CHEERING crowds and a military band gave wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans a rapturous send-off for a Help for Heroes bike ride.
A group of riders from Phoenix House, with some using hand bikes, joined riders of the Hero Ride who set off from Edinburgh on Monday after calling into the Catterick Garrison-based recovery centre for lunch today (Wednesday, June 17).
The group then headed south with the aim of covering more than 260 miles to reach Windsor by Sunday, June 21 with riders from other Help for Heroes centres meeting them ten miles before the finish line to ride into Windsor together.
The 1,100-strong peloton will include a record number of 100 wounded heroes and will gather in Windsor to take part in a service of remembrance at the Air Forces Memorial.
Among the riders from Phoenix House is Anna Pollock, from Catterick Garrison, a 33-year-old mother of three who suffered a bleed on her spine in 2013 resulting in nerve damage which massively restricted her ability to walk and left her relying heavily on the use of a wheelchair.
She said: “I can’t wait to ride into Windsor on Sunday with all my friends at Phoenix House, it will be such a massive sense of achievement.”
To sponsor the 100 injured riders visit www.helpforheroes.org.uk/backthe100.
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