Day Fifteen and our final day - Hertford to London

Some of our route into London took us along the canals and we arrived in Hackney at just after 2pm to our final welcome reception. Hackney and Islington CND fed us veggie goodies and organised for Jean Lambert MEP, a Green Councillor Mischa Borris, a representative from Hackney PSC and another from Hackney Stop the War Coalition, to all speak in support of Mordechai and the ride.

Lots of cyclists turned up for the final stretch and gave our ride an extra boost as we wove our way through the London traffic chanting the song that we have been perfecting over the two weeks.

Downing Street was our next stop and there Kate Hudson, Chair of CND, and Louise Richards, Chief Executive of War on Want, joined us to hand in a letter asking Tony Blair to help secure Mordechai's true freedom. We also handed in a petition with nearly a thousand signatures we have collected along the way. Mark Thomas and friends were protesting about the right to protest inside the Downing Street zone and we gave them a big thumbs-up for their efforts.





And then on to the Israeli Embassy (or as close to it as we could be with the roadworks). Jeremy Corbyn MP rode along with us and more people joined us as we held an hour's vigil there with speeches from Jeremy, Kate Hudson and Louise Richards.


Our final destination was a room in the Kensington Library where we had a goodbye feast. Any sadness was cheered away by the sleight of hand of an alternative and very humourous magician (and also a rider from last year).


We've given out thousands of leaflets, we've sung our way into many towns and cities, we've met so many kind and supportive people (thank you to them all), we've talked and demonstrated. We will be thinking of Mordechai Vanunu often and he can be assured there are many people out there who believe in his right to freedom.

Day Fourteen - Cambridge to Hertford

A smooth ride and the fair weather is still holding out. The dynamics of the group have changed slightly as some of the riders who started at Faslane have left the ride in the last few days and have been replaced by new faces.

Our van driver today has been a friend of one of the riders, she had never driven a van before but just wanted to give her help to the ride and she did a good job of it. The support van has been an essential component of the ride; it is where we keep our all of our luggage, our snacks and drinks, and where we end up after one hill too many when our knees give out or our bikes won't work anymore. The van driver encourages us on, know the route, and keeps us safe. We have to thank all those who volunteered to simply drive and those riders who gave up their cycling to drive instead for the day.

The Quakers in Hertford welomed us warmly on our last night of the ride with a reception and a film showing. It is strange that tomorrow will be our last day.

Day Thirteen - Lakenheath to Cambridge

Another great day for raising awareness. But, before that, on our way to Cambridge we had a three bike pile-up. Fortunately, noone was seriously hurt (Mel got a sore toe though) but one of the bikes was a bit mangled and had to go straight in the van.

Just outside of Cambridge we had lots of supporters join us and so had a real presence of around 35 cyclists coming into the city. A music event with a line-up of seven live acts welcomed us when we arrived in the centre. Held on Parker's Piece and organised by the Cambridge Stop the War Coalition, the event with a stall and gazebo really drew in the local people.

Later in the evening the event included speeches made by representatives from Stop the War and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Veteran peace campaigner, Bruce Kent also spoke seriously about the UK government's hypocritical stance on nuclear weapons but was interrupted rudely by two male streakers who ran in front of where he was speaking. Bruce took it all in his stride and simply commented on the 'two holy inadequacies' that had passed before him.

A reading of one of Mordechai's poems by Mel was very moving. The latest update on Mordechai's restrictions are that they have only been renewed for 3 weeks instead of the usual year. We don't know what will happen after that. We hope.

Day Twelve - Peterborough to Lakenheath

A good send-off today from the Friends Meeting House this morning, after having our photo taken for the Peterborough Evening Telegraph. We've now been mentioned in several local and regional newspapers along the way thanks to concerted efforts by the local campaigners.

It was a fine, if bumpy, ride out of the city on the cycle route. A quick stop for a puncture repair outside Whittlesea and then on to March where we managed to do some leafletting as we passed through. The weather was sunny but the wind was chilly, made worse due to the flat terrain (but at least our knees were given a break from hills).

We arrived later than planned for lunch at Downham Market but made up some time through the lanes towards Brandon. We received a rousing reception from the peace activists from Eastern Region CND and Lakenheath Action Group who were holding a demonstration we joined at the Lakenheath base, home to over 100 US nuclear weapons. We held a mini-blockade and then headed to our accomodation for the night - a wonderful, Hansel and Gretel type cottage in the middle of the forest donated to us for the evening by one of the peace campaigners.

Thanks to everyone who supported us, including the three new riders who joined us and the patient drivers on the roads today.

Day Eleven - Nottingham to Peterborough

The sound-system cyclist from yesterday joined us again coming out of Nottingham this morning and the RinkyDink music certainly woke us up (and we certainly woke up those drivers in the rush hour traffic too). A bit of cycle-dancing on the quiet back streets also raised our spirits in readiness for the long day ahead (yes - we were being safe for any rider's parents reading this!). We ended up riding 64 miles today - it was a very tiring day but Kam had chosen our route well and we sped past lots of pretty scenery.

We lunched late at Ratnor Water watching the sheep with their lambs on the field near the water's edge. Then we dashed on to Stamford. There we had a welcome reception with the Mayor, several Lib-Dem councillors and the Stamford Peace Group - the Mayor fed us her home-made biscuits.



Dawn's knees gave up just near Peterborough and she hopped into the van for the last few miles. Peterborough CND and the Peterborough Peace Campaign met us at a funky, fair-trade cafe, the Glass Onion. There we ate and had a film-showing. Later we had a get-together and discussion about the ride and Mordechai's situation with the peace group members at the Friends Meeting House.

Day Ten - Sheffield to Nottingham

Our rest day was much appreciated and we were cared for by some of the Pedal Ready people. Our route from Sheffield to Nottingham today clipped the edge of the Peak District. Steve was our route master and led us up many a hill ("You ought to have seen the ones I didn't lead you up!" he says).







Our lunch stop was at an amazing bookshop and cafe in Crowford. We got free drinks and cake and the owner even cycled out with us for an hour. Supporters from Chesterfield CND, Wirksworth Amnesty Group and Hope Valley Peace Group all sent us off with waves and cheers from the cafe.


At Nottingham University we were met by Nottingham CND and Nottingham PSC cyclists. Four cyclists on a four-seated bike and a cyclist with a sound system also joined us on the way into the city. We had a rally and leafleted in the main square with some local UNISON support. On the way to the Sumac Centre, where we had a great dinner and film show, we had another fall. Hilary got her tyres stuck in a tram line but fortunately she was only slightly bruised.

We've said hello and goodbye to many freedom riders now and each of them has given a special part of themselves to the ride. We've just heard that Mordechai's restrictions have been renewed for another year and we will keep on riding and supporting him.

Day Nine - Rest day in Sheffield

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!