SOLDIERS from the 1 Royal Welsh Battlegroup, which has been the British NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battlegroup in Estonia for the past eight months, arrived in Tidworth last Saturday, following a mammoth ‘end of tour’ road cycle ride back to the United Kingdom.

A team of 24 (16 riders and eight support team members from different cap badges) set off from Freedom Square in Tallinn, Estonia on July 4 and cycled through nine different countries on a 2,900km long ride.

The aim of the ride was to highlight the vital role the Battlegroup has undertaken over the last eight months by cycling through key NATO countries and also to give riders the most challenging of cycling experiences.

The team were welcomed back to Lucknow Barracks, home of the 1st Battalion The Royal Welsh (1 R Welsh), by family and friends where a special Battalion Families Day was being held to mark the end of the deployment and herald the start of some well-earned leave.

Lieutenant Colonel Owain Luke, Commanding officer of 1 R Welsh and Battlegroup Estonia, said: “This event has been about demonstrating NATO unity with the team visiting the other Battlegroups in Latvia, Lithuania and Poland and also visiting the NATO Headquarters in Belgium.”

“I don’t use the term ‘bursting with pride’ often but that is exactly how I feel on this occasion. I have been deeply impressed by the level of planning and execution that has gone in to this challenge and the sheer hard work just to stay on the bike over the last 10 days has been phenomenal.

Corporal Paul Howell, 1 R Welsh, who has been one of the key personnel behind the endeavour, said: “The hills were a challenge as we were only able to train on the flat. We mixed training in with work, getting up early mornings and going out before everybody else and getting the miles in. Some of the team were new to cycling so we have been bringing them on.”

“It has been hard at times but it has been a fantastic achievement. It has been a challenging experience for all of us and the planning side has been epic but the team jelled together really well. It has been amazing.”