Pam Scammell: Charity bike ride

Our late member John Scammell was serving as our 2nd Vice President a few years ago when he died unexpectedly. On 29 August this year his widow, Pam, set off on a sponsored bike ride of some 395 miles from Chelmsford to Edinburgh to raise money for two causes dear to his heart, ourselves and the Samaritans. She attended today’s meeting to tell us about it.

Where she could she stuck to cycle paths. She started from Springfield Green, accompanied by President Francis and John’s good friend Ron. John Watkins was there to see them off. Francis and Ron did not accompany her all the way; Francis peeled off to cycle to his home in Deddingham and Ron said goodbye to her in Huntingdon the following day and caught the train home.

After saying goodbye to Ron, Pam cycled for another two hours to reach Peterborough. She was not impressed by the outskirts, so was pleased when she reached the attractive town centre, where she stayed overnight in a guest house.

31 August saw Pam reach Melton Mowbray. She said when she started the cycle ride she was wearing a pair of padded shorts. Feeling achy and stiff, she followed a friend’s advice and wore two pairs, which helped.

The following day, Sunday 1 September, saw her reach Nottingham, where she stayed overnight with her niece. On the Monday she rode the relatively short distance to Bulwell, where she stayed with a friend.

The next overnight stop was in Doncaster. From there she cycled to York, which she looked around before joining another friend and her husband to spend the night with them on a campsite in their campervan. They loaned her an electric bike, which she used for the next leg of the journey to Thirsk. She said it proved useful on the inclines.

After that it was back on her own bike. The ride to Stockton on Tees on 6 September made her realise just how hilly that part of the country is. The overnight stay that night was with a relative’s friend.

On 7 September she rode to Cleadon, managing to get totally lost on her way through Sunderland en route. The following day she continued to Morpeth, having to cope with some torrential rain on the way. Then it was on to Alnwick, where she met up with her sister and brother-in-law.

From Alnwick she had intended to cycle to Berwick on Tweed. She booked somewhere to stay via an app on her phone, only to discover the accommodation it chose for her was in Duns instead. It was a long day on the bike because of a strong head wind, which even blew her off her bike on one occasion.

The next two legs of the route took her from Duns to Dunbar on 11 September and then on to Tranent on 12 December.

On 13 September she reached her destination in Edinburgh, where she was due to meet another friend. She again managed to get lost but eventually found the way to her friend using her satnav. The friend and her brother drove her to the base for a climb to Arthur’s Seat, a place John had loved.

As a result of her sterling efforts, Pam raised an impressive total of £4,000, to be shared between us and the Samaritans. After her fascinating talk she presented President Francis with a cheque.