The deed has been done

Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page. The ride has now been completed and the money has really come in - our grateful thanks to all who have made such a great contribution to the work of RedR. The team of Fraser Smith, Dave Husband, Alan Cuthbertson, Fraser Bransby, Jonathan Kobine, Keith Lauder, John Jeffrey, Neil Burford, Alex Pearson, Ryan Fitch, Janet Hughes, Gilli Allan, Ron Neville and Andrew and Diana Johnston on their tandem had a wonderful trip that started off with blue skies and a following wind which made the first part along the Tay an absolute joy. The Spar in Carnoustie provided the spot for an alfresco "Kaffee und Kuchen" on the way out and an early lunch was taken at the Meadowbank Inn cafe just out of Arbroath. That was the end of the easier bit as turning for home revealed the full force of the wind that had been helping us up till then. The wind was gusty and in the open countryside stretches it was a formidable opponent especially when there was quite a bit of climbing to do. A fun downhill section took us to a bit of cross country work on a farm track past Latch and Mill of Brighty farms which eventually led us to the Tealing road. Another couple of km against the wind saw us taking our final break at the Speckled Hen for more tea, coffee, chocolate and cakes. From there it was another 14km back into Dundee with some wonderful downhill sections but also some serious ups as well to get up to Emmock road and then after crossing the Dighty back up to Clepington road. Some of the party were very relieved to get back to the University and be able to sit on a wider seat and not have to push their pedals around any more.

The vital statistics were; Distance 81.17km, Climb 590.9m, Duration 7hr 17min, Average speed 11.1km/hr including stops, lunches eaten 15, teas and coffees drunk - lots, cakes eaten - lots.

Information about the event and RedR

A recent chance comment in the Civil Engineering coffee room at Dundee University started a group of us who had done a previous charity ride agreeing to do "something" for Haiti. With the civil engineering connection RedR seemed to be a deserving charity to support although many people will never have heard of them. Details of their work in disasters can be found on their web pages via the RedR links here. The group undertaking this ride has expanded now to include people from Architecture, Computing and Psychology as well plus friends. For some the 27th will come quite soon as bike riding is not something they do very often! One bike has lain unused in a shed for the last two years so it - and its rider - are in for a bit of a shock. The ride is shown in the picture above (click on Photos below the map to open it at larger scale). There are two routes shown around Arbroath but we will be doing the longer one as it takes us to a very convenient lunch stop. The bike ride is just over 80km and is nice and flat to begin with but quite hilly once we get to Arbroath.

As we said above RedR is appealing for donations to its Emergency Response Fund in response to the earthquake in Haiti so we (see list at bottom of page) are doing this ride to help them and thus provide longer term help to the survivors of the disaster in Haiti.

The money we collect here will help fund RedR's response including setting up a training programme to provide support to local and international aid organisations operating in Haiti. RedR needs funds for this programme which could cost in the region of £200,000. They currently have a team in Haiti who are assessing training needs in Port-au-Prince.

RedR has already mobilised its register of Members and is responding to requests from agencies wanting additional support for the immediate relief efforts. Several RedR Members are on their way or have arrived in Haiti. Relief workers are utilising their on-line Technical Support Service (TSS) and RedR has been confirmed as the TSS provider to the humanitarian coordination system (Clusters) in the area of water sanitation and hygiene (WASH).

Please help us with any donation big or small to help them to meet the needs of agencies on the ground working to save lives. The target figure above is just a number pulled from thin air. If we could get that much we would be delighted but if we could get more then that would be wonderful but in reality anything will be greatly appreciated. It's really great now to see the money coming in. As this is typed we are over one third of the way to the set target which is really wonderful. It does look possible for us to beat that target by a long way if people dig deep. If you have already donated and have come back to see how funds are accumulating then a big thankyou to you.

Please support RedR through us today!

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So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you

The RedR Riders

(Fraser Smith, Dave Husband, Alan Cuthbertson, Fraser Bransby, Jonathan Kobine, Keith Lauder, John Jeffrey, Neil Burford, Alex Pearson, Ryan Fitch, Janet Hughes, Gilli Allan, Ron Neville and Andrew and Diana Johnston on their tandem)