The 400-mile adventure took place over six days in early September and saw a group of riders featuring RL Hall of Fame inductees Adrian Morley and Paul Sculthorpe cycle from the US capital Washington DC to New York City.
“It was brilliant from start to finish, really well organised and I can’t speak highly enough of the hard work the team at Rugby League Cares has put into making the ride such an enjoyable experience for everyone,” said Sculthorpe.
“I got to know some really good people on the ride and enjoyed cycling with them at different times throughout the week.
“I hadn’t done a challenge for a few years, so it was good to be able to push myself.
“One really good feature of the ride was that people got to cycle at their own pace: no-one was left feeling they were holding other people up or holding faster riders back.”
DC2NYC was a triumph in so many ways, not least its fundraising achievements: the funds raised will enable RL Cares to continue delivering life-changing wellbeing programmes such as the monthly Brain Health Clinics with Dementia UK that are supporting dozens of current and retired players.
The ride also enabled the charity to cement existing relationships with its partners and forge new associations with sponsors who were supporting the event for the first time.
Half of the group flew to Washington DC from Manchester while eight riders headed to the US capital with their bikes from Heathrow: the journey from Euston station to the airport necessitated the riders taking their boxed-up bikes on London Underground, where the steep escalators were a challenge to negotiate.
The morning of Saturday September 6 was spent rebuilding bikes and taking delivery of the rented bikes used by nine of the riders: ominously, one of the rental bikes arrived with mechanical issues, which would prove to be a recurring theme in the week to come.
The riders took the opportunity to explore Washington DC by bike and foot for the rest of the day in sweltering conditions that fortunately eased overnight as a weather front brought cooler temperatures and light rain.
DAY 1
Washington DC to Baltimore, 90 miles
The US National Mall makes for a spectacular backdrop in the morning rain as the riders meet at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial before riding alongside the reflecting pool to the Washington Monument and on past the White House.
Within a few miles, the sun breaks through and the route swaps the city centre roads of DC – thankfully quiet on Sunday morning – for traffic-free cycle trails, where two of the riders have a close encounter with a startled deer.
The two support vehicles, driven by RL Cares team members Catherine Maddy, Tracey Barr and Nav Uppal, catch up with the riders at lunchtime in picturesque Annapolis, Maryland, by the dockside Kunta Kinte-Alex Haley Memorial to the author of Roots.
More rural cycling trails lead into the gritty outskirts of Baltimore, where the riders pass through an African-American Festival on the Patapsko River shoreline and dodge scurrying possums as they make their way to an overnight stay in a city centre hotel.
Day 2
Baltimore to Aberdeen, 60 miles
The first day was the longest of the trip and Day 2 is the hilliest, offering a total of more than 4,200 feet of ascent which tests the riders’ fitness levels to the full, especially on the regular 17 per cent gradients.
A few riders fly past an early obscured turn onto a twisting off-road trail and spend a few extra miles in traffic before rejoining the route and the rest of the group at the morning coffee stop late morning.
The same fast-riding members, including Paul Sculthorpe, also go off-route before lunch and take in some extra hills to arrive a little late for refreshments in a park in sleepy Jarretsville, where a large pavilion provides welcome shade from the burning sun.
Adrian Morley’s rented bike gives up the ghost and he jumps aboard a spare, just before James Elston snaps his chain, forcing the former York and Dewsbury player onto Morley’s creaking steed after a little judicious tinkering.
The afternoon passes by without incident as the riders reach their hotel in Aberdeen, a small city in Harland County, Maryland, founded by Scottish farmers in the early 18th century.
Day 3
Aberdeen to Wilmington, 60 miles
The day’s highlight comes mid-morning when the route crosses the Susquehanna River on a bridge that is only open to cyclists on Sundays. This being Tuesday, RL Cares has contacted the bridge authorities, who happily agree to stop all traffic on both lanes and provide a police escort for the 15-minute, two-mile crossing.
After a mid-morning break at a quaint coffee shop in Chesapeake Bay, the riders head for Wilmington, Delaware, home of former US President Joe Biden.
The outskirts of the city are fringed by genteel shops and restaurants by the Delaware river which soon make way for rugged inner-city streets hung heavy with the smell of cannabis, groups of young men in hoodies standing on corners and homeless people sleeping in doorways.
Whilst none of the riders feel in any way unsafe or threatened as they head for their overnight hotel, the streets are a stark reminder of the disparity in wealth that exists in the world’s richest country.
Day 4
Wilmington to Philadelphia, 45 miles
At just 45 miles, Day 4 is by far the shortest of the trip but is also the most challenging as a series of punctures and mechanical issues make for slow, if steady progress.
An unscheduled stop at a roadside diner sees the riders receive a warm welcome from the staff, who present everyone with a souvenir mug, stickers and trays of their signature dish, ‘Scrapple Fries’ – slices of deep-fried spiced pigs fat, hardly the best sustenance for an endurance event.
One rider, Nathan Groom, falls and breaks his rear derailleur hanger, forcing him to complete the day in a support car, while Westhoughton Lions Under-18s coach Mike Morris punctures three times en route to the finish at the foot of the steps leading up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
The steps were the location of a famous scene in the movie Rocky, and all the riders are eager to re-enact Sylvester Stallone’s iconic run to the top.
Some of the group head off to the baseball to see the Philadelphia Phillies beat the New York Mets and are joined by former Leeds player Marcus Vassilakopoulos, who lives locally.
Day 5
Philadelphia to New Brunswick, 72 miles
The traffic-thronged streets of Philadelphia present a rush-hour challenge for the riders for the first couple of hours before welcome refreshments at a coffee shop in the peaceful Pennsylvania village of Hulmeville.
Hulmeville may have a rugby league connection for former Widnes and Great Britain players Paul and David Hulme: the village was established in 1700 by the Hulme family, who migrated to the US from Lancashire and Tilston in Cheshire.
Much of the rest of the day is spent riding the car-free towpath alongside the Delaware and Raritan Canal with a stop for lunch at the Princeton University rowing club.
The route ends in the ride’s fifth state of the trip, New Jersey and the charming, well-heeled city of New Brunswick.
Unfortunately, rider Steve Smethurst discovers that US tarmac can be as unforgiving as UK road surfaces after hitting a pothole at 25mph and being thrown from his bike.
The former Salford City Roosters player, who had also fallen the previous day after getting his wheel stuck in a tram rail in Philadelphia, is left badly bruised and in some pain.
Day 6
New Brunswick to New York City, 50 miles
The last leg may be short in terms of miles but there is no shortage of challenges: Nathan Groom has to do the last 30 miles with one pedal while Steve ‘Smeds’ Smethurst’s bike, already without any brakes, becomes almost unrideable after his derailleur snaps. Almost unrideable…
Smeds makes his way to the top of Central Park via two taxis and a ferry ride to await the rest of the group, who push and pull ‘One Pedal’ Groom through Staten Island onto the free ferry and then up the Hudson Greenway to the 85th Street entrance to Central Park.
The two mechanically-challenged riders are assisted through the world’s most famous city centre green space, much of which fortunately slopes southwards, enabling all 17 to reach an emotional finish on the Bethesda Terrace, a location used in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.
Later on in the evening, the riders and support team are joined by former London, Castleford, Workington, Hull FC, Barrow and Crusaders player Peter Lupton, who now lives in Boston, and Featherstone-born and raised Matt Isherwood, coach of recently-crowned USA rugby league champions Brooklyn Kings for a night of celebration.
Over the weekend, a third RL Hall of Fame inductee, Jamie Peacock MBE, who is holidaying in Brooklyn, also catches up with some of the group, who fly home at the end of the weekend after exploring the many attractions of New York.
RL Cares would like to extend its sincere thanks to all the riders who took part in DC2NYC and raised such a fantastic total in sponsorship: Paul Sculthorpe MBE, Adrian Morley, Shaun Lunt, James Elston, Dr David Graham, Mike Morris, Phil Gildon, Capucine Auger, Nathan Groom, Nick Groom, Kevin Ferriby, Helen Teasdale, Jamie Battersby, Steve Smethurst, Neil Farrow and James Rothwell.
The charity would also like to extend its appreciation to all the partners and sponsors whose support for the ride meant every penny raised by the riders went goes straight to the charity. Thank you Green Central, Mosaic Chambers, UK Red Security, Mattioli Woods, Oxen Sports, Howorth Air Tech and the Bartlett Group.
You can still show your support for the work of RL Cares by making a donation to any of the riders’ Justgiving page – please click here
A version of this article first appeared in Rugby League World magazine