A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@webknit) on Mar 17, 2012 at 1:44am PDT

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.

Bobs on his push rod.

A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@webknit) on Mar 23, 2013 at 11:04am PDT

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!

#rideforthechild Team vehicle. Practice day one going decent. 40 miles left but they’re hilly!

A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@rideforthechild) on Jun 25, 2016 at 4:25am PDT

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!

Morning gorilla

A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@webknit) on Mar 3, 2014 at 11:57am PST

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.

Since starting this process I’ve contacted loads of different cycling businesses and organisations to try obtain whatever help I can for my ride. You generally find that, with so many requests for help, most politely refuse. It’s all about getting in touch with the right people and that’s something that happened when i spoke to Magdalena (Mags) from Evans cycles.

Having already contacted – and been refused by – Evans Cycles multiple times, I was delighted when Mags sent me a message saying how she might be able to help. I originally asked for a maintenance course, but she was also kind enough to sort me a bike fit out too, something that I needed since getting a new bike.

I need to say a massive thanks to Evans Cycles and especially Mags, she has been one of the most helpful people from any business since I started 8 months ago.

The Bike Fit

I had already had a bike fit when I first started training on my first bike. It’s basically to ensure that your body is correctly positioned on the bike to prevent injury and also to increase performance.

Getting a bike fit at @evans_cycles

A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@rideforthechild) on May 28, 2016 at 2:24am PDT

Having gone through various injuries, especially with my back, I can’t emphasise how important a good bike fit is. If you’re riding an hour or two you might not notice, but when you start doing 4, 5 or 8 hours you will really feel the effects of a bad bike fit.

I already knew what to expect but nethertheless I was excited about getting my new bike perfected, I had been having a few slight aches at 6+ hours in my shoulder and I was interested to hear if I could squeeze any more power out with a new position.

My bike-fitter was Hannah, she was a really nice girl and after telling her all about my ride she also told me about her cycling life and it was clear that she was very passionate about it. We started by videoing me with my current set-up and Hannah re-played it to me in slow motion, highlighting various issues along the way. I knew that my bike wasn’t going to be too far out as I have been tweaking it for a few months, the main things were the saddle height and handlebar position. After adjusting these I jumped back on the bike and had another look at the slow motion video. Whilst you don’t magically feel better on the bike – as obviously you have to try it on the road – you do feel the difference in position immediately. Like anything it might feel a little awkward at first, but having trusted many ‘cycle people’ in the last 8 months, I have never been let down.

I should also add that Hannah had a look at my cleat positioning – slightly to my embarrassment as my shoes stank, she said she was used to it – and also answered dozens of my novice questions, she was very helpful indeed. After saying my goodbyes I set out on a 100 mile hilly route which includes one of the biggest climbs in the areas, Winnats Pass.

Bottom of Winnats pass. I’m shitting myself! 20% gradient.

A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@rideforthechild) on May 29, 2016 at 2:39am PDT

After a few hours I could really feel a noticeable difference in the amount of power I was applying to the pedals. I definitely felt stronger on a seated climb and I noticed I was staying in the saddle for longer on the steeper sections. I was also pushing a fast-than-normal average speed on the flats.

I completed the ride with a decent average and feeling good, there was also less aching in my shoulders. I can’t really ask for more than that, the two things I wanted, I got! Thanks to Deansgate Evans Cycles and Hannah!

The maintenance course

This is something I have been thinking about for a while. I have been quite lucky with bike issues as both my bikes have been brand new. However when problems do arise it’s incredibly frustrating as, although they seem simple to fix, things can quite quickly go wrong! I remember I tried to sort my gearing on my first bike and before I knew it I had completely Fu*&%d it, I had to take it into the shop. Obviously in America I need to know how to fix things when they go wrong, I don’t think there are many Evans Cycles shops on the Rocky Mountains.

For my class I went to Macclesfield Evans to meet the manager of the store, Ted. He had shut the shop and stayed late just for me, it was very kind of him. He asked about my ride and basically said he would show me whatever I wanted to know.

Brilliant night at @evans_cycles on my maintenance course!

A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@rideforthechild) on Jun 16, 2016 at 3:12pm PDT

I wasn’t after a degree in bike maintenance, but just wanted to know enough to help me get by in America (I also videoed the whole session, thanks Jordan, so that I can refer back should I need to). The main things were chains, spokes, cables and gears. Ted was a great teacher and he went though each component explaining what is likely to go wrong, how I might prevent it and, most importantly, how to fix it.

Bike maintenance is one of those things that is quite straightforward, but only when you know the basics. Everyone knows they’re run via cables, chains and gears but until you understand a bit more about how they function, they seem quite daunting to fix.

Ted made things look really easy and I imagine it will take some practice to repair things as smoothly as he did – I should probably add that i went home and spent two hours getting tyres on my new wheels – but I left the session feeling a much more complete cyclist, I definitely feel more confident about fixing things.

In addition to showing me everything Ted was also great at answering any questions I might have and he me gave solid concise answers. Thanks a lot to Macclesfield Evans and the very resourceful Ted!

Leaving the maintenance session I really started to feel how close the ride is approaching. There are only ten weeks left and I’m really starting to feel the pressure both on and off the road. Thankfully there are businesses, organisations and lovely people helping me out before I go and Evans Cycles and their staff are amongst those!

Thanks very much Evans Cycles, especially Hannah, Ted and Mags!

Shane x

Thanks @evans_cycles I’m good to go after my bike fit! #rideforthechild

A photo posted by Shane Prendergast (@rideforthechild) on May 28, 2016 at 4:15am PDT

Myself and Robert fly from Manchester on Monday 29th of August and arrive in San Fransisco (SF) on the 30th (Tuesday) at 3pm in the afternoon. Unfortunately the flight isn’t direct, with us stopping in Copenhagen for 14 hours before boarding for America. I can sleep anywhere so I’m happy to just find a bench in the airport but Rob can get a bit grouchy when tired so we might have to get him a hotel room!

When we get to SF we have the rest of the night to relax, rest and have a look around. Then the following day (31st) we will be picking up the RV vehicle and hopefully getting some photos for the press before getting a good nights sleep ready for the big departure early the next day.

Twenty eight days later we should be on the opposite side of the country in New York (NY). We fly back to the UK on the 30th, two days after I (hopefully) will have finished the ride. This gives us a day to get take RV vehicle back and also experience NY. My workplace Stein IAS have bases in both SF and NY so there are going to be some friendly faces at both ends.

We leave NY on the 30th September at 17:30 and – because of the time difference – arrive back in Manchester at 09:30 on Saturday 1st October. I don’t want to think about it whatsoever yet but I imagine we will arrive drunk!

Flights aren’t available until around 50 weeks in advance so I’ve had to wait around to get these booked. I still need to book the extra luggage (bikes etc) onto the plane but that can wait a little.

The RV wasn’t quite as simple as the flights and this time last week I was panicking because it became apparent that there aren’t actually that many RV companies who could cater for our needs. We had to be able to pick up from SF and drop in NY. That, combined with the ride clashing with a festival called the burning man, meant that the RV’s were selling out fast.

I couldn’t actually get the RV that I wanted so had to go for this 7 berth monster which was a little bit extra money but there was literally nothing else left! I imagine we will be grateful for the extra space once we get moving, we both get double beds put it that way. The RV seems to be equipt with everything we need including the bathroom, air con, kitchen etc. It’s a massive 30ft and does a woeful 7-10mpg, I hope Rob’s going to be ok driving it!

The RV company were called Road Bear and after explaining to them what I was doing, I received my first form of corporate sponsorship. Edwin, the general manager, knocked me the $700 one way fare from my invoice. After sending over 200 emails to businesses this was the first one that had offered me anything in terms of financial support and I was very, very grateful for this. If anyone’s looking for a RV company in America then look no further than Road Bear!

The flights and especially the RV vehicle cost a significant amount of money, probably over three/four months wages for most people. I’m still actively looking for sponsors who could help in any way with the costs of a ride that will benefit so many children with deafness and cancer.

I feel massively relieved now that these two main things are booked and it’s a massive weight off my shoulders. I have a huge list of other stuff to sort but at least we’ve a flight there and somewhere to live! I can now focus on my training for a few months before I start the nail all the logistics of the actual event. Thanks to everyone who helped me  with these bookings!

Shane x