Hi - thank you for taking time to visit my justgiving page.
[I have added an update at the bottom of the the page]
In February, I will be one of a 25 strong GK team supporting Lawrence Dallaglio on his "Cycle Slam". This is one of the biggest challenges Lawrence has undertaken, a 2,800km cycle ride across Europe to raise £1million for a number of charities.
Starting off in Rome on 12th February and watching Italy and England, Lawrence and co will then pedal across the continent, stopping in Paris, London, Cardiff, Dublin and arrive in Edinburgh on 12th March - 28 gruelling days in the saddle watching a Six Nations match at each venue on the way.
I am delighted say I am only joing him for one of the stages - Paris to Twickenham - 4 days from 23rd to 26th February. But that is still 442Km [approx 280 mls]. I am aiming to raise £2,000.
The money raised will be split 50:50 between Sports Relief and the Dallaglio Foundation, which raises money for DebRA, Leukaemia Research, Help for Heroes and the PRA. You can see more more details on following web site and see the other sports personalities that will be joining the Cycle Slam. www.dallagliocycleslam.com
As one of the "older" participants some of my colleagues have wondered if I will be completing the 4 days on a Penny Farthing! Well the bike I am currently training on - lent to me by the "father in law" - is not that old but it is 30 BC [30 years before carbon] - see picture. As I left with the bike phrases like solidly made and built to last did not seem to match the adjectives my colleagues were using about their bikes - aerodynamically engineered, lightweight performance components, optimised tube shape etc. Still I am sure it will all be down to the training!
So far the training has gone er......well a little more slowly than I hoped for and as the countryside of Northampton is not noted for its major hill climbs I still have a lot more work to do to try and complete the four days.
So your support and encouragement are vital to help me complete the 4 days and most importantly reach my target of £2,000. Many thanks in advance for any contribution you are able make.
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.
Jan 26th Update - just 17 days to go
Last weekend I finally conceded that my equipment was not going to be good enough for the ride from France to Twickenham. So in an attempt to single handedly kick start the economy, I ended up with a new bike and lots of lycra! The new bike means I now have 24 gears instead of 12 particularly good news on the hills. I am now begining to feel a little less ridiculous in the new clothes but they are certainly more comfortable especially the padded bits. The only problem so far has been the clip in shoes - not snapping them out the pedals quickly enough at junctions has resulted in a couple of embarrassing moments but so far I have only hurt my dignity. As the date for the event looms larger I am now stepping up the training - hopefully I will make it to Twickenham!
