The diary of Michael Downes - aged 45 & 3/4

If you wish to donate towards the maintenance of the memorial visit:
http://www.wypf.polfed.org/news/260909memorialride.html
Lincoln City Centre brought us lunch and some warmth,
as we caused chaos in Tesco supermarket caf� and the two
staff serving us lunch gave us £5 for the memorial repair
fund. It�s amazing how the little things in life can boost
morale and make you appreciate that most people are
wonderfully kind and generous.
It was now a case of just digging deep, pulling together and
just getting on with it. We arrived in Peterborough at 7pm.
Monday, November 2, 2009 ­ Day 3
7.30am
Beautiful morning, clear blue skies, 140 miles in the bank
and only 65 miles required today, using the term �only�
in its loosest possible sense. Peterborough to Hemel
Hempstead was the order of the day and we asked a local
for some directions, we are not sure if he did not like the
police or had just escaped from a mental institution, but
regardless he managed to add 15 miles to our route.
Dunstable Downs
2pm
Bedford and time for lunch. It was now 2pm and it
was clear to us all that we had only completed 45 miles
plus the 15 miles extra from the earlier detour.
We routed to Hemel via and over the top of Dunstable
Downs and at 6pm in the pitch black, we had a
photograph taken by the high point, now I am well
known to be a little mad but that takes the biscuit.
23
Feature
8.30pm
We arrive at Hemel Hempstead. It is fair to say that
tensions were running high and our tolerances low, this
was without a doubt the low ebb of the trip. Anxieties were
now high in the knowledge that we had to get from Hemel
into London, through 25 miles of heavy and congested
traffic and in three hours maximum to make the muster
point and wreath laying ceremony in The Mall.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 ­ Day 4
7.15am
Depart for Hemel Hempstead town centre, to take in
the memorial for Frank Mason and for a small
number of local officers to lay a wreath in memory of
their fallen colleague. We were also joined by some 15
cyclists who would accompany and guide us on the
final leg into central London.
8am
Departed for the City and were on schedule and in
good company.
Cyclists join in for the last push
11.45am
We set off on the final leg and cycled a very short distance
along Pall Mall and onto The Mall. Our Metropolitan
colleagues and Royal Parks Police did us proud, they
stopped the traffic for us and we were flanked by police
cyclists and DPG �diplomatic protection group� vehicles, as
we cycled six abreast down Pall Mall and into The Mall.
The group being led by the six West Yorkshire cyclists and
as we arrived at the Memorial, the West Yorkshire Police
fanfare trumpeters serenaded our arrival; they had
travelled over 200 miles in their own time to support us.
The last post was played, followed by a minute�s
silence and the laying of wreaths, by myself, the
national police federation chairman and the
metropolitan police federation chairman.
The rain poured down ous, but it mattered not, as the
pride I was feeling at this point is difficult to put into
words and nothing could dampen it.