Two Jesus alumni have completed a marathon four-day bike ride across Wales in memory of their friend and fellow College alumnus Tomos Wyn Morgan (Economics and Management, 2003).
Tomos, 30, passed away unexpectedly in May 2014, and last month his friends George Williams (Mathematics, 2003) and Roman Popat (Biology, 2003) cycled from Bristol to Tomos’ home village of Llangefni in Anglesey, in his memory. The 400km journey – with close to 6000m aggregate elevation gain en route – took in some of Wales’ most iconic landmarks, including the Brecon Beacons and Snowdonia.
Tomos Wyn Morgan
George explains, “Tomos was a dear friend to Roman and I, and we had wanted to visit his home town for a long while – where he’d often promised to welcome us. When he passed away, I promised the universe I would make the trip so our connection might live on, and his family could continue to know how much he was appreciated by all of us.”
(From right to left) Thom, Roman, George, Mags and April (Roman’s partner and baby daughter) at Roman’s home in Bristol, ahead of the start of the epic journey.
As well as dedicating the ride to Tomos, the intrepid pair decided to raise funds in his memory for North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) – a communal network and charity nominated by the Morgan family that supports individuals to recover from long-term substance misuse. “We felt we were unable to do enough for Tomos while he was with us – and hope the funds raised will go some way to helping other vulnerable people in the community he loved, and called home” he says.
George and Roman left Bristol on June 6, in the company of Thom Proven, husband of their fellow College alumnus and George’s 4th year flatmate Ibby Marriott (Classics, 2003), who led them out to Brecon. George says, “In the meantime, Tim Burns – who was a Theoretical Physics DPhil in our matriculation year – was making his way from Swansea to encourage us on our way. We caught up with Tim for a second breakfast in Chepstow.”
After a restful night in Chepstow, George and Roman made their way to Builth Wells in Powys, and then on to the Snowdonia National Park. He says, “By that point we’d made great progress over the rolling Welsh hills, and had covered 300km in three days, with an aggregate elevation gain of around 5000m. After all that climbing, and many literal and figurative ups and downs, a treat was waiting for us when we made our way to our penultimate stop in Criccieth; there we met Tomos’s dad Wyn to share food and drinks, and talk about Tomos and life in general.”
George and Roman with Tomos’ father Wyn.
Wyn, Tomos’ mother Julia, his sisters Nia and Siân and a number of their extended family, as well as representatives of NWRC joined the team for the last leg of their ride from Criccieth to Llangefni – via NWRC’s project office in Bangor.
“This was a very special experience that started from the simple intention to visit Tomos’ family and turned into a celebration of his life, and what to meant to those who knew him. Along the way we were able to reconnect with many old friends, relive memories – and live new ones through the recollection of others. Arriving in Llangefni after a long journey and being welcomed into the Morgan family home, we were able to experience once again the expansive generosity that Tomos had shown while he was with us – heightened by the long road behind us. We hope he would have been proud.”
The team also had the chance to meet with representatives of NWRC, including some of the people the charity supports, and share stories. “So far, Roman and I have raised over £7000 between us,” says George “which will go a long way towards supporting NWRC’s community recovery programmes. They are extremely grateful for the many donations they’ve received – and a little overwhelmed as a result.”
George, Roman and members of Tomos’ family meet members of the North Wales Recovery Communities network near the end of their ride.
Richard Price, Community Development Officer at NWRC added, “It was evident that Tomos’ family and friends all shared what we call in in recovery ‘a common bond’, being linked through the pain and suffering which can be endured as a result of addiction. It was moving to hear the warm words and tributes spoken during their visit to us in Bangor where they had an opportunity to see how the incredible amount of money that has been raised will be spent in refurbishing our recovery facilities at Hillgrove House”.
If you would like to support George and Roman’s ride in memory of Tomos, you can donate via the Just Giving page here.