Philanthropic pedaling

Marisa O’Neil

They’ve pedaled from the Canadian border, past Puget Sound, through

the Oregon countryside and along the California Coast, all since the

end of May.

And Wednesday, British police constable Neil Smith and two fellow

officers in the Bobby on a Bike fundraising bicycle ride met Newport

Beach officers as they rode down Coast Highway, with police escort,

to their Newport Dunes campground. This morning, they planned to set

off on a 108-mile ride from Newport Beach to the Mexican border --

the last leg of their nearly 1,800-mile journey .

“As soon as we say we’re going to go from Canada to Mexico, people

go, ‘Wow,’” Smith said.

That’s the reaction Smith, 39, wanted when he was trying to think

of an original way to raise money for charity. The first Bobby on a

Bike ride, which Smith and recently retired constable Tony Spry, 59,

finished in 2002, raised about $30,000, he said.

They hope to at least match that amount this year.

Money raised will go to a Suffolk-based multiple sclerosis

charity. Spry’s wife suffers from the disease.

Funds will also go to the Miles Alder Trust, which benefits a

4-year-old British boy with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a

progressive muscle-wasting disease.

The ride will also benefit the American Lung Assn.

Smith, Spry, constable Jeff Cribb, 34, and their one-person

support team, Suffolk Sgt. Chris Rodda, gave up their vacation to

make the trip. Smith’s son, 11-year-old Matt, also came along.

Along the way, local police departments, such as Newport Beach’s,

have hosted or helped the Suffolk police constables.

“We’ve been hosted by so many police departments and been so well

looked after,” Rodda said.

Police employee associations in Newport Beach are making a

donation to the charity, Sgt. Bill Hartford said. They also sponsored

a dinner for the visiting officers.

The British constables are also auctioning off items, including

British police helmets and leaflets signed by Prime Minister Tony

Blair.

The ride has been physically demanding but scenic, Smith said.

Matt’s favorite part was seeing redwood forests.

The trip has also let them get to know their American

counterparts, who aren’t that different, Smith said.

“The job is the same,” he said. “Everything they’re dealing with,

we do too. The only difference is the guns: They do; we don’t.”