The last South East area newsletter contained an article about an upcoming event entitled “The Ride”. The organiser was the current Worshipful Master of the James E Bullen Lodge, Worshipful Brother Andrew Derrick, and the event was to take place on the 7th of June. The catalyst for this event was the tragic loss of Andrews’s very close friend, Lee. Supported by many of you, please see, in his own words, Andrews’s account of the day.
“Ride For Lee – successfully visited 14 lodge centres as we cycled over 100 miles, raising (so far) >£5.5K for charity, spread between MCF and Rowans Hospice.
I had initially intended an equal share, but Just Giving’s Team’s page includes each charity to appear independently under the ‘Team’, and I suspect, with the Rowans attracting recent headlines with such profound funding shortages, a bias toward the Rowans has occurred.
Our collective effort has been instrumental in this success. Despite the unexpected distribution, we have shifted income from our Charity Chest, which will take us to the MCF Gold award in September. This achievement was a personal ambition of mine during my year in the chair, and it stands as a testament to our shared dedication to the cause.
The ride was not without its challenges. Of the original 12 riders, a couple dropped out before we began. However, the remaining eight riders, including W.M, Junior Deacon, I.G and EA, and four non-masons, set out at 07.00 on 7th June. We cycled from a sunny Cosham Lodge centre, up Portsdown Hill, winding our way to Purbrook, Horndean, then back across the west of Portsdown Hill to Fareham and Woolston. We then ascended the Itchen bridge and headed to Southampton and Totton. Crossing a cattle grid and making our way through the windy New Forest to Brockenhurst and Lymington, where we were greeted by Bill Starky (Provincial Grand Director of Ceremonies). Our IPM and Tyler joined us here for the next leg of the ride.
The W.M. ‘s wife, Karen, was accompanied by Lee’s wife, Tracy, who followed the ride, took photos, and provided snacks and hydration. Beset by a single puncture and two chain-offs, the support car’s plethora of tools and spares were thankfully unnecessary.
Whitelink kindly donated the ferry passage from Lymington (and Ryde). We quickly set about raiding their canteen and loaded up with food, snacks and drinks to fuel the Isle of Wight leg, which began with a beautiful sunny spin to Cowes Lodge, across the chain-link ferry, again kindly provided free of charge, to E. Cowes Lodge before the slog into Newport where the Friday afternoon traffic somewhat slowed us down.
From Newport Lodge, we again encountered traffic most of the way to Ryde Lodge; after that, indulging in a pre-celebration beer at the Pierhead before boarding the FastCat to Portsmouth, visiting the Pheonix rooms and returning to Cosham.
The George Inn on Portsdown Hill hosted an R4L fundraiser on Sunday 9th, where the cyclists were all provided a free beer and live music. The W.M.’s grandchildren keenly shook collection buckets to add over £500 to our charity and draw to a happy conclusion, this fantastic challenge.
Developing an event idea, motivating a team of riders with training, sharing vital information and safety data, ensuring equipment is fit for purpose, and juicing the fundraising before the day of the ride are time-consuming and detailed tasks. Would I do it again to honour my friend Lee and raise charity income for such a worthy cause? In a heartbeat.
This was a team effort, and I played my part as others played theirs, and they, too, deserve full credit and recognition for their efforts.”
