July 21, 2016
Many people have asked me who’s coming with me to America, so this is an interview post with Robert, the man in the van. Rob will be with me throughout the whole duration of the trip and one might say he is the ‘directeur sportif ‘.
Tell us a bit about yourself!
My name is Rob Thompson, I am 30 years old and I live in Scarborough, North Yorkshire. I work in graphic design and photography and have been doing so for about 7 years now.
Tell us a bit of history about you and Shane?
I first met Shane at school. We have been friends for many years now. I remember the first time he came to my house he was fascinated by all my BB Guns! A couple of weeks later Shane purchased one and only a few hours later he had had it confiscated by his mum for causing havoc around the village!
What did you first think when he asked you about Ride For The Child?
As soon as he asked me I said i would go with him to help. I didn’t really think about it too much at first, I just kind of jumped in! I knew it was for a good cause and having known about his father’s rides, I wanted to be a part of such a great challenge. It’s only as the ride has got closer that I’ve realised the mammoth task ahead of us in crossing America in 28 days!
When telling people about the trip they immediately say how great a “holiday” it will be crossing America in an RV! Yes, it will be great to see America and the trip will be fantastic, but i think in a way they underestimate the scale of the challenge ahead and “holiday” is maybe not the word I’d use to describe the trip!
What will your role involve in America, tell us a typical day?
My main role will be everything except the actual cycling! I will be getting up at sunrise with Shane and make sure he sets off ok and with the right provisions. From then I will be in charge of all the support for Shane, making sure he has the right nutrition and meals and ensuring he always has water throughout each day. I will be planning all the stop points, be it a simple water pick up or a full meal stop where i will have the fresh food prepared as he arrives so he can refuel and head straight back out.
Then there will be the day to day tasks, driving the RV, ensuring we have plenty of petrol and stocked up on food… washing the clothes and making sure there’s always clean cycle suits ready. (I’m not too excited about washing his sweaty pants he’s been in all day!)
Along side this I will also be documenting the trip with video and photography. This will all be edited as we go in the RV and updated on the blogs and social media so people can keep up to date with the ride.
Have you been to America before? If so how was it?
I have been to America before in 2009. I did a bit of a trip round on the west coast, starting in Las Vegas then driving to L.A, then on to Laguna Beach and then San Diego. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to being back there.
Due to my main role being based in the RV a lot of people ask about driving on the other side of the road! I’m not to worried about that in its self as I’ve driven in America before as well as in Europe on the right. The main difference with RFTC is that I will be in a gigantic 27 foot RV! I’m sure after a nervous few days I will get used to it! The roads over there are much bigger than ours as well so hopefully the transition will be fairly smooth!
You went on a practice trip in June, how did that go?
The practice trip went really well. We had one or two issues once where i went passed Shane when he had nipped for a wee, but that was easily rectified as once i released he couldn’t have come so far I waited for him to catch up without going further. The only other thing really was when he was really hungry early in the morning we struggled to get some decent food for him with no shops around. Again though this shouldn’t be a problem in America, as we will be in the RV which will be stocked fully with food and supplies all the time.
What will you be doing on the nights together?
I think in the evenings we will try to relax as much as possible. There will no doubt be some great places to see so we will try to get as much in as we can depending how Shane feels. Hopefully the weather will be great most of the time, so i think there will be a lot of BBQ’s outside the RV and maybe one or two beers!
“I would say I’m an average cook, but exceptional at warming things up!”
Tell us some of your specialty dishes that will feed Shane on his trip?
I do cook a mean steak so that’s always a good one on the BBQ! I don’t have a specialty dish as such. I would say I’m an average cook, but exceptional at warming things up!
What are you least and most looking forward to?
There’s not much that I’m not looking forward to. I’m not a great morning person so the early starts won’t be great at first but that’s something we will get used to fairly quickly once into a routine. The first day in the RV will be interesting especially as we will be leaving San Fran which will be congested and busy, not the best practice day in the 27 footer!
With regard to looking forward to, all of it really. It will be a great experience to cross America in an RV, like a childhood dream when you see the old American films! We will see some amazing scenery and I’m hoping to get some great photographs, which will be good. I think the whole trip will be a fantastic experience where we will hopefully see a lot of the country and hopefully meet some friendly people along the way!
How do you think Shane will do?
I think Shane will do really well! He has been training nearly a year now and the difference in which he has come on from his early 30-40 mile rides once a week, to now being able to comfortably do 100 miles a day is a great achievement. He has put a year of his life into training and is now reaping the rewards so hopefully everything will go without a hitch!
What do you personally hope to gain from this trip?
Personally I think it will be a great experience for both of us. It won’t be easy and there will be problems along the way, but the main thing is I hope to be able to handle each situation well and ensure Shane gets across safe and sound! Any endurance challenge will be hard and hopefully, after the 28 days, we will both be able to come out of it with not only the experience of crossing America, but with some fantastic memories as well.
