Riders cheered home as H4H giving rockets
Trooping the Colours ... Hero Ride cyclists in The Mall
Rex
MORE than 1,300 Hero Ride cyclists turn The Mall into a blaze of colour yesterday — as the cash raised for Help for Heroes since Lee Rigby’s killing topped £2million.
Half of that came from the cycling spectacular, which ended in triumph as huge crowds cheered the fundraising riders through London.
Another £1million has been donated by well-wishers in the wake of the murder of soldier Lee, targeted by knife-wielding fanatics while wearing a Help for Heroes top.
The Sun joins in as GB hero Mark Cavendish leads 1500 cyclists in aid of the armed forces charity
The Hero Ride saw cyclists from all over the country meet in Blackheath, South East London, before pedalling ten miles to Horse Guards Parade.
A vast crowd waved Union flags as they crossed the finish line and greeted them with cries of: “Hip, hip, hooray!”
Freddie Ward, 46, an ex-RAF man who had come to the capital from his home in Wales to cheer on the riders, said: “They’ve done an outstanding job.”
Singer and ex-Army officer James Blunt was among those who took part in the challenge.
True heroes ... wounded soldiers cycle into the capital
Rex
He said: “This is something very close to my heart.
“Help for Heroes is an amazing organisation. It’s galvanised a lot of people.”
Joining the riders in Blackheath were Tour de France hero Mark Cavendish and his fiancee, ex-Page 3 girl Peta Todd. Mark, a patron of the charity, said: “It was incredible to see the level of support out there today.
“I’m proud to be here. I’ve so much respect for the riders.”
Page 3 pals ... Lacey with Courtnie, Nicole and India
Doug Seeburg/The Sun
For many of the cyclists, tragic Lee was uppermost in their minds as they rode towards Buckingham Palace.
Around 40 — from Scotland and Essex — stopped near the spot in Woolwich where he was killed 11 days ago to pay their own tributes.
They included Gareth Golightly, 31, a former private with the Royal Logistics Corps who lost his leg in a car accident. He said: “It was really poignant and emotional.”
Killed ... Lee Rigby
Help for Heroes co-founder Bryn Parry said Drummer Lee’s death has had a huge impact on the charity.
He added: “We’ve done a bike ride every year since we started in 2007.
“But the poignancy of Lee’s death, the fact he was wearing one of our shirts, the number of people who have volunteered to support us — it’s brought it home to people to have a death on our own streets.”
Final furlong ... riders head for Horse Guards Parade
Rex
At the heart of yesterday’s Hero Ride were 300 fundraisers who had cycled from Paris.
The Big Battlefield Bike Ride group included 44 wounded servicemen and women, Page 3 Girl Lacey Banghard, Sun Deputy Editor Geoff Webster and Political Editor Tom Newton Dunn.
During the 364-mile epic they stopped at battlefields from the First and Second World Wars to pay tribute to Britain’s fallen heroes.
Lacey, 21, said yesterday: “Getting to cycle with and get to know the wounded was absolutely amazing.
“You listen to the stories and it makes you realise exactly why you’re here. I’m just so proud of what we’ve achieved.”
The Hero Ride also included 150 wounded veterans. They stopped to pay their respects at the Monument to the Women of the Second World War before riding in formation over the finish line.
Help ... Page 3 Girls
DAVID NEW
As all the riders posed for celebratory pictures on The Mall, pride of place went to the wounded heroes.
They wore yellow shirts, representing the colour of a soldier’s medal.
Behind them were more than 1,000 fundraisers wearing red for the Army, blue for the Navy, and light blue for the Royal Air Force.
A group of 21 riders who cycled from Edinburgh endured a gruelling 423-mile slog across some of Britain's toughest terrain — including near-mountainous slopes.
The group was made up of wounded soldiers, including several who lost limbs and one triple amputee.
MORE than 1,500 cyclists have taken to the streets of the capital in support of the armed forces charity
Joining the riders in Blackheath ... Tour de France hero Mark Cavendish and his fiancee, ex-Page 3 girl Peta
Ray Collins
Those on hand-bikes had to be pulled up some sections by riders with dog leads attached to belts around their waists.
Organiser Kelly Bostock, 28, said: “It was a real team effort and they have all done incredibly well. These guys are seriously ninja! I never doubted that we could do it but the way we’ve done it has been really amazing.
“The friendship and camaraderie we’ve built up along the way has been fantastic.”
Many US and Canadian servicemen and women also took part in yesterday's ride.
Staff Sgt Ryan Harshman, 28, of the Wounded Warrior Battalion East in North Carolina, said: “This has been a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
How to donate
T-SHIRTS, hoodies and wristbands can be bought at helpforheroes.org.uk, which has been overwhelmed by a wave of public support. A spokesman said: “All funds will be used to provide direct support to those affected by their service to our country.
“We ask all our volunteers, fundraisers and donors to remember Lee Rigby’s family.”
Send a cheque payable to “Help For Heroes” to: 14 Parker’s Close, Downton Business Centre, Salisbury SP5 3RB. To donate £5, Text “HERO” to 70900
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By PRIVATE JAMIE HULL, Burns victim from 4 Para
HELP for Heroes has lifted me medically and psychologically.
Events like the Big Battlefield Bike Ride have been a great way to help me re-connect with the person I was before I sustained my injuries in a plane crash.
I know I’ll never be the chap I was — life will never be quite the same. But you have to learn to adapt and overcome, to appreciate what you’ve got left and the potential you have.
That’s where the charity’s been really good. Knowing the British public is behind us is a massive boost. I look at the guys around me who’ve come back from war zones and I’m inspired. I’m humbled.
It makes me want to be the best I can be with the new body I’ve got. It’s empowering and makes me want to give something back.
50,000 at parade for tragic Lee
Tribute ... girls hold pictures of Lee Rigby
Cavendish Press
By RACHEL DALE
MURDERED soldier Lee Rigby was honoured by more than 50,000 people yesterday at an emotional parade in his home city.
Four girls carried photos of Lee, 25, in his uniform as applause erupted in the huge crowd in Manchester.
They were escorted by 14 of Drummer Lee’s comrades from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
Georgia Haigh, 15, Leah Barnes, 16, Dionne Shepherd, 16, and Paige Salthouse, 15, all live near Crumpsall, Manchester, where Lee grew up. Dionne said: “We wanted to show how much he meant to everyone.” Drum Major Paul Cupik added: “He’s one of our own and we’ll never forget him.”
The girls were at the front of the annual Manchester Day Parade which featured 2,000 performers including acrobats and musicians.
Dad-of-one Lee was hacked to death last month near his barracks in Woolwich, South East London.
PM heads terror talks
DAVID Cameron will today chair the first meeting of a new taskforce set up in the wake of the killing of Drummer Lee Rigby.
The group, including Deputy PM Nick Clegg and Home Secretary Theresa May, will crack down on radical preachers who target potential recruits in jails, colleges and mosques. The PM will make a Commons statement later today about Lee’s killing.
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