Day 9 Rest day in Dong Hoi

For more than 6 months I've had the responsibility of knowing that I'll be leading 19 individuals through one of the toughest challenges of their lives. My mind has kept focusing on how they would gel together, how would they cope with mishaps, long boiling hot days, strange food, personality clashes and most importantly, how to raise funds for these 5 essential charities.

By day 9, the day before the first rest day, I knew that most people's weaknesses would be exposed, here's my summary of every amazing individual…

Alex impressed me with her determination to ride, even with faster riders and how she just doesn't complain whatever happens. Alice is great to hang with, she is always ready to laugh and share stories. Despite having the skinniest legs, she can keep up with almost anyone. Plus her life seems to be focused around supporting charities, making her a perfect fit for the ride. Andy is a spinner, his little legs keep him cruising along nicely over any terrain. Just gotta watch him all the time as he's prone to getting lost. Despite that he is a gem to be around.

Davide is the only repeat rider, without his guidance we'd have a much harder time and he's really supportive of everyone. Emma is a great pace setter and her bright personality makes us all want to hang out with her. Isaac is ready to laugh at any time, even to my weak jokes, plus he's the first to jump in any water body, helping us all keep cool.

John Payne is by far the speediest and yet he's always happy to hang out with any rider and effect a speedy repair. Jules has a stunning smile and will happily help with anything needed.

Kacey is very athletic, able to climb any mountain in the blink of an eye, plus her stories of her past and her family keep us very entertained.

Kristy is all inclusive, whatever she's up to you're sure to get an invite and she's very motivated. Linh is the hardest working team member, without her everything would be much more difficult, plus she does it all with a great smile.

Moe is a teaser so we all tease him back and he'll happily ride with anyone just so he can chat away merrily.

Ray is a great listener, a quality I really admire! Furthermore his fundraising skills are exceptional. It would be a much lesser ride without him. Sabrina lets nothing stop her, even the biggest hills. And she's great to hang around, always ready with a good ear and a smile. Saz is straight out determination, she is maybe having the most difficult time coping with the physical challenges but she keeps on going and plays great games with us to help us eat up the miles. Most importantly she has the highest number or people donating to her JustGiving account. Tessa is a sharer, like everyone in the group, be it snacks or great conversation.

Overall, my job as leader has been really easy! Whenever someone has a problem there are almost too many people helping. All I have to do each day is watch and let the day unfold. Such a joy for me to have such a great team, especially as this is my first H2H ride.

By the way, online donations to the team are over 27,000 dollars, and everyone is determined to break 30 before the ride is over. I hope you can help us with that!

Craig Berry,

2018 team leader.

To donate and support the ride, please go to https://www.justgiving.com/companyteams/h2h2018

We'd like to take this opportunity to thank one of our biggest sponsors, Repsol.

Repsol is one of the top integrated energy companies in the oil and gas industry. They conduct social projects to foster education, security, public health, and to empower communities in Vietnam's cities. Their support this year has provided for one of our invaluable support vans. To read more about Repsol visit their website here or visit their Facebook page.