Winston on Tour in The UK!

"The Black Dog" has been used as a metaphor for depression for hundreds of years. It was famously diarised by Sir Winston Churchill in the early 20th century.

When Steve Andrews set off on the original Black Dog Ride Around Australia in 2009, he took with him a black dog he called Winston. Winston, the Black Dog Ride mascot, has become a great icebreaker and conversation starter, a fun but relevant tool used to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention.

During the 2013 National 1 Day Ride, Steve Andrews was astonished and delighted to hear that a dozen riders from Geraldton had registered for the Dardanup leg. That's a round trip of 1,200kms! Impressed by their clear determination to join Black Dog Riders in riding to raise awareness of depression, we were certain they'd be the farthest travelled Black Dog Riders on a 1 Day Ride.

Until we met Vin.

Vin is from Liverpool, in the UK. Vin's dogged determination to become a Black Dog Rider and adopt his very own Winston saw him cooincide a trip Down Under with the National 1 Day Ride - a round trip of 30,000kms! He tells us that although Winston isn't a great talker, he is a good listener and usually spends his day at Vin's desk.

However, Vin wanted to introduce our puppy to the wider public in the UK to help start the conversation of depression awareness. Vin will be taking Winston out and about on a Grand Tour to raise awareness of depression and suicide prevention in the UK, and he'll be sending us his updates on our Celebrity Black Dog!

First stop: British Superbikes, Oulton Park, UK.

On the top step of course!

Click the image to view the larger picture

We will be giving you updates on Winston's Grand Tour, stay tuned!

Winston will be back in the BDR Shop in June.