Operation LONG ROAD is a 3181-mile endurance cycle across the entire continental United States in order to raise money for Help for Heroes.
In May 2009 the Operation LONG ROAD team intend to ride an average of 91 miles a day for 40 days from Santa Monica Pier California to Ground Zero, New York City.
The team comprises of 2 cyclists, Warrant Officer Nick Styles and I, Jason Lewis MBE, plus 3 support staff including Mr Roy Hunte the team physio, PC Peter Taylor, driver and administration, and Mr Andrew Jones, the team mechanic.
Why would you do this? Now that is simple; for the Help for Heroes charity. This charity was founded to support casualties of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and, as a British casualty myself, the care for our casualties is a subject very dear to my heart.
A great man once stood up in our nation’s darkest hour and said something that I think is as relevant today as it was then.
“Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” Sir Winston Churchill.
Thank you,
Jason Lewis MBE
Sergeant
51 Sqn RAF Regiment
Operation Longroad Update - 6 June 2009
Another week over and one closer to New York. We have stopped over in a place called Delphos Ohio, which has great facilities and will allow us to action some e-mails before the weekend. We are now moving into our last week so there is a lot of preparation to be done in readiness for NY. We have been in contact with Lt Col Paul Fanning of the US Army about organising some sort of low key reception for our arrival at the Ground Zero Memorial. Luckily Paul has been very helpful and is liaising on our behalf with all the appropriate agencies; NY Mayors office, NY Port Authority, NYPD, NYFD and the media. It is our intention to lay a wreath at the memorial when we arrive to honour all of the coalition civilians and service personnel killed, wounded or involved with the ongoing operations. We are also trying to arrange for a representative from the military, police, fire and mayors office to join us and I will keep you all informed as things develop.
This week has seen us move through Missouri, Indiana, and into Ohio, and has been largely dominated by the weather. All week there has been a strong NE wind blowing which to us is a head wind. In real terms, this means that our speed is reduced by as much a 10 mph, adding 2 -3hrs onto the journey time for that day, as well as requiring a lot more effort. We have also had days of heavy rain which just adds to the misery. We received a severe weather warning for the county we were staying in last Monday, and they weren’t kidding. We watched the storm move toward our RV site which was producing hail, lightening and 60mph winds. The RV site manager evacuated into town after getting a tip off from a friend in the local weather office about the likelihood of tornados!! The storm quickly moved over us, and proceeded to put on a good show about 20 miles to our North. We saw several “funnels” drop from the bottom of the storm, but they never appeared to touch down. We were informed the next day that the storm had produced tornados and had caused damage. We were a little disappointed not to have seen them. The weather forecast for the weekend is for sun and hot temperatures, so we are hoping the wind will swing round to behind us.
The terrain is changing the further we head east. It is very similar to the UK, with rolling farm land and small villages, thankfully gone are the mile after mile of open prairie, and things are becoming more interesting.
Well tomorrow is the start of the last week and we will all be glad to complete the ride and even more so to get out of the RV and into a hotel. Mind you, we still have the fun of returning of the RV to look forward to!!! I will keep you all informed.
Jason
Operation Longroad update - 8 May 2009
The ride is going well. We have managed to get to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas without too many dramas, apart from getting the RV bogged in in Death Valley, and the bikes getting lost crossing the Mojavi desert. We underestimated the severity of the mountain climbs and the heat. 3 times in the last 4 days we had to climb from sea level to over 5000 feet, in temperatures of over 100 degrees. The hottest we encountered was climbing up out of Death Valley, where the temperature was 113 degrees! The scenery has been breath taking. We have crossed the Mojavi desert, ridden along the Sanandreas fault and crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains to Death Valley. We have met some interesting people along the way. We stopped at a bike dinner crossing the Mojavi that was run by a Vietnam vet who looked like ZZ Top, and stopped to talk to Su-shoene indians that were having a gathering. Mind you, we have had some over night stops at places in the absolute middle of nowhere. All the RV sites have been very generous, and after Roy has worked his magic we have been able to stay for nothing.
As for the ride, both Nick and I aren't suffering with any dramas. I think this is largely due to Roys rub downs at the end of the day. In fact so far I am finding the 100 miles a day easy, although the bikes are feeling the pace. I have broken a chain, as well as trashing the bearings in the bottom bracket (the part where the peddles are) so Andy is off to find a a bike shop in Vegas to try and repair them, and Nick has suffered with gear problems and a puncture.
We have woken up to Tornado warnings. What has been described as an "inland Hurricane" has spawned massive tornadoes that have killed 5 people, as well as flooding. Trouble is that this is where we are due to go. Better get some water proofs.
Well that is about all for now, I am off to sort out the RV, my chore today.
Now that is simple; for the Help for Heroes charity. This charity was founded to support casualties of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and, as a British casualty myself, the care for our casualties is a subject very dear to my heart.
underestimated the severity of the mountain climbs and the heat. 3 times in the last 4 days we had to climb from sea level to over 5000 feet, in temperatures of over 100 degrees. The hottest we encountered was climbing up out of Death Valley, where the temperature was 113 degrees! The scenery has been breath taking. We have crossed the Mojavi desert, ridden along the Sanandreas fault and crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains to Death Valley. We have met some interesting people along the way. We stopped at a bike dinner crossing the Mojavi that was run by a Vietnam vet who looked like ZZ Top, and stopped to talk to Su-shoene indians that were having a gathering. Mind you, we have had some over night stops at places in the absolute middle of nowhere. All the RV sites have been very generous, and after Roy has worked his magic we have been able to stay for nothing.
