I am aiming to complete a 2,500+ mile cycle ride around Europe raising money for Canterbury Oast Trust who support adults with learning disabilities in Kent and East Sussex. 2,500 miles is approximately the distance between Los Angeles and New York and is like doing John O'Groats to Lands End THREE times!
My aunt has Down’s Syndrome and COT have supported her for the last 25 years, providing residential care and giving her opportunities to work, take part in craft activities every week, practice horticulture and much much more. Take a look at http://www.c-o-t.org.uk/life-skills.htm and http://digital.kent.gov.uk/876 for the sort of projects they are involved in.
I started cycling on June 15 aiming to do 1,800 miles but I increased my target after my Grandpa Ted passed away on June 28. Grandpa was one of the founding members of COT in the mid-1980s and was himself a terrifically dedicated fundraiser and volunteer for the trust, notably selling bricks in the rain in Ashford for the bungalow that my aunt now lives in.
Any donation, however small, will be truly appreciated by me and the family and you will be helping COT to buy paints, materials, plants, or to arrange holidays and days out.
If you want to keep in touch with progress then follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jackiscycling.
I am not alone in doing this and was joined by Matt who rode 1,700 miles and James who met us a couple of weeks into the ride.
I have taken in Brussels, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Bremen, Copenhagen, Berlin, Dresden and Prague so far on my route, arriving in Prague on the 25 July two days early. Next up is Salzburg in Austria and onward to Munich, down to Zurich and Basel and then back to Calais through Paris. I should arrive back in Kent at the end of August, saddle sore and thoroughly bitten by mosquitoes!
