à bientôt paris

virtual

Ride to the Rugby snuck in just before lockdown last year and saw nearly 50 riders brave wintery conditions to get to Dublin in time for Wales to take on Ireland in the Six Nations. This year, we were due to repeat our 2019 trip and head back to Paris: 320 miles through three countries in March. We all know the story by now, but rather than sit at home and wait, we thought we could invite a few more people along and do a virtual version instead.

The concept is simple, in the weeks leading up to the Wales France game in Paris on 20 March, cyclists will bike the equivalent distance between the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and the Stade de France in Paris. That’s 320 miles! Now, participants don’t have to worry too much about recreating the ferry ride from Portsmouth to Le Havre, and they can do the ride any way they like – on roads and cycle paths, on their turbo trainer or on their exercise bike. They can also make it a team effort. Tyˆ Hafan dad and Ride to the Rugby stalwart, James Meacham, tells us why he is getting back on the saddle for the third year running: “I first heard of Ride to the Rugby while we were staying at Tyˆ Hafan with Thomas, sometime in 2018. I thought it would be a great challenge and convinced my mate and my cousin it was a good idea. “So we all bought bikes and started training. It soon became apparent that road cycling is hard work! A few training rides with the wider team, lots of winter miles, and January 2019 soon arrived. The buzz as the other 39 cyclists and I departed from Cardiff was something else. The weather was really against us on that day, but we ploughed on as a team and got there. The rides are so well organised both on and off the road that it’s a real feel-good adventure! “The atmosphere was electric, rugby fans cheering us on as we rode the same cobbles as the Tour de France – that feeling will stay with me for a long time. Video calling my wife Sarah and son Thomas in the hospice brought a few tears. “So based on that wonderful experience, it didn’t take much for me to sign up for Cardiff to Dublin – Ride to the Rugby 2020. This time we had an unofficial “Team Thomas” of about ten participants, rather than three the year before. We lined up in Cardiff and headed west… who knew west Wales was so hilly! Meeting in a pub outside Dublin, sharing a beer, then cycling to the Aviva with a big group of mates is such an awesome feeling, it doesn’t fade. “That trip was different on an emotional level because seven months before, Thomas passed away peacefully in the hospice, so my reasons for doing it were slightly different – from being a user of Tyˆ Hafan, to wanting to ensure they can continue to support families like mine. The highlight of that trip was being asked if we’d be ok with the team captains organising a “Thomas Meacham” award and asking me to present it to the “rider’s rider” of the tour. “It was a very special trip for lots of reasons.”