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The motto of this story may well be " be very careful what you agree to over a few drinks with Jen!" And so it began late last year.........the wine was opened and girly gossip got around to the success of the 'boys' 2009 challenge of completing the 'l'Etape Du Tour Mondovelo' under the blue skies of Mont Ventoux. Jen suggested that perhaps we might be up for a challenge in 2011? Not being completely exercise shy (we both had a completed half- marathon 'under out belts') and not wanting to be left out of the ever expanding wardrobe of lycra invading both our homes (something apparently entirely unavoidable when you are married to a 'MAMIL'), we decided a bicycle challenge would be fun and much kinder to our (now) not so young joints. Another glass of wine later, imagining leisurely bike rides with our husbands, hair streaming out from our helmets, the sun on our faces, the decision was made.......our challenge for 2011 would be to complete the 120k Dragon Ride (Medio Fondo) and as part of our training plan, we would also complete the Carten 100 (Cardiff to Tenby ride) a month before the big day! Unperturbed by what had committed to, we compared our shiny new bikes and matching cycle wear (courtesy of Father Christmas). Nothing could prepare us for the harsh reality of our first proper ride on a bitterly cold Sunday morning in early January. Frozen fingers, neck and shoulder ache, unpleasant chafing issues plus the dreaded 'cleat failures' (or rather simply forgetting to unclip ones shoes from the pedal when coming to a stop) meant that it was soon dawning on us that 'leisurely' and 'fun' were not words we would be using to describe out training rides! There was also the realisation that the sight of having both your parents parading around the house in their latest cycle gear may in fact be traumatising your teenage children (especially when it occurs in front of their friends!)............however not ones to give up on what we started, we are 'happily' still riding (albiet with new specially designed Italian ladies saddles), totting up some miles over the last couple of months and even managing to 'conquer' the dreaded Rhigos mountain as part of a recent Saturday afternoon ride! We are now getting quite used to the 'barks' of 'pick up the pace girls' whenever we try and chat and even manage to smile a bit too - the rather undignified sight of me falling off at traffic lights recently kept us both chuckling for at least the next 20 miles! The decision to enter the Carten 100 ride was prompted by the the fact that it is a charity rise and a 'fun' event rather than a race (shame the same can't be said of the Dragon Ride). The charity chosen to benefit this year is <a href="http://velindrefundraising.theinfogroup.co.uk/index.php?id=38" target="_blank">Velindre Cancer Centre</a> - this is the largest non - surgical cancer Hospital in Wales providing Radiotherapy, Chemotherapy and other specialised anti-cancer treatments for over half the people of Wales. They have been providing care and support to cancer patients in South Wales for over 50 years. Every possible effort is made to ensure that each visit to Velindre is as comfortable as possible, and the experienced staff aim to provide high quality care to patients and their families. It is this commitment to high quality care which means that Velindre is widely regarded as being a Centre of Excellence. Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwated 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 - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity. So please dig deep and donate now.

Gage & Harries

Gage & Harries

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