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The Lewis Barry Memorial Ride
12th September 2010 10am-3pm | To enter online follow this link
Lewis Barry was a popular funny lad in the sport of cycling; whenever you saw him he always had a smile on his face. Two months ago he tragically passed away while in his sleep. As the cycling community found out this news, hundreds of people were left heartbroken and still today lots of people write on his facebook page saying how much they miss him.
Three days after this tragedy, Simon Winston, India Penrice, and Jacob Scott decided that Lewis, being a rising star and was following in his mum and dad's (Carol and Mark Barry) footsteps, we decided that putting a memorial ride on would be the perfect tribute for the perfect lad. As things got a bit more technical with the major events of planning, Matt Winston who is the Olympic Talent Team coach as well as Phil West, Giles Pidcock and Alastair Wood joined Simon Winston in the organisation team. The five had a meeting to sort out how the ride will go and factors that needed to be sorted for the ride to run smoothly and the ride will take place on the 12th September which is under two weeks away.
The ride is over 54 miles starts at the Manchester Velodrome and finishes in Garforth, Leeds. The course is over hilly terrain and will include three check points to help everyone take part in the ride. The first checkpoint will be at the Tameside cycle circuit, Ashton-Under-Lyne which is just four miles from the start. This section of the ride is very busy heading out of a main city; Greater Manchester Police have kindly offered their service as the ride move through that busy area. This means that this small section will be neutralised and everybody taking part will set off together in one big bunch in memorial of Lewis Barry. Once we get to this first checkpoint, we advise less experienced riders to jump in cars with parents/guardians and drive over to the next checkpoint which is Bretton.
Stronger riders will then split into a bunch of around 15 to 20 and ride over to Bretton. Bretton is just 18 miles from Garforth and once all the riders have got to Bretton, there will be a break for a few minutes and then the ride will set off again over the last part, neutralised once more. Bretton can be easily accessed from the M1 via J38. Further details will be published on the Facebook site in advance of the event. We are currently working with West Yorkshire police for them to cover the final 18 miles at the ride, this will again be neutralised and ridden as one group. There will be at least 2 service cars on the road following the last rider on the road at all times so if you puncture or have any kind of mechanical these support cars can help you get back on the road.
Event organiser Simon Winston and the rest of the team believe over 150 people will turn up to this ride. Entry fee for the event is £5 and this money goes to the charity of Mark and Carol Barry's choice in which they think suits the case of Lewis' death best. The ride is now an official Sportif so entering the event is essential so that the organising staff know ho many riders to expect and to prepare for. Online entries close at 6am on the 12th September so that signing on sheets will be printed and taken to the event for registration. If you don't have access to pay by card on the internet, please contact philwest@britishcycling.org.uk to register your name to pay the entry fee on the day of the event.
Signing on for the ride will open at 8:30 and close at 9:30 leaving half an hour for preparation for the start at 10am.
To enter online follow this link
At the finish in Garforth, Mark and Carol along with family friends will be kindly putting on a food and drinks for all the riders who have taken part in celebrating their son's life.
Lewis ‘Spadger' Barry remembrance Wristbands
These are available to purchase from the Manchester Velodrome as of now and will also be on sale on the day of the ride. They will also be available this week via Matt Winston at the UK School games.
To buy a band is a minimum donation of £1 but please feel free to contribute more. All proceeds from entry fee's and the sale of the wristbands go to a charity of Mark and Carole's choice.
The organisation team wishes to see as many of you there on the day. So come on down and celebrate a wonderful life on this, to be a memorable day for everybody.
