Thank you!

Well I really did it- all 500km! Such an amazing and exhilarating experience. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated. Your support really kept me going and will make a huge difference to the lives of adoptive families.

Hugh.

 

The journey so far...

 

Day 1 was just over 90 miles from Crystal Palace to Dover. Connected up with three others of similar pace and blasted along doing an average of 14.5 mph for the full day. Got to Dover early so found a pub for a 90 minute replenishment of fluids and carbs. A very hard day with at least two too many hills.

 

Day 2. Back on the bike at 8am. What a  difference in scenery compared to the lanes and killer hills of Kent. We started in thick fog and then rain. After an amazing lunch the sun came out. The chef is on the road with us and produces some amazing stuff out the back of the van!

 

Short legs after lunch (the route not mine) and we tried to race the thunderstorm to get to hotel before it arrived. We failed miserably due to a puncture so the last couple of miles were in a monsoon.

 

Didn't make first in today as we didn't want to spoil it for others but tomorrow is another day!

 

End of day 2, we arrived at 3.30pm so about 5 hours 50 minutes cycling with a good lunch break and two puncture stops. Easier day today just over 71 miles compared to the 100 yesterday and only hard hills in the morning.

 

Will keep you all posted. Thank you for all your support so far it's really keeping me going!

 

See you next week

 

Hugh

21st May update:

 

A big thank you to everyone who has visited my page and donated money to Adoption UK.  Just so you all know that I am taking this seriously my training continues and I’m building up the miles.  Main training event to date was a sportive in the New Forest at the end of April, a very gruelling 80 miles in the worst weather I’ve cycled in.  It rained so much that 6 miles of the route was closed due to flooding.  I’m mixing my training up, cycling to and from Marylebone on days when I’m in Banbury, weekend rides on both my mountain bike and road bike and working hard on the hills.  Biggest challenge though is eating loads of salad to try and trim some weight!

 

 

Hugh.

 

My Story:

I joined Adoption UK at the end of October last year as CEO. It didn’t take me long to understand what a fantastic charity Adoption UK is and it needs your support.

Adoption is a truly transformational experience for adopted children and adoptive families. The outcomes for adopted children are far better than for those who grow up in care and this is most clearly seen from the age of 16 onwards. Nothing can equal the lifelong security that adoption provides for children who have had traumatised starts in life.

What Adoption UK knows, from its membership of over 5,000 adoptive parents, is that bringing up a child adopted from care can be very challenging. The effects of the abuse suffered by children before coming into care can last well into adulthood. Many adopted children require therapeutic parenting and specialist services. All adopted parents need information and advice; some need highly specialised support services. Adoption UK provides this for all adoptive families in the UK through using the knowledge and expertise of other adopters. This is what makes Adoption UK unique and deserving of your support.

 My challenge is to cycle between two great capital cities in four days – this means 500 kilometres in the saddle. Please help me endure this by being as generous as you can - £10 gets me 1 kilometre closer to Paris, £500 gets me 10% of the way there.

Your donation will transform children’s lives.

Many thanks

Hugh