The long and winding road took a quartet of foreign firefighters through the Mohawk Valley over they weekend as they raise charitable funds through a bicycle ride.
Four firefighters from the Birchwood Fire Station in the United Kingdom, are making the transcontinental crossing from the Pacific Northwest of the United States to New York City. Sunday’s stop in Herkimer to bunk at the local fire station and take in the World Cup final at a local eatery was one of the final stops on a trip that ends Friday.
Three of the four riders — Tommy Sullivan, Ray Molyneux and Mark Linyard — rode a course from the northernmost point of their home nation to the southernmost to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity five years ago. They set their sights on another ride after that, initially considering crossing Europe before exploring other parts of the globe.
“Our eyes strayed over the big pond to another continent,” Sullivan said. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Bichwood Fire Station is located Warrington, Cheshire, between Liverpool and Manchester. The previous ride took the firefighters from the Scottish village of John O’Groat to Land’s End, Cornwall.
The riders, including newcomer Matt Hancock, needed four years to get permission for their current ride another pass through the calendar was spent planning the trip. They set out from Astoria, Ore., May 28 intent on raising 10,000 pounds for a charity which primarily supports firefighters injured in the line of duty and the families of those killed in action. They have taken four days off during the ride, the last one at Niagara Falls, and briefly left the United States for a three-day pass through southern Canada.
The timing of the ride has given the riders a glance at some of the New World’s charms.
“We’ve seen all that the weather has to offer,” Hancock said.
They pedaled through 12 days of rain at the start and snow in the mountains, encountered golf ball-sized hail, experienced thunder-and-lightning storms that sent them searching for shelter and for the last week rode through an oppressive heat wave. All that in a little more than a month on a course which ends at its southernmost stop.
The quartet departed Herkimer early Monday morning with two more days of riding scheduled. They have enlisted the help of their fire fighting brethren for lodging at stations across the continent.
The Fire Fighters Charity raises more than 11 million pounds annually through car washes an other fund-raising activities.
“There’s always somebody doing something for this charity,” Sullivan said.
The ride across North America has raised 8,231.13 pounds or $12,360.93 thus far, 82 percent of the riders’ goal at the start.
Donations to support the ride and The Fire Fighters Charity can be made online at www.justgiving.com/usacoasttocoast
Mohawk latest village to deal with a trouble property
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The long and winding road took a quartet of foreign firefighters through the Mohawk Valley over they weekend as they raise charitable funds through a bicycle ride.
Four firefighters from the Birchwood Fire Station in the United Kingdom, are making the transcontinental crossing from the Pacific Northwest of the United States to New York City. Sunday’s stop in Herkimer to bunk at the local fire station and take in the World Cup final at a local eatery was one of the final stops on a trip that ends Friday.
Three of the four riders — Tommy Sullivan, Ray Molyneux and Mark Linyard — rode a course from the northernmost point of their home nation to the southernmost to raise funds for The Fire Fighters Charity five years ago. They set their sights on another ride after that, initially considering crossing Europe before exploring other parts of the globe.
“Our eyes strayed over the big pond to another continent,” Sullivan said. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
Bichwood Fire Station is located Warrington, Cheshire, between Liverpool and Manchester. The previous ride took the firefighters from the Scottish village of John O’Groat to Land’s End, Cornwall.
The riders, including newcomer Matt Hancock, needed four years to get permission for their current ride another pass through the calendar was spent planning the trip. They set out from Astoria, Ore., May 28 intent on raising 10,000 pounds for a charity which primarily supports firefighters injured in the line of duty and the families of those killed in action. They have taken four days off during the ride, the last one at Niagara Falls, and briefly left the United States for a three-day pass through southern Canada.
The timing of the ride has given the riders a glance at some of the New World’s charms.
“We’ve seen all that the weather has to offer,” Hancock said.
They pedaled through 12 days of rain at the start and snow in the mountains, encountered golf ball-sized hail, experienced thunder-and-lightning storms that sent them searching for shelter and for the last week rode through an oppressive heat wave. All that in a little more than a month on a course which ends at its southernmost stop.
The quartet departed Herkimer early Monday morning with two more days of riding scheduled. They have enlisted the help of their fire fighting brethren for lodging at stations across the continent.
The Fire Fighters Charity raises more than 11 million pounds annually through car washes an other fund-raising activities.
“There’s always somebody doing something for this charity,” Sullivan said.
The ride across North America has raised 8,231.13 pounds or $12,360.93 thus far, 82 percent of the riders’ goal at the start.
Donations to support the ride and The Fire Fighters Charity can be made online at www.justgiving.com/usacoasttocoast
Mohawk latest village to deal with a trouble property
