a barn (and cuddle the spring lambs), they were able to overcome the muddy exhaustion of Day 2.  

From then on, stops at units in Long Eaton, Leicester, Market Harborough, Northampton, Leighton Buzzard, Dunstable and Luton provided a huge boost to morale, as did being joined on the final legs by MSSC Royal Marines Officer Paul Gillespie-Antal. Right on cue, at 2pm on Thursday 2 April, our heroes arrived at their final destination to cheers from MSSC staff, before Hadley and Felix were presented with special medals by CEO Guy Holloway. 

The team’s incredible achievement saw them cycle a distance further than two laps of the entire M25 motorway, raising over £3,000 in the process. “Crossing that finish line felt incredible,” reflected Hadley. “Knowing everything we’d been through – how hard it was, how much we pushed ourselves – and still getting there… it’s hard to describe how good that felt.”

Photos: Sea Cadets