Father and daughter from Hoo determined to complete cycle challenge from Land's End to John O'Groats
15:13, 18 June 2020
updated: 15:18, 18 June 2020
A teaching assistant spent much of lockdown in his garage on a charity virtual cycle ride.
Kevin Richardson and his teenage daughter Lauren had planned an epic trip from Land's End to John O' Groats this summer to raise money for the RNLI.
But amateur radio enthusiast Kevin had to settle for a solo challenge around "the coast of Britain" from the family home in Hoo.
He hooked his radio equipment to his bike so he could broadcast to others who follow his hobby.
He clocked up 4,000 kms (2,485 miles) over 24 days in the saddle and an estimated 100 miles a day before putting that on hold too.
Kevin, 55, who works at Burnt Oak Primary in Gillingham, said: "To keep focused and occupied while riding, I converted my garage into the site of a radio room.
"I had two amateur radios strapped to the handlebars and used one to communicate with other radio amateurs in Kent and Essex. When things got a little quiet and I had nobody to talk to, I listened to Classic FM."
The original plan had been to cycle the 874 mile (1,406 km) from Land's End to John O' Groats, with the help of their amateur radio equipment. They wanted to test how well it could cope on an extended cycling trip, and use it to plot their location on Google Maps.
After taking in a climb of Ben Nevis and reaching John O'Groats, they were looking to carry on to Cape Wrath Lighthouse in the north west Highlands in time for an event called International Lighthouses Weekend in August.
The pair wanted to host a special radio event from there, before returning home.
It is on hold – for now.
Kevin continued: "The idea behind the ride was to link our interests in amateur radio with our cycling – we plan to operate ham radio as we cycle. The hope was to link in amateur radio operators and clubs along the route to make the whole thing a social radio experiment.
"Our bikes will be equipped with several bits of radio equipment so that we can communicate with other radio operators around the UK and around the world.
"We have built our own antennas that fit nicely on the bikes and even operate hands free. Our plan is also to utilise some other radio equipment to plot our current location on Google Maps and to experiment with worldwide communication modes as we travel.
"All of this equipment will be powered by several battery packs we have made, and currently testing, along with a modular solar charging system we have put together.
"Once at Cape Wrath, our hope is to operate the first ever special amateur radio event from the lighthouse complex.
"All our plans are on hold due to current conditions and lack of funding. Even if lockdown is sufficiently eased and camp sites open in time for our proposed trip in late July and August, we feel we may not be welcome in some parts of the country.
"The trip will happen, but, most likely, next year.
"With the virtual bike ride, I will continue if there is sufficient interest and may even do a 24-hour ride and see how much further I get but we do need more sponsors."
You can donate at www.gofundme.com/f/megacycle-2020
