Words by SincereThis was londonbikers.com's chance to shine, quite literally in front of the masses. We had the opportunity of being the safety marshalls for the Aviva Weekend to Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity walk, which was a sponsored walk for people to raise money for the Breast Cancer Charity. The walkers were set the challenge of walking 60km on 16-17th September from South London (Greenwich) to North London (Finsbury Park) and back again. 30km each way.
We met at 5am Saturday morning in Greenwich Park for registration, breakfast and a team meeting before setting off. We were given official orange t-shirts and pink bras (for the bikes of course!!) to mark our positions. As we had laised with the organisers for a long time prior to the day, we held a briefing of our own to go over what the day entailed, where we would be going and what to do if certain things happened. After wishing the walkers off to a good start at the park gates, we were put into pairs and deployed to the safety points where the walkers would be getting to. The whole assignment for the weekend was to make sure that they crossed safely and to give them loads of support, empathy, as well as keeping them going. Also riding along the course were designated medics, Charlie and Trojan, who would also assist with any difficulties. The organisation went without hitch.
After being at our designated post we were then picked up and moved onto the next site. Whilst in transit between post to post we made sure that when we saw the walkers we would beep and wave to them, receiving cheers and waves in return. This made the day much more fun and kept everyone's spirits up.
Stopping for lunch, the day become too much for Keti's bike, which developed an electrical fault, though the entire team tried to fix it, the problem was too big, Keti would be forced to retire for the day, much to her own dissapointment.
After a very long and tiring day we headed towards Finsbury Park in which we went in two by two. Once inside, we would retire for the evening. The organisers of the event had a mini campsite set out for the staff and the walkers. On entry into the park we were greeted by hundreds of walkers who cheered, clapped and hollered at us. The feeling for us was amazing! We parked the bikes and headed towards our camp area, where our bags had been kindly placed in our tents.
After getting some much needed dinner and meeting/greeting a few minor celebs, it was time for some LB'ers to let their hair down and have a dance (or two!!) or a shower in the much loved portable showers. After some steam was let off it was time to call it a day and retreat to our tents where the exhausted amongst us were entertained by the comedians in LB (thank-you Flatout and Ginger!).
Another early start on Sunday morning (4.30/5am!!), we had some breakfast, and at this time we suffered a set-back with Trojan deciding that his bike looked better laying on the grass rather than upright as it normally is. A few bent bits and a broken mirror later, Trojan had to admit defeat and was unable to continue the day, much to his dissapointment. We met for a role call meeting afterwards, where again we were divided into teams and then taken to our nominated posts by our team-leaders.
On this second day there was a refreshed feeling with the walkers and many of them were looking forward to seeing the end of the walk. The Grab and Go spots and the lunch station kept many of the walkers strong. It was great to see the fantastic orange shirts in convoy being taken to their next post. Many of the walkers on the day, and afterwards have commented that our efforts really helped them get through the day, with our morale-boosting words of encouragement and at times, acts of sillyness.
We had lunch an improtu lunch break in Victoria park where walkers were still going through, having a laugh with us. We met a friendly bobby who was on duty and subsequently joined up (bluestar), and then before we knew it, there was a call for assistence at one of the stop points, where some youths were reported to be heckling the walkers and volunteers, so a team of us swiftly dropped our lunch and went to their rescue, but it was a false alarm. Then it was time to head off to our last spot before rejoining as a group. During the last post, so many of the charity walkers had complimented the boys and the girls who were fronting the orange saftey shirts, saying that they we were a massive support to them and it made the weekend more bearable!
We got into Greenwich where we manned the final walkers to carry on their last steps. Greenwich was absolutely bustling with walkers, friends, family, tourists and the general public. It was no-car-day, so the area was even busier with pedestrians. Our commitment and pledge to them was to make sure that every single walker had managed to complete the walk safely. We understood their pain that they were going through and they still managed to raise a smile for us. For us, this marked the end of the working day, so a couple of beers were cracked open whilst we cheered on the walkers.
After verification that the last of the walkers had made it through, we all grouped up and headed for the top of Greenwich Park. Upon arrival at the gates of the park, we were told in a rather unfriendly manner by less-liked bobby that it was illegal to hoot our horns in support of the walkers and couldn't do so! Hang on, everyone in the park is there for the closing ceremony, of which we're a part, and we can't use our horns!? Plonker!
We went through the park in the trusty 2 by 2 formation, sounding off our horns once a little way from the gate, whereupon we were greeted with an absolutely huge audience. The praise we received was immense. There were thousands of people screaming, whistling, clapping, they were taking pictures and waving. A few LB'ers decided to show off their tricks and did some burnouts with the encouragement if the crowd.
We parked up and were then hurried to the staff meeting held by Lorna Price, who praised and thanked the different crew members for helping out at the weekend. Us included.
We were then moved into position for the closing ceremony. This was the hardest part of the whole weekend. The ladies in front of us were all in pink, they were the survivors, they had fought the disease and were making a stand to raise money in order to beat this illness. The words which were being read by the spokesperson had impacted every single member of LB. There were lumps in throats, tears streaming down faces and sniffles from everyone. In our own way we all had gone through a journey that was indescribable. We were then asked to jog to the main stage as a group.
The spokesperson confirmed that the whole weekend had raised £4m! Wow! That means that there are funds in place for ongoing research, education and letting the scientists do their stuff. After the spokesperson had said their piece, it was time for the lead scientist to explain how the money would be spent and what they were doing to combat this awful illness. The talk was enough to keep lumps in the throats of us all. It's at times like this that you take stock of those you love and realise again how vulnerable we are, but yet also how strong and determined we can be in the face of such adversity.
After the ceremony had finished, the walkers were coming up individually to the LB orange shirts, asking for pictures, saying thanks, introducing us to family members and giving hugs before they went home. All we kept saying was that we were there to make sure they were safe, it was they who did the journey, not us. We received so much admiration. After collecting our bags it was time to hit the road, we said our goodbyes to each other. Some retired to a pub in Camden, others returned home, exhausted, but happy.
It had been a very long weekend with so many emotions during our roles as Safety Marshall’s. In a way we all experienced happiness, sadness, compassion, tiredness but most of all togetherness.
We did this as a unit and the feeling of camaraderie will always stay in our hearts. The efforts of those of us who volunteered our time for this will never be forgotten, it was a truely great thing to be a part of. We hope this is only the start of us being able to put a little something back into society.
A huge thanks goes out to all those who put their names down for this event, to those that participated during the weekend and those that helped organise this event for us, ensuring that good plans were put in place and the days were managed as well as they were, given the constantly challanging things that arose from trying to see thousands of people cross London safely in one go. We look forward to the next charity event!
Related Linkswww.breakthrough.org.ukRelated GalleriesBreakthrough Breast Cancer Charity Walk - SundayBreakthrough Breast Cancer Charity Walk - SaturdayRelated DiscussionsBCW Thanks Discussion
