Raised: 125%
Target: £4,000.00
Raised so far: £5,000.20
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My story

 

MONDAY TO FRIDAY   14 TO 18 DECEMBER 

Thanks for looking at this, my JustGiving page. 

I have reached the fabled £5000 !! 

£2000 of this has now been donated  to the St. Luke's Leprosy Hospital in southern India  via the Neem Tree Trust. Kathy Miller, the secretary of the Trust, will be taking your donation when she visits the hospital in January

As my initial target was just £3000,  you will understand how pleased and grateful  I am for everyone's financial support - 189 donations so far, with half of them made on-line.

Justgiving have been excellent and I  am keeping this page open until January 5th as I am still expecting some further promised donations over the Christmas and New Year period. 

You will find the making an online donations very easy with Justgiving.  Gift Aid now accounts for  over £1100 ( about 20 per cent ) of the total.   This has been reclaimed byJustgiving - a  very significant sum from an excellent scheme.  

The Blackpool Talking Newspaper which serves almost 1000 visually impaired people is also facing much expense at present in moving from cassette tapes to CD players and memory sticks, at a cost of £40 per listener, so they are also very pleased at the money I will shortly be providing for them. 

 

If you do meet any difficulty with donating on line, please send an E mail to let me know. julian.wilde@btinternet.com or give me a call.   You can also of course send me a cheque or piggy bank!

 

You can read below the last of  three Bike Diaries which recently appeared in the  Lancashire Evening Post. Many friends have read already the articles I have written for the Blackpool Evening Gazette and for the Lytham St. Annes Express. Each of these has a different angle on the trip.

 

You can also find me on Facebook now  - I have posted a wider selection of photos on my page there and am keeping Facebook Friends updated regularly on the fundraising.

 

 

Best wishes and thanks, Julian

 

 

 

Remember that reading is especially enjoyable if you press the DONATE NOW button too !!

 

 

Former Lancashire school principal Julian Wilde, 64 , set himself the challenge of  a week-long  solo bike ride between Prague, capital of  the Czech Republic and Vienna, capital of Austria,  to raise money for three charities.  In his final report he reports on mishaps and mistakes as he struggles to reach Vienna.

 

THURSDAY  

My shortest day, 30 miles, is beset by navigation errors and persistent light rain. Fortunately my legs are by now on autopilot and I cope well with a slippery section in the National Park. Bizarrely Chvalovice, on a European trunk road,  is full of brothels.  Thankfully I reach Penzion Anna at Slup where Anna and Jan are congenial and proud hosts – “we were expecting a much younger man!”. Supper is orange juice, mars bar, sausage and local wine plus plums and peaches from the orchard. I sleep like a top.

 

FRIDAY 

A glorious morning greeted by the geese and peacocks outside my window and a fond farewell. At Jaroslavice at 8 am I cope badly with a deaf and dumb man and four alkies. Long flat straight roads in warm sunshine take me to Mikulov where I puncture, but change tubes calmly in the main square. Lost again on approach to Valtice where the world’s worst hotel receptionist denies all knowledge of my booking. I look at E mails, delighted to find that 17 friends have donated to my three charities today.  I begin to feel demob happy.

 

SATURDAY

Despite beautiful weather as I pass into Austria my demob feelings prove a hazard. No Euros, no film, not enough food and drink or route information – all my own fault.  Planned short cut too proves impossible. Wolkersdorf seems like a mirage – constantly haven’t got there. The Greenways route finishes on outskirts of Vienna and I eat a celebratory chocolate banana amidst rampant anti-climax. 

 

Now a trafficky slog to the centre of Vienna, enlivened by meeting two young Americans from Oregon. They are biking to Prague, camping en route – and have two tiny toddlers in bike buggies behind.

I revel in arriving, an unkempt but triumphant ragamuffin,  at Stephansplatz, the very heart of the old city, amidst crowds of smartly dressed Viennese who are out for Saturday evening schnapps and coffee.  312 miles completed, yes completed, 176 hours – the train back to Prague will take 270 minutes!

 

Details of Julian’s charities can be found at  www.justgiving.com

 

 

 

 

Great work Julian. Sounds like you had a real adventure...."We were expecting a much younger man!"...classic! Donation by Richard Heathcote 28/11/09  

£10.00

Donation by Russel Bailey 23/11/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

A belated well done... A Class Act! Donation by sonja and family 18/11/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

Congratulations, Julian, both on the ride and the fundraising - not far to £5000 now! Donation by Leafy Lythamers 16/11/09  

Well done Julian!! We enjoyed reading the Diary of your journey! Donation by Richard & Mandy Webb 10/11/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Congratulations Julian not just on the ride but also on the money you have raised. Donation by Kay Hanham 03/11/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

Sorry that donating as taken so long. Well done! Thank you for all the details & pictures of your journey. Donation by Lorna Fowler 01/11/09  

£25.00 + £7.05 Gift Aid

Well done Julian, Sam and I are very impressed with 312 miles of cycling! Donation by Gareth and Sam Watson 25/10/09  

£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid

Congratulations Julain! Im also sorry for the delay. Its good to be back in England!! Donation by Holly Welham 20/10/09  

£5.00 + £1.41 Gift Aid

Well done Julian Donation by Matt and Tasha Pitt 20/10/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Greetings from GRINDELWALD Donation by Thomas Stettler 20/10/09  

£50.00

Well done Julian. Great achievement! Sorry it has taken me so long to donate! I have just about recovered from the flu. Donation by James Downes 19/10/09  

£5.00

Well done with cycling and amount raised! Donation by Julie Reeman 18/10/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

second time lucky :) hope it works. As us geordies wud say, well done pet!.. :) Donation by charlotte furno 16/10/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Congratulations, Julian, on excellent riding and fundraising. Keep going! Donation by The Lytham crew 15/10/09  

Well done Julian, what's next? Donation by Rick & Angela Houghton 15/10/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

I'll do anything for a creme egg. Donation by David Derbyshire 14/10/09  

£29.00 + £8.18 Gift Aid

Congratulations and Best Wishes Donation by Di and Roger Prutton 14/10/09  

£31.20 + £8.80 Gift Aid

You are the most amazing person! a fan Donation by Gilly, Pete and Ellie Summers 13/10/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

You're incredible Julian! An inspiration to us all. Donation by Emily Summers 13/10/09  

£10.00

Congratulations Julian - a top effort. Donation by Ian Cowlishaw 13/10/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Congratulations Julian! Donation by Kat Fellows 13/10/09  

£8.00

Well done Julian. Get in touch when you have the time. Peter & Jan Donation by Peter McNair 13/10/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Sorry for the delay in sending a donation. Very well done! Regards Diane, James and Jodie. Donation by Diane Dearden 13/10/09  

£10.00 + £2.82 Gift Aid

Congratulations! Sorry it took me so long to donate ive had a very busy time getting organised for uni. Donation by Sam Tanner 12/10/09  

£5.00

Riding and fundraising equally good! Congratulations Donation by Toby Stirling 12/10/09  

Well done Julian. A real achievement! KKx Donation by Kathryn Kernick 11/10/09  

£50.00 + £14.10 Gift Aid

Many congratulations on making it all the way to Vienna! Donation by Sharks and Jets 11/10/09  

£82.00 + £23.13 Gift Aid

Well done Julian Hope you get to your target Donation by Gareth Roberts 09/10/09  

£20.00 + £5.64 Gift Aid

Well done Julian! What you've done is amazing! I hope you continue to raise lot's more! Donation by Elizabeth Whitehead 09/10/09  

£15.00 + £4.23 Gift Aid
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* Total raised online: £4,026.20
  Offline donations: £974.00
  Gift Aid plus supplement: £1,083.13

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