2023 04 Lez Hood - cyclist

Monday 24 April 2023 Partners Evening at Cowdray Park Golf Club  Speaker Lez Hood - cyclist

Lez Hood on Sunday evening assumed responsibility for Maisy.  Maisy is a German Pointer whose owners are attending a wedding in Australia. The previous dog sitter had been Julian Goodale. Monday follows Sunday and Simon Flint's role was to look after Lez by plying him with rounds of beer and golf. Consequently he was invited at short notice to attend our Rotary Meeting.

 Little did Lez or Simon know that 1 million kilometer cyclist Josie Dew had cried off as our speaker. Lez casually arrived from his afternoon's golf in Rowlands Castle and a short walk with Maisy to discover that he was to be interviewed as our substitute speaker on his 2011 bike ride from Lands End to John o' Groats. What we all did not know was that Lez is a consummate speaker and came with notes and photos on his iPhone. With IT skills which would have left most Rotarians gasping, these were transferred to the projector set up. (Nigel Goodenough the only living Rotarian with similar skills was also on hand to facilitate.)

 Lez, a former management consultant, and his partner Jane, a theatre sister at St George's Hospital, London cycled 1300 miles. This is considerably more than the direct route of 837 miles, however it did allow meandering and the opportunity to see more of Great Britain and friends. Fundamental to the trip was rigorous planning which was influenced by an over ambitious training trip to the Isle of Wight from Brighton. Typically they would travel between 20 and 60 miles in a day. The whole trip took around six weeks.

 They carried all their kit on panniers and a front bag. After a particularly wet day outside Lancaster, they found a launderette and in the style of the Levi advert poured all their clothes into a washing machine. With the end in sight, a family well wisher provided four bottles of London Pride and champagne. This was an exhausting addition doubling their load and they questioned the value of the gesture. Still it was on hand to celebrate a fantastic achievement.

 Simon Flint