Sonder Bikes
Jenny Graham experiences the Doddie Ride, an event built on the love for a lost friend and propelled by the hope of finding a cure for Motor Neurone Disease.
I’d always looked on the Doddie Ride with curiosity but never knew if I fitted the scope. Did you need to be a rugby die-hard? Be directly affected by Motor Neuron Disease? Have known Doddie himself? Or did you just have to like wearing BRIGHT tartan lycra? This year I was asked to be part of a team riding the full distance, and what I found was something quite special.
The format is simple. A core group of riders collect the Six Nations match ball from Edinburgh and ride it to Melrose (Doddie Weir’s home ground). From there around 200 riders set off as it’s carried to Dublin for the Scotland vs Ireland game a few days later. From big cycling names and rugby legends like Mark Beaumont and Rob Wainwright, to someone whose borrowed a bike just to be there, it’s a ramshackle mix of riders and supporters. The route went Melrose – Leeds – Gloucestershire – Pembroke – Cork – Dublin and those first few days are monsters. 170+ mile days in early March, where the weather can batter you for 15 hours straight - and it did.
The core team rides the full distance, while most take it on in relay teams of two to four riders. Each team has a support vehicle, with sliding scales of comfort. Some have fully rigged out campers. For others it’s a car leapfrogging along the road, wet riders crammed in the back, eating Monster Munch and trying to refuel before the next stint. Sleep follows a similar pattern. It’s that mix - that sprinkling of chaos - that I really grew to love.
Like most good rides the bit that stands out is the toughest day, and oh boy did Wales give us that. Headwind, heavy rain, and one big mountain pass. One of those days when you think you can’t get any wetter until the heavens open again. But there were also a lot of laughs and good times. That slightly delirious silliness that comes from back-to-back days on the bike. Sunsets and blue skies at the end of the day. The rugby clubs across the country that opened their doors to us. Scooping us up, filling us with food, hot drinks, and proper hospitality. At those stops, you shared stories and laughs with other riders and supporters. People living with MND would come out to chat, support, and share their own stories.
Over the 650-mile ride, I realised the questions I’d had at the start didn’t really matter. You didn’t need to be a rugby die-hard, or have known Doddie, or even have a personal connection to MND. Doddie Weirs spirit is so embedded in the ride that you feel like you did know a little bit of him. And of course you can still get behind something that matters, even if you’ve not been personally affected by it. Oh and that tartan get-up? Turns out it’s basically a superhero cape. You wear it and suddenly you’re not just another rider, you’re a Doddie Ride rider. People shout, cheer, beep their horns as you pass. Little bursts of energy delivered from complete strangers!
I’d 100% recommend the Doddie Ride next year. The teams raised over £1.5 million this year, which just blows my mind Find out more at My Name'5 Doddie Foundation.