Ann’s 1,500 mile charity rides
FLT Lt Ann Lyon, a part-time officer of the Air Cadets at Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College in Woodhouse, has just completed a unique charity bike ride around the UK.
Ann (58), a qualified solicitor, has just retired from full-time work as a law lecturer and planned three sponsored bike rides for Navy, Army and RAF charities, which she completed over this summer.
This involved cycling nearly 1,500 miles across Britain.
Her first trek was to visit the Regimental Offices of her former Regiment, the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, in Warwickshire, Bury and Alnwick finally ending at the Tower of London – some 770 miles in total.
Hardly pausing, Ann took the train to Falmouth in Cornwall to trace the October/November 1805 coach journey made by Lt John Laponitiére – the Naval officer who took the news of success at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson to the Admiralty in London.
With 21 changes of horses, he made the 271-mile journey in 37 hours, very fast going for the time.
Ann, however, had to cycle much further to account for 200 years of urbanisation and new roads before herself reaching Whitehall and the exact spot marking the end of Laponitiére’s mis- sion.
The final part of her bike challenge involved Ann cycling from the RAF Museum at Hendon to the Welbeck Defence College with an overnight stay at RAF Cranwell to celebrate the RAF 100th anniversary this year.
Ann said: “This last part was emotional for me as it involved a tribute to my father who served for 28 years in the RAF as an engineer officer.”
Welbeck Defence College principal, Peter Middleton, said: “We are very proud of Ann’s charity achievements and she is a wonderful example of grit and determination to our A level boys and girls.”