Epilogue

It's been two weeks since the big event, so I've had time to reflect on how well it went, and how lucky I was not to have any mis-haps on the night itself.

I believe that at least two riders (out of three thousand) were in significant collisions with vehicles and were taken off by ambulance (both were okay but one had a dislocated shoulder I think).  Another lady was advised by medics to pull out midway but went back the following weekend to complete it!

Less serious, but very annoying nonetheless, various riders had mechanical problems including one person who had three (yes 3!) punctures.  Using my mountain bike doesn't seem like such a bad idea after hearing that, even though everyone said it would be harder!

Various write-ups of the night have been posted online:

• http://stoutandy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/im-nightrider-asleep-in-day.html
• http://clonedprose.tumblr.com/post/24852160341/nightrider-2012-gorillas-in-the-dark
• http://stringsandwingsandthings.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/nightrider-long-post-alert.html
• http://www.mind.org.uk/blog/6967_hearts_and_minds-cycling_nightrider_for_mind?utm_source=social%2Bmedia&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=blog
• http://www.camillesappeal.co.uk/Additional+Information/Fundraising+News/item882
• http://www.grange85.co.uk/swirling/2012/06/19/nightrider-2012/
• http://blogs.wwf.org.uk/blog/green-sustainable-living/olympics/the-panda-made-me-be-a-nightrider-almost/

Reading some of those reminded me of sights and events from the night that I'd forgotten about in the excitement (or subconsciously blanked out!).  The craziness of the west end at 2am still amazes me, and the deserted funfair in the dawn mist near Blackheath looked surreal!

A few YouTube videos from helmet-mounted cameras have been posted, including:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIuZYQ2z2K0

Loads of local newspapers have coverage of charity riders from their areas, and lots of photos are online, mainly on facebook (unfortunately!)...

http://www.facebook.com/nightriderlondon

But on to the important thing, the reason why I was doing it...  I think all my donations have come in now (but please head to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/rew if you still want to contribute).  You generous people have given £1,360 in total, which with Gift Aid added equates to a grand total of:

£1,608.75

This incredible amount will help the Cystic Fibrosis Trust continue their valuable work supporting the families of CF sufferers (like my little nephew who was my inspiration for this in the first place) and funding research into treatments and cures.  On their behalf, thank you all very much!

Finally, a lot of people have asked if I'm going to carry on cycling.  The answer is definitely yes, although not to the same extent.  The time involved in training properly for an event like this shouldn't be underestimated, so I'm going to ease off for a little while.

Will I do another challenge one day?  Probably, but not for a while.  I like the idea of London to Cambridge, or possibly further afield (Paris anyone?).

In the meantime, anyone thinking of doing Nightrider next year, I wholeheartedly recommend it.  Don't do it alone, and make sure you put in the training effort - you'll enjoy an amazing night so much more if so!

According to the countdown clock on http://www.nightrider.org.uk, there are 349 days to go!

Thanks again,
Richard.