JP Morgan RideLondon pair face Bertha in tandem cycle

Cycling 100 miles is hard. Cycling it on a tandem bike is even harder. But you know it will be a challenge when you’re also doing it in the tail end of hurricane Bertha – just ask Tom Richards and Dan Willis, the JP Morgan employees who completed RideLondon in aid of Whizz-Kidz yesterday on a bicycle made for two. 

 

Extreme weather meant the cycle was cut to 86 miles at the last minute to avoid the Leith Hill and Box Hill areas.

 

“It started raining just as we set off. It was torrential with rivers flowing down the roads for a lot of it, but by the end it had cleared and we finished in the sun,” Richards told The Capitalist. “There were no falls, which was quite an achievement. We almost came off at one point but managed to save it.”

 

The pair chose to use a tandem in a bid to make the challenge a little harder and earn some extra donations towards their £2,000 target. Luckily, Lee Valley VeloPark lent them one of its finest two-wheeled two-seaters for them to have a go on.

 

Finishing in under six hours, the pair were pleasantly surprised by their time. Considering they couldn’t see properly due to heavy rain in parts, that’s no mean feat. Go to the pair’s Virgin Money Giving site to donate: TomDanTandem100.

 

■ The virtues of British wines were laid bare by Naked Wines founder Rowan Gormley and some 120 City folk towards the end of last week, in an England v France taste-off in aid of the RNLI. Joining Gormley at the quaff-off were Simon Bragg, CEO of Oriel Securities, Frank Moxon, MD of Hoyt Moxon and Richard Jordan, associate at K&L Gates. Despite the recent surge in appreciation of English wines, the winners were two French bubbly brands, Richard Royer Champagne and Moutard Champagne. Our homegrown Chapel Down Pinot Reserve came a close third. Perhaps Jordan, who recently returned from Paris having ridden a Boris bike there for the RNLI, picked up a taste for French fizz. His Boris Bike (now named Jeff and present at the tasting) was sure to have had some spilled on him during the celebrations too. The big question is; when is he going to give that bike back to TfL?