I would like to say that this project has been successful due to the support of many individuals and groups, there are so many people to thank the list is endless, I will do my best to contact everyone who has supported the project to succeed. I would also like to publicly offer out my personal thanks to everyone involved and on behalf of my father als0. PS more pictures to follow so please log on to the website again!

Thank You for supporting

Best Foot Forward 09

Best Wishes from

Ashley and David Ryder

DAY 37 & FINISH - 24th Oct 09 – Penzance to Land’s End 10 Miles

Hello my apologies for not posting this up sooner, I have had some Issues with pictures! Anyhow I reached Land’s End on Saturday as most of you know. I was so pleased to see friends, family and lots of RDA folk there to greet me after I had ran the last 10 miles from Penzance. There was also an 11 person strong samba band which I could hear well over ½ a mile away as I was running along the final stretch. As I came running towards the hotel there was a crowd of people waiting at the front gates cheering me home. The atmosphere was really electric as the samba band played their drums and whistles loudly, people applauding and cheering made the whole experience unforgettable!

It was a very emotional moment as I caught my breath as my dad patted me on the back and said “Well done son� I gave him a big hug to say “cheers for supporting me over the past 6 weeks�. Then my sister said to me the sign is that way, I laughed and nodded then jogged down to the sign. The Land’s End sign man was halfway through placing the letters ‘Ashley Ryder – Best Foot Forward 09’ on. Everyone else followed towards the sign along with the band. The energy of the crowd was awesome as people were taking pictures and cheering! A little girl called Tia tugged my jacket and gave me a picture she had made for me, her mum is an RDA volunteer. This was a special moment for me so thank you Tia (It’s on my fridge so I can see it!). I then rounded everyone up to have a group shot in front of the sign then we all proceeded to the function room where I said a few words, mainly to thank people for attending and to thank everyone involved for their support to make the project a success. I also made a particular gesture of thanks to the samba bad called ‘Pensamba’ for attending at such short notice; they received a big cheer of appreciation from the crowd. After my speech the band played some more as the refreshments rolled out and the party began! Many people were coaxed up to dance and everyone clapped along to join in the celebrations it was so enjoyable to see people having a good time, the whole event was a real highlight!

I was also invited by the two national representatives from RDA to present the awards at the RDA national championships next year which was a great honour. They also thanked me for all that I had done for RDA and that the funds raised on the project would go towards running the championships in July 2010.

The event finished at around 5pm, most people went home very cheery and energetic from the excitment of the afternoon and lively music. Some family and friends stayed over at the Land’s End hotel to carry on the celebrations into the evening which was great. The next morning was a little strange as I didn’t have to get up! I didn’t have to run / ride anywhere, It was quite a surreal feeling really.

 The past 37 days have been an intense experience where I have learnt alot, both about myself and other people. It was nice to get up Sunday morning and go outside to be still for a while as I haven’t been very Idle at all the past 6 weeks but I’m so pleased the project has been a success. Many Thanks to everyone who has contributed / supported the project.

Please take a look at today’s pictures Day 37 & Finish many thanks, Ash.

DAY 35 & 36 - 22nd & 23rd Oct 09 – Blackwater to Penzance 21.5 Miles

Hello there, I’m just a stones throw away from Lands’ End at the moment, well 9 miles to be exact. I have a days rest on Friday to make myself look presentable for meeting the welcome crowd at Lands’ End on Saturday afternoon and I’m really excited.

Day 35 was a fairly easy jaunt down the A30 with only a few hills to make my way over, the weather held off aswell. I’m sure the good omen of the rainbow this morning helped too (see picture in the gallery!). As I said in yesterday’s post we visited the Chiverton carriage driving RDA group who not only organised our accommodation but also gave dad I a wonderful welcome when we arrived at the centre in the morning. We stayed for a good period of time and chatted to volunteers and young people having their lessons, it was fab! Please see the pictures! After we had our tea, biscuits and a natter I set off for the last time on the bike heading for Penzance. 

As everyone knows my original plan was to run the 860 miles, but in Stirling I had to resort to using the bike, due to a pretty severe overuse injury (Tendonitis) to my ankle after approximatley 300 miles on foot. I have to pay tribute to the bike which was kindly lent by the partner of an RDA volunteer with the Bannockburn RDA group. Without the bike I would not have been able to get to Penzance on my own steam, so It will be sad to say goodbye as we have been through alot. I will send it back to it’s owner in Stirling when I get home. 

As It was my intention to run all of the 860 miles and seeing as I started on foot I only think It is appropriate for me to finish on foot! So on saturday morning I will set off and aim to reach Lands’ End at 2:30pm where I hope to be meeting Elizabeth Taylor as my dad did 40 years ago! Well obviously not! I’m no David Ryder! I am so pleased a good group of RDA volunteers, friends and family are going to be there welcome me home, along with a samba band if all goes well! I’m just so pleased the project has been a success. At this point I would like to draw your attention to the mission statment detailing my goals for the project. Looking back over it I feel really pleased in the thought that I have been able to re-tell my father’s story and hopefully empower other disabled people too. This evening my father and I will be meeting family who have come down to meet us and I’m looking forward to telling them the tales of the last 5 weeks also. See you all tomorrow! Ash 

Please view today’s pictures Day 35, many thanks Ash.

DAY 34 – 21st Oct 09 – Bodmin to Blackwater 28.8 Miles

Hello all, firstly I would like to apologise that the last 3 days posts have come all at once, I have had major issues with finding places to access the internet. Anyhow they are all here now so please read them as the last few days have been quite interesting.

Today I left the church hall at 10:30am stopping by the rectory to give the key back to father Graham and thanked him again. My dad stayed in Bodmin for a while to pick up some supplies and visit the post office. Although I didn’t have to cover a big distance today It didn’t take me long to realise the strong wind coming toward me was going to make my riding more challenging! Even going down the hills was hard work and was quite frustrating as I couldn’t get much momentum for the uphill sections. On the bright side though the bad weather had moved on so the rain was nowhere to be seen.

I reached a halfway point at around 1:30pm and when I looked at the time it was clear how much the wind slowed my progress. I met up with dad at a roadside service station, had a sandwich and some fruit then set off again about 45 minutes later. Again my dad’s camouflage skills were fantastic as I had no idea as he took a nice snap of my riding past some windmills (See picture above). I reached my destination at 3:15pm and was really ready for a hot shower to wash the windswept look of my face.

Tonight my dad and I have been kindly put up in motel type accommodation at the Chiverton Arms pub. Many thanks to the Chiverton – RDA group who have sorted this one! We will be visiting the riding centre and meet the young people tomorrow, who will be having their Thursday morning lesson. I’m really looking forward to seeing the RDA group in action; it’s great to see the young people having fun whilst improving their riding / carriage driving skills.

Please view today’s pictures Day 34 many thanks, Ash.

DAY 33 – 20th Oct 09 – Launceston to Bodmin 22 Miles

After a very comfortable night and a good bath at the Jamaica Inn I was feeling ready to go, however whilst having breakfast, the scene outside the window was giving me second thoughts. Since the start of the journey in September I’ve seen some pretty bad weather but not as bad as this morning’s (Yes even worse than Scotland!), because of this my dad and I procrastinated for a few hours by sorting the papers and notes we’d collected over the past 4 weeks. As the world outside was getting drenched in a major downpour, we spent most of the morning next to the fire in the bar. At about 11:30am the rain stopped and there appeared to be a gap in the clouds, so without much hesitation I got up, went to the car, got the bike out and started to get ready. After a quick couple of photos for the record I set off for Bodmin.

I reached Bodmin at around 1:30pm and had to stall for about 30 minutes as dad was room hunting. When he finally arrived he informed me that he had no joy in sourcing a room. Due to the expedition costs mounting up to quite a considerable amount, we were reluctant to pay for another night in a B&B. I then had a brain wave as we passed a church rectory, I thought why not try our luck and see if there was a room available! So after taking a deep breath I knocked on the door of the rectory, a few seconds later father Graham answered. I explained the project and that my father and I were seeking a room for the night if one was available. I don’t know why I was so scared! I guess I felt rather forward asking a total stranger for a room for the night and not just some random person, a man of the cloth! Then I thought to myself trying to set my mind at ease that is, essentially, we have been put up by strangers all the way down the country e.g. RDA people. I’m not saying RDA people are strange in any way but you know the point I am trying to make, I hope! ANYWAY after these few excruciating seconds before father Graham replied, he said that he did not have room in the rectory. When he said this I thought I was going to crack, what I am doing I thought to myself! Just before I was about to give my apologies and make a very swift exit he added “The church hall is free to stay in if you like?� Phew! I thanked him and accepted the kind offer; he then showed us the hall and its facilities. He gave us a key that we have to return tomorrow. The building we are in tonight is being refurbished and luckily for us has kitchen and shower facilities aswell! I would like to thank St Petroc’s Church and father Graham for their hospitality today.

Please view today’s pics cheers Ash.

DAY 32 – 19th Oct 09 – Oakehampton to Launceston 22.5 Miles

This morning was one of those mornings where I just wanted to snooze all day and stay within the warmth of my sleeping bag, unfortunately that was not an option as we had to be off the campsite by 10:30am. I was eventually encouraged out of my warm cocoon at around 9am by the clatter of pans and the smell of morning breakfast courtesy of my dad. We ate our porridge and had a mug of tea then got to work on breaking camp.

Today’s destination was originally planned to be Launceston, however we didn’t have any secured options for accommodation, so my dad and I made the decision to push on a little further and find something nearer Bodmin!  During lunch my concerns were slightly increasing as I heard on the radio there was a significant patch of bad weather on its way and would be upon the Bodmin area this afternoon. I decided to get going fairly soon after I heard this as we were still needed to find our nights’ accommodation.

My dad had the job of trying to locate a cheap B&B or at the worst another campsite to pitch our tent. I indicated to him I would preferably put up the tent before the rain set in so really he only had a window of a couple of hours to work with, so we set off again with some urgency. I felt extremely deceived by the weatherman as pretty much strait after I had set off on the A30, the wind picked up and sky went that dark colour, generally meaning you don’t want to be outside now. Amazingly enough it started to rain! I found myself in a bit of a pickle as I was crossing open moorland, Bodmin Moorland to be exact, which also has a reputation to be very exposed to the elements. I exited the slip road indicating ‘Smugglers Tavern and Jamaica Inn 2 miles’. I found my father at the Inn’s car park with a big smile on his face; he got out the car and slapped a big elongated leather key ring in my hand which said, ‘Jamaica Inn room 9’. The management at the hotel had donated a room for the night after my dad had given them some information about the project, this generosity couldn’t have come at a better time. Before getting the stuff out the car and whilst looking like a drowned rat I went to thank the manager ‘Andy’.

Please view today’s pictures Day 32 many thanks, Ash.

DAY 31 – 18thOct 09 – Crediton to Oakehampton 24.4 Miles

Another day in the bag and another day closer to completing the distance. We are staying in another campsite tonight and because we’re pitched very close to reception I can connect to the internet from the comfort of the tent, how good is that! My dad and I have just had our dinner, pasta with sausages and vegetables in a tomato and chilli sauce which had quite a kick to it (I don’t think anyone would like to spend a night in a tent with me or my dad tonight!).

I set off from Credition at 12noon as it took a bit longer than expected to break camp this morning. The main challenge of the day was at the start of the ride, I had to take a typical devon country road to join onto the A30. This particular stretch was only around 7 miles long but the high hedges and steep hills made the journey quite a tough 40 minute work out. When I reached the A30 it was a breeze pretty much all the way along apart from the huge bug which almost killed me about 3 miles from the Oakenhampton junction. I was actually making very good time when Firestarter by The Prodigy came onto my ipod, however my momentum was shotlived as some god forsaken bug flew into my mouth and down my throat. I had to stop instantly as I was coughing and spluttering, for a short period of time I thought I was going to be sick due to the potent dung taste I was experiencing. My main concern was that I might of swallowed a wasp or a bee and to get stung on the inside of the throat wouldn’t be a good thing. After drinking most of my water I was happy I had ingestedthe insect fully and it had been dissolved in my stomach acid. When I was sure that I was out of danger I moved on but as I continued on to Oakehampton still having the dung taste inside my mouth I realised I had left my helmet behind so I had to backtrack a mile or so to collect it.

When I finally finished my day’s riding it was 3:30pm and had a spot of late lunch. We then proceeded in the car toward our campsite in Lydford which is situated on the outskirts of Dartmoor national park. We made a slight detour en route to visit Meldon Reservoir and Dam which had some spectacular views to look at so we took a few pictures and then carried onto the campsite.

Please view today’s pics Day 31 many thanks, Ash.

DAY 30 – 17th Oct 09 – Taunton to Crediton 33.4 Miles

 

Hello, please excuse the bold title to this post I just couldn’t think of a better punchline and it is by no means egotistical, in fact it’s quite the opposite because this afternoon I actually set my hair on fire. I will indeed inform you exactly how it happened in just a moment!

Weather wise it was again a very fair day with a definate chill to the air. I made sure I didn’t stand around long enough to get cold but whilst cycling the cool weather meant I didn’t get too hot either. I chose to extend my route today as I wanted to get a little closer to our accommodation for the night which happens to be a campsite. Yes, tonight my dad and I will have to bare up against the almost freezing conditions in our pop up tent located at the ‘Waie Campsite’ based just outside of Crediton.

My riding was fairly uneventful today apart from the occasional toots on the horns of passing motorists, toots that I am never quite sure are a gesture of encouragement or a result of road rage. Either way I didn’t give much notice to them and just did what I have programmed myself to do over the past 4 weeks ‘Plough Onward!’.

I stopped for lunch at Tiverton, which originally was meant to be my final destination today. I looked around the market square for a little while as it had many quirky stalls to browse in. My dad and I spoke to a nice couple who gave us a very good deal on some sausages and olives at their food stall.  The othe interesting place I passed today was a village called NOMANSLAND, the name of which I found very captivating hence the picture above. Once I reached Crediton we wasted no time to find our campsite and set up camp for the evening. Once we had put up the tent I sat down and begun to make a cup of tea for dad and I and it was at that point that something unexpected happened! After trying to ignite the gas on the trangia I realised that not much gas was actually coming out so I shook the canister to encourage the gas flow, I then proceeded to re-ignight the burner. It was shortly after this point I smelt the unmistakable smell of singed hair and connected the dots! I am still quite unsure whether it was my newly formed beard or my hair that actually caught fire, the only fact I am sure about is that I will take a more careful approach to opperating the stove next time.

I would indeed welcome any criticisms that may come from people in regard to this incident but please bear in mind I have been very tired over the last few days and am feeling quite vulnerable since this experience, so please be gentle in your comments!Â

Please view today’s pics Day 30 many thanks, Ash

DAY 29 – 16th Oct 09 -Winscombe to Taunton 28.1 Miles

Hello, We are another day closer to Lands’ End and although the roadswere quite busy with re-directed motorway traffic it was a stress free day. This morning I set off from Winscombe and continued to make my way southbound on the A38. Shortly after we started we made a slight detour to see Cheddar Gorge (see today’s pictures). This morning we heard on the local radio that there was a big accident on the M5 and was closed around the Taunton area so we knew that most of the traffic would be redirected onto the road I was going to ride on. Even though there was a lot of traffic the ride was quite smooth and flat so was able to make good time. I reached Bridgewater for a resting point and stopped at a Morrison’s car park where my dad had bought me a sandwich and an energy bar. My dad and I sat and talked for a while about what the final week would bring, we also spent a little time handing out leaflets. I set off again for Taunton about 3pm and reached the town centre about an hour later. Tonight we are staying at the home of the regional chairman covering the South West areas so once again many thanks to the RDA for yet another nights food and accommodation.

As I said yesterday I would post details of the Lands End welcome / anniversary event up today, so I thought it best to put a new page up. Please notice the ‘Events’ tab along the top of the website. If you require any other info or have any questions about the event please do not hesitate to contact me via the ‘Contact’ page.

Please take a look at today’s photos Day 29 many thanks, Ash.

DAY 28 – 15th Oct 09 -Bristol to Winscombe 12.7 Miles

Don’t worry I’m not actually flying home, but I did pass Bristol International Airport today and my dad got an absolute corker of a picture so well done dad! Because its such a good photo I will be contacting Ryanair shortly for some sponsorship money as I think it would make a good advertisement!!!  

As I detailed in yesterday’s post, I decided to get Bristol city centre out the way, so I would not have to go very far today! I’m so glad I did, as it meant I could catch up on various bits and pieces / jobs I needed to do. This morning I slept in a bit, had a nice breakfast, drunk a nice cup of tea and then sorted some kit out for the remaining days. It was so nice to have the time to sort stuff out as many things have built up mainly due to tiredness, when I’m tired everything seems to get on my nerves as was evident yesterday. I am very grateful for my dad putting up with my ratty / miserable state over the last couple of days and I am pleased to say I have come out of it, thank goodness! In my happier mood I set off this afternoon to do my little cycle down the road to Winscombe, which only took me about and hour to do! Fantastic!

Tonight my father and I are again being put up by another very kind RDA group member or should I say the county chairman for the Bristol and North Somerset area. We are staying on their diary farm near Winscombe. I have never stayed on a diary farm before and I must say it’s a very interesting place to be! I was shown around this afternoon and can honestly say it’s staggering how much work has to be put in to care for the animals and produce the milk that is sent off to the shops. It’s great to have yet another opportunity to understand and see something from a different perspective!

Lastly, I would like to remind / Inform everyone that we will be holding a 40th Anniversary and Welcome event on the 24th October at the Lands’ End hotel and it is open for all to attend, there will be free cream teas and cakes available and a live band playing I will be posting more specific details on the website in the next couple of days if you would like to receive more information about this event please contact me using the information ‘Contact’ page.  Many Thanks Ash.

Please take a look at todays pics Day 28, cheers Ash.