Surrey Army officer takes on Royal British Legion’s Pedal to Paris cycling challenge
An Army officer from Surrey departed from London’s Biggin Hill yesterday (Thursday 4th Sept) to take on the Royal British Legion’s annual Pedal to Paris charity bike ride.
Lt Col Nick Wood, from Tadworth, is among 150 Armed Forces veterans, serving personnel and volunteers cycling 285 miles to the French capital in aid of the UK’s largest Armed Forces charity.
Backed by RBL staff and supporters, he departed yesterday morning and will travel through the Kent countryside before arriving in Dover bound for Calais. Once in France, Nick and his fellow riders will pass through the French towns of Abbeville and Beauvais in the Somme, arriving in Paris on September 7th to ride down the famous Champs-Élysées to the finishing line at the Arc de Triomphe.
The much-loved event, now in its 29th year, continues to be the longest-running London to Paris charity bike ride, and to date has raised more than £9 million to help the Royal British Legion continue its vital work supporting veterans, serving personnel and their families.
Nick, 58, joined the Army aged just 16 as an apprentice and joined the Royal Corps of Signals where he trained in radio theory and Morse Code. Now he’s currently one of the oldest members of the British Army, having clocked up 42 years of service, and is working on a large programme delivering battlefield communications systems.
Nick has previously taken part in RBL’s Pedal to Paris twice before, in 2016 and 2017, and after making a number of friends on the rides who carried on cycling together once back in the UK, one of those people eventually became Nick’s wife!
He said: “Although me and my wife no longer cycle together, she is a huge supporter of the Royal British Legion, and she gave me the confidence to get back into cycling last year after a break of six years to participate in Pedal to Paris this year. Like many people of my generation in the forces, I spent a long time in Afghanistan and Iraq on operations. I did two tours in Afghanistan and two in Iraq. By 2016 I felt a bit burnt out. Lots of service people were giving their lives around that time, and it felt, for me personally, a noble cause. I wanted to raise money for the Royal British Legion for all the good work they do. It was something I just needed to do.”
Teresa Greener, spokesperson for the Royal British Legion, said:
“We’re delighted to be welcoming participants to our 29th annual Royal British Legion Pedal to Paris ride. It’s so inspiring to see riders from across the country come together to show their support for the Armed Forces community. In the last year we’ve been able to provide support to over 22,000 service personnel and their families, and we’re only able to continue doing that with the help of the money raised by people taking part in events like this. A huge thank you to everyone generous enough to give their time to this event, and we’d encourage anyone interested in joining us for our 30th year of Pedal to Paris next year to visit our website.”
If you’d like to sponsor Nick, please visit: Nick Wood Pedal to Paris Fundraising