Update 09/06/2011
I made my attempt to complete the South Downs Way Double on 26th May as planned. However the start time was about the only thing that went to plan. I'm going to blog a full analysis about my ride, in the mean time here's a post about the psychological aspects of why I gave up after 100 miles:
http://jessonabike.co.uk/2011/06/south-downs-double-attempt-1/
Thanks again for your generosity. I will be making another attempt, check back here or my blog for details.
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Update 16/05/2011
I've changed the date of my ride to Thursday, Friday 26th/27th May. This should make for slightly quieter trails. The training is all done now, I just have to rest up and make sure I'm as fit as possible for the big day.
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I want to raise money for Cancer Research because cancer has touched the lives of so many people around me. At the moment my colleague and friend Elizabeth is suffering round after gruelling round of chemotherapy. It would be so great if we could find a way to treat cancer that didn't invlove so much suffering.
The challenge for me is to ride the South Downs Way in both directions in 24hours! The facts and figures are: 200 miles distance, 25,000 feet of ups and downs, all travelled in under 24 hours (fingers crossed). If I achieve this I will be the first woman to do so, at least according to the 'offical' website:
http://www.southdownsdouble.net/index.html
Why should you believe I might achieve this? Well it's not my first event on a mountain bike. I've been racing with an Adventure Race team called Enduro AR for a few years:
However the training has taken a bit of a back seat in the last two years as I've been helping set up our adventure activities company Astounding Adventures:
http://www.astoundingadventures.co.uk/
With all this going on my fitness is currently a little less than it would be normally so I'm already in training. I expect to be ready for the challenge the weekend of May 21st - 22nd. It's going to be a considerable personal challenge, needing dry and fast running trails which may mean having to move the date on a little for the ride if the weather is wet. I'll keep you informed of the exact date here though.
I think this should be worth a few pounds at least, so please give generously, it's for a great cause!
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.



