The Epic Tri – Completed
Rob Howard / 26.04.2011
The final stage of The EpicTri, Bruce Duncan and Anthony Emmet’s unique charity challenge, proved to be a nail biting race against the tide as the pair strived to finish the Devises to Westminster Canoe race.Having completed ’The Bob Graham Round’, a 65 mile 42 peak round of Lake District mountains, they move onto the longest stage of the challenge, cycling 874 miles by tandem from John O’Groats to Land End. On this stage many friends and supporters played a key role, riding with the pair for many miles to help them sustain the pace they needed to stay on time for the Thames tides. They needed to complete the ride, transfer to Devises and reach Teddington by 8pm on Easter Sunday at the latest.
The ride was not without its own dramas, with huge lorries buffeting the riders, an early mechanical breakdown necessitating a switch to their spare tandem, and Bank Holiday traffic in the West Country. Then, just 12 miles from Lands End, the riders were cut up by a car and in the collision ‘nearly went under the wheels’! Luckily they avoided serious injury or damage and arrived at Lands End at 2.20 on a sunny afternoon , where after a quick celebration they were whisked off towards Devises for the final stage.
Again support was vital here and with Chris and Trudi Gazely they had two of the most experienced DW supporters to help them, as well as a custom built lightweight wooden boat from Fyne Boat kits to make their progress on the water, and during the 77 portages, as swift as possible. After an urgent appeal for a mandatory throw line, the pair were on the water within minutes of their deadline, having completed the first two stages in 4 days 23 hours and 50 minutes.
Now they had 125 miles of paddling to go and after paddling through the night with rest limited to 10 minute power naps, they passed the 1000 mile mark for the challenge and pushed on towards the final tidal reaches of the Thames on a blisteringly hot day. After what was described as a ‘sprint finish’ they made the tidal cut off at Teddington Lock, again with minutes to spare, and then, paddling with the current, picked up speed as they headed to the finish at Westminster Bridge.
They arrived in the middle of the night to complete their unique and incredible challenge, and to be met by waiting family, friends and supporters. And lets not forget the reason they were doing all this was to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and so far they’re fund raising total is just under £19,000. This is a bit short of their £25,000 total, but anyone who has been inspired by their endurance and determination can still donate online <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=theepictri')" class="main">here</a>.
All the pictures and news of the challenge are on <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://theepictri.com/')" class="main">www.theepictri.com</a>.
