A few days ahead of the Hope 66 charity cycle ride, proudly sponsored by Mighton Products, people are rightly focussing on the cyclists about to undertake the challenge of a lifetime. And what a challenge; 2616 miles at an average 71 miles a day, most of it in high heat and humidity, with huge climbs, scorching deserts and the mental challenge of the arrow straight roads across the prairies.

A support team of seven will look to the needs of the cyclists such as water, carb drinks, food and first aid…but hopefully not. They will ride in 32 foot Recreational Vehicles or RV’s, a sort of camper van on steroids. The vehicles come equipped with cooking facilities, showers and beds, all of which is necessary for the riders to eat and recover between stages.

Each of the three RV’s on Hope 66 is allocated to a team of riders and will remain within a few miles of the riders at all times simply because most of the ride is across wide open spaces with no towns and accordingly no mobile signal.

Back in 2008, when GM Fundraising undertook the Ride 4 Hope, the team named the RV’s ‘Thelma’ and ‘Louise’ with the self evident connection to the road trip experience. With three RV’s on the Mighton Products sponsored Hope 66 ride, the question of what to name the RV’s was more problematical. That is until the cyclists visited Hope House Children’s Hospice on the final training rid

There they met the children and families who benefit from the incredible palliative care that the Hope House team offer. The children were amazing and what surprised the first time visitors was how happy they were at the hospice despite the life challenges they were facing. So that is how the three RV’s and their respective teams came to be named after three incredible kids who attend Hope House; Kiera, Rowan and Robert.

Their names and pictures will be carried on the three vehicles all the way from Chicago to Santa Monica and the teams will wear badges with their images on every stage. Kiera, Rowan and Robert; just three ordinary but incredibly brave kids who represent all the amazing Hope House children and serve as a constant reminder of what the Hope 66 ride is all about.