Lockerbie’s cycling heroes marking 30 years since the bombing say their USA trek has been “physically and emotionally challenging.”

Today they are representing the town at a Remembrance Week event at Syracuse University, which lost 35 students in the act of terrorism.

They will hand over a shepherd’s crook, crafted from wood found in the Tundergarth area where Pan Am Flight 103’s nose cone crashed when the plane was blown out of the skies on December 21, 1988.

A book of commemoration will also be presented to the chancellor and president of the university as gifts from the town,marking the strong links forged in the aftermath of the atrocity.

Yesterday, Brian Asher, Colin Dorrance, Paul Rae, David Walpole and David Whalley – representing
the emergency services and Lockerbie Academy – finished the last part of a three-leg cycling mission to complete the 3,328 miles the passengers never saw 30 years ago.

Their 672-mile Stateside journey began last Friday at the Lockerbie memorial cairn in Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.

Since then they have travelled through Maryland, Philadelphia and New York City, being greeted by everyone from ambassadors to Syracuse representatives and members of the bereaved families.

Cycle team leader Colin Dorrance – who was Scotland’s youngest police officer at the time of the disaster – said: “We knew that the final stage of our journey in the USA would be tough, emotional and meaningful.

“But I’m not sure any of us were prepared for how tough, how emotional or how meaningful
things have been for us or how it has been received here all the way along the route.

“The warmth we have been met with has been moving beyond words.

“Each day has brought unforgettable moments of poignancy and challenge. The first day was fraught with heavy traffic, iconic landmarks and a simple but moving ceremony at Arlington.

“We have passed through areas of beautiful natural wonder, heavy industrial heartland, multi-million dollar suburbs and some of the most deprived areas in America.

“The welcome everywhere has been amazing, with people asking us where we’re going and why.”

Colin added: “Our reward has been to meet with relatives and friends of those who were killed
in 1988.

“Some have waited for us at pre-arranged destinations, while others have tracked us and flagged us down, just to say hello and tell us how much they appreciate what we are doing.

“One man brought his daughter to see us. She was 11 months old when her mother was killed and is now 31.

“The man lost his wife, his unborn child, his father-in-law and his brother-in-law all on the same night and yet he regards Lockerbie people as heroic in how they responded at his time of grieving.

“We made friends beside the road, right there and then, and I hope they come to visit soon. He’s never been to Lockerbie.

“A few miles later, we were met by an 85-year-old woman who lost her 21-year-old daughter, who fell in Park Place. The elderly lady cannot travel very far now, and her son brought her to meet us.

“She was clutching a pebble that she had been given by a resident in Park Place many years ago, which marked the spot where he had found the young girl.”

Colin said another special moment was arriving in New York to a reception by Lockerbie piper Callum Moffat.

The epic cycle is also raising money for Dumfries youth mental health charity Soul Soup, to employ a dedicated worker within Lockerbie Academy.

People can donate to that cause at: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/cycle-to-Syracuse.