The final instalment of Sean’s story from behind the scenes on the Doddie’s Grand Tour 2025. Normally fixing bikes here in Marlborough, Sean of SW Cycle Workshop is making what we all see and hear about in this massive fundraising challenge for the late Doddie Weir and his ‘My Name’5 Doddie Foundation’ possible. It’s Sean and his fellow spannermen that keep the 300-odd bikes in the Grand Tour rolling.
In Sean’s words: Potholes are not your friend when you’re cycling at night. After Mark and Gordon on the first day, Wednesday after dark was Rob Wainwright and Angus Thompson’s turn to fall foul. A simple chain off for Angus, but a double puncture for Rob. So we have a new leader shooting straight to the top of the puncture sin bin with Rob on 2 to Mark and Gordon’s 1. Thankfully this pothole didn’t cause what we came across the following day…..
Wednesday night it was Peebles Rfc’s turn to host. We got in quite late, around 11pm. The first of 3 big days in the chair as an old friend of mine used to say. My pit was a little more focused that night….. with the temperature dropping to around -1 or -2, it wasn’t a night to hang around outside, so only essential checks and cleaning took place. By the time I climbed into the camper at around 2am I couldn’t feel my finger
Day 3: – Thursday
A 5 am breakfast at Peebles for the crew consisted of a hurried bacon roll and coffee whilst unloading bikes, making sure lights were on and riders had what they needed. There were some weary faces starting to appear now. If you think you’re tired waking up after only 4 hours of sleep, try doing it having ridden 310 miles in the last 2 days. That’s what the riders had to do today, with another 186 miles ahead of them.
Today’s route took in Peebles to Ayr, Kilmarnock, Glasgow, Stirling and on up to Glenalmond. It started in temperatures well below freezing and foggy. A lot of the riders were struggling in the cold, shaking out hands and feet to try and stay warm. By the time we had reached Ayr, the skies had cleared and treated us to glorious shades of blue. Rob and the team were there to officially open a new stretch of road leading to Ayr RFC. The warmth and affection that Rob is held in up here is always mind-blowing and he loves repaying that. He’s always got time for just one more chat or photo when leaving a venue. The team joke about “the Wainwright factor” when trying to work out timings. Other than minor tweaks and a new set of brake pads for Tom, there were no mechanicals today. As a mechanic, you always like to take that as a sign you’re doing something right. Being an event mechanic isn’t about how fast you can fix a problem, it’s about trying to do everything you can to prevent them happening in the first place.
Just as the sun was starting to drop, we came across something you never want to see during a cycle event, someone lying in the road. One of the other teams had a man down, a victim of guess what, a pothole. Worryingly he wasn’t moving for a while, but once Dave, our paramedic had checked him out, he was up and even if very gingerly, moving around. It’s not an understatement to say that potholes can cause serious injury or worse to a cyclist, but I’ll leave that soapbox for someone else.
The ride came to a close at Glenalmond boarding house around 11pm. Almost as soon as we were out of the van, there was a bit of a buzz around all the teams and crew already there. I heard a celebrity name mentioned as we walked into the building which seems very out of context. That was until I walked into the kitchen and sure enough there stood Gerard Butler and Craig McGinley, talking to Rob and Mark. Having not really slept for more than about 3 hours in any one day for 4 days, things were already starting to feel a bit surreal, but that was very very odd indeed. But, I wasn’t hallucinating, they were there and yes, a lot of people were very excited by it . They both seemed like genuinely good guys, up for a laugh and had loads of time to just chat and take selfies with all and sundry. To say Rob has a diverse circle of contacts is an understatement . Like I say, a surreal end to the day indeed.
Day 4 – Friday
Today is the big day of the grand tour, the queen stage in cycling parlance. Fairly “short” at 146 miles, but heading through the heart of the Cairngorms. After a fairly steady opening 20 miles, nearly 30 miles of climbing followed culminating up the brutal slopes of the Spittal of Glenshee.
The evening before, Helen Stanning of Olympic rowing fame joined the team, bringing with her a fresh enthusiasm . Spirits were good in the team, but there were some weary faces and achey legs for sure as the riders came out from breakfast. By now Andrew “pads” Johnson our physio was being kept busy.
The team split up heading up Glenshee….. everyone finding their own pace and rhythm. It’s truly beautiful up here. I just hope the riders had he change to enjoy it. It’s all too easy to just stare at your front wheel when the going gets tough. There’s a truly emotional video out there somewhere of Rob on the final slopes .
A quick pit stop in the grandeur of Balmoral castle came next. All very very random.
By now early starts and late finishes in the dark are feeling normal, but there’s nothing normal about what the riders achieve on these events….. it’s truly humbling. In the follow vehicle you get used to sitting there, planning ahead, catching up with messages from the team or just enjoying the banter. But all the while the riders are out there close by, still pedalling hour after hour, mile after mile. Through this trip, the riders have been on the road roughly 18 hours a day.
Thankfully a fairly uneventful run into Aberdeen, through Stonehaven and onto our digs for the night, Lathalan school followed. We even managed to finish fairly early at about 10pm.
Day 5 – Saturday
The final day was ushered in at 3am for me. A modest 100 mile day, but with the deadline of a 3pm finish at the Grassmarket in Edinburgh, the team needed to be on the road at 5am, to allow for a steady ride in with as little physical and logistical stress as possible. So time for a quick final check over of the bikes before the very cold, 20 mile ride to Montrose for breakfast .
The core group swelled in numbers today. A few riders deciding to ride in with the well known faces . The plan was for some very special VIP’s to join us in Dundee for the ride in. Kathy Weir, Doddie’s wife and his 2 nieces rode the final 60 or so miles in. If we found the overwhelming support for the charity emotional, I can only imagine what it must have felt for them. But it was an honour to ride with them. I also jumped on the spare bike to ride from Dundee. Once the ride got close to Edinburgh, it would be impossible for the support vehicles to get, or stay close to the riders, so it was beneficial for me to pack a bunch of inner tubes, basic tools, play the part of rolling mechanic, in case of problems. For me, the chance to actually ride with the guys, was the highlight of the trip for sure. A chance for a chat whilst riding. Just like a club ride. Also, after 5 days of being folded up in the van, it felt really good to have a stretch and be active .
In 2023 the ride had finished in Edinburgh too, and as was then, the support at the side of the road and from cars was amazing. Horns being beeped, people cheering and clapping. It seemed once we were inside the outskirts of the city, there was always someone showing their support for charity and the efforts the riders had put in. It really makes you realise that you’re involved in something very special….. something that means something to more than just those immediately involved, in a personal or charity level. Thank you to everyone who cheered the riders on, I know they appreciated it enormously and will have helped them on when things felt tough.
After a brief stop at Charlotte square for all the teams to group up together, around 250 riders, dressed in a wash of Doddie tartan, received a police motorbike escort for the final mile to the Grass Market. This was really emotional. As Rob and the match ball lead the riders in, a cacophony of cheers and applause rang out, and seemed to go on for ages. I saw more than a few riders and crew alike, with lumps in their throats and tears in their eyes. Our legend of an event organiser, Mia being amongst them . They’d made it. We’d made it. Just under 800 miles had passed since Dublin, but here we were in Edinburgh
We’ve done….. a long, tough but fun tour, I hope that you’ve enjoyed sharing the experiences that we’ve had over the past few days from Dublin to Edinburgh on Doddie’s Grand Tour 2025.
Please consider helping all the riders raise some money to fight MND. Any donation, no matter how small is welcome here Sean Wratten is fundraising for My Name’5 Doddie Foundation or direct at Doddie’s Grand Tour 2025 – JustGiving.
Contact Sean on swcycleworkshop@gmail.com or 07854 498941
Pics from Sean and @davezaplephoto. Many thanks….
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