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Cyclists take on 4,000-mile trek across the USA

Mar 11 2009 by Andrew Dagnell, South Wales Echo

A GROUP of intrepid cyclists are flying to the USA to cycle 4,000 miles coast-to-coast for charity.

The four men, from South Wales, have raised a staggering £50,000 for childrens’ charity the Noah’s Ark Appeal and will jet to Los Angeles next Tuesday where they will start their gruelling two-week cross-country expedition.

Friends Andy Edwards, Gareth Evans, Richard Belcher and Phil Jenkins, with a back-up crew of five, will power through California, before crossing four time zones as they take in Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Alabama.

The dynamic foursome will then cross the finishing line near Orlando, Florida, on April 4 before flying back to Wales.

Group leader Andy, 48, said they had been planning the trip for two years. He said they made the decision to support the Noah’s Ark Appeal, which was set up in May 2000 to raise the money needed to build the first dedicated children’s hospital for Wales, because it affected so many people’s lives.

He said: “This challenge and the fact that we are doing it for the Noah’s Ark Appeal has really brought out the best in people.

“We’re feeling some nerves, but we are really looking forward to it and can’t wait to get started.

“The idea seemed to snowball and we saw the Noah’s Ark Appeal as a catalyst to help us along.”

They will ride in two teams of two, taking it in turns to ride 20 miles each while their partners take a rest.

Welsh Rugby Union development officer Gareth said all four of them had been in intense training for the last two years – and that he himself had lost two-and-a-half stone.

The 27-year-old, from Cardiff, said: “I’m feeling a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

“We’ve done various charity rides in the past – but they’ve only ever been four or five days long, nothing like this.

“We’ve been base training for two years, but it’s got really intense over the last six months.

“Every spare minute we’ve spent on a bike, doing 20-mile sprint and then having half hour rests.”

Business consultant Richard, 36, from Llanishen, Cardiff, said the most challenging part would be dealing with the hostile terrain.

They will be cycling through the notorious Death Valley, in Arizona, and at altitudes of 2,000m above sea level.

He said: “We’ve done all we can to prepare here in the UK, but we’ll just have to wait and see how we deal with the extreme temperatures.”

For more information and details about how to donate money visit www.coast2coast-usa.org.