Story
<p class="iphone-update">Updated on Feb 25th 2012 at 10:34 AM from the JustGiving API</p>
<p>Delighted and honoured: Ullapool Book Festival will donate proceeds from their traditional Sunday coffee and cake morning to my bike ride, plus they will have a charity bucket at their ticket desk. Wonderful news for me and, more importantly, Bethesda. :-)</p>
<p class="iphone-update"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">Thanks for visiting. As you may know, my mother <strong>Peggy MacNeil</strong>, who was well known in </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">Lewis and across the airwaves on <strong>Isles FM</strong>, passed away in August 2011. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">She spent her last weeks in the amazing <strong>Bethesda Hospice and Care Home</strong> in Stornoway, and the staff were just brilliant: so caring, helpful and full of </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">humour. They made my mum feel very much at home, and I can't tell you how much that meant to her friends and family.</span></p>
<p class="iphone-update"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">Now I want to give something back by raising some money for Bethesda.</span><br style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">On<strong> Monday 7th May 2012</strong> I plan to embark on a sponsored <strong>130km bike ride from Ness, in North </strong></span><strong><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">Lewis, to </span></strong><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"><strong>Leverburgh, in South Harris</strong>. This would be a gruelling ride anyway, but I am going to make it extra challenging for myself by doing it <strong>on a fixed-gear bike - which means you can't change gear or</strong></span><strong><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);"> freewheel; you have to pedal literally every inch of the way - even downhill! And going uphill? That's even tougher than usual as you can't change gear - there isn't one to change to! </span></strong></p>
<p class="iphone-update"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">I'm already in training for what will be the hardest day's cycling </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">I've ever done. And it will all be worth it - Bethesda is a wonderful </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">place that improves the quality of life of so many. I'm hoping </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">that by undertaking this epic ride, I'll be doing my bit to help the </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">staff continue making such a difference to patients and their </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">families.</span></p>
<p class="iphone-update"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And this is where you come in. I'd be so grateful if you </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">would sponsor me. I know money's tight for most of us right now, but </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">this is a truly worthwhile cause and I would hugely appreciate </span><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969); color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">anything you can give.</span></p>
<p class="iphone-update"><strong><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.917969);">Thank you!</span></strong></p>