Five friends from the Taunton area will cycle from Taunton to the Algarve in Portugal starting on the 26^th September with a planned arrival in Armacao de Pera on the 3^rd October – a journey of 700 miles in 7 days.

They decided to raise money for the Children’s Ward because Ben, son of Gary Chaffey, one of the team, was diagnosed in December 2008 with a rare hip bone disease called Perthes.

The Children’s Ward at Musgrove Park Hospital needs to resurface and re-equip the outdoor play area which allows children, who are confined to their beds to enjoy fresh air, take part in games and interact with others.  

Ben was required to spend a long time in hospital where he underwent an intensive treatment programme which included lots of bed rest, the use of crutches and a wheelchair to get around, physio and hydrotherapy, periods in traction and frequent consultation and monitoring. During his treatment, over a two year period both in and out of hospital Ben and his family received fantastic care and support from the doctors, nurses and support staff of the Children’s Ward at Musgrove Park. Ben although only young is very keen on sport and loves to be outdoors and active so the long periods of inactivity and confinement were difficult.  Access to the play areas was a god send and the highlight of his day.

Suzanne Pilkington, Matron of the Children’s Unit, said, “Cycling 700 miles in seven days with the aim of raising £10,000 is an amazing challenge and we are very grateful for their support.”

AND WERE OFF

Day 1 - Taunton to Plymouth 80-85 miles (set off point dependant)
after several moths of planning and training the boys finally got underway on sunday morning(26th sep)
the first day consisted of the middle distance ride down to plymouth to catch the ferry to santander.
it was a day of mixed fortunes as the first puncture of the ride occured fairly early on in the day (first puncture of the trip award goes to Gary Chaffey!) turning Sean Gardner into
monty pythons famous superhero "Bicycle Repair Man" on not only this occasion but also late on in the day. He was to be duely rewarded however at the half way point in the day in the magnificent village of Chudleigh as the waitress serving him lunch rather took a shine to him!
at this point the van caught up with the lads to check up on their progress and due to a "packing error" it turned out the sat nav had not made it on board so the van toddled off to halfords in pursuit of a new one.the trip progressed onto its second and third punctures and all only on day 1!this caused phil painter to heroicly cycle the last 5 or so miles on a flat tyre after it had already been repaired once!the boys made it safely into the van with about 15 minutes to spare and all were sheparded on board the boat.after a fairly grueling ride a few beers and a decent meal was had before squeezing into some rather "tight fitting"accomodation

Day 2 Santander to Reinosa 48 miles
After a cozy nights sleep and a decent breakfast the ferry pulled into Santander and everyone was squeezed back into the van.on arrival on dry land the van was stopped by the inquisitive spanish police and everyone piled back out of the van for closer inspection.having seen how finely tuned our riders are and the mammoth task ahead the police presumed there must be drugs involved and they sent the dog in.however it found nothing so it must be presumed that it is sheer athletisism that is pushing the lads on!although you wouldnt notiice it just by looking. Finally after getting into the car park and sorting gear and food and drink out the bicycles hit spanish soil and trekked on at around 2pm spanish time. Alas nothing is ever too easy on this trip and some
"communication errors",terrible spanish road signs and the 21c heat caused a small delay getting out of santander but after a few minutes of swearing profusely at each other over the phone we got away onto the mammoth road that is the n611. it would prove to be a harder day than first thought as although it was the shortest day in distance,a few steep climbs were to come. despite a bit of deliberation of how to leave the town known as torrelavega the boys raced on through the mountainous terrain stopping only once for a quick bite to eat. The temperature then plummeted as the route climbed further and the lads finally rolled into the first stop Reinosa 745-8pm spanish time(they averaged 11 mph through this section which considering the terrain, is pretty impressive) After a lightning fast shower the group headed to town for a late dinner. A pleasant meal was had and Jerry Palmer even showed his true form by obtaining his first girlfriend  on the trip.also noted is nick's obsession with bread,he must have had a full loaf to himself!it was then straight to bed for everyone as a long day was expected for the next day

Day 3 Reinosa to villanubla 115 miles
An early start to day 3 as the lads begin the first of three very long distance days. the riders got away fairly sharpish at around 850 am and progress out of the town easily and at a good pace.this could not quite be said for
the van as Jerry and Ashley very nearly ended up on a farm,however this can be put down to the new sat nav.It seems following a womans instruction is a dangerous endeavour!
Relatively uneventful day apart from the long distance that was required to cycle.The route was very bleak,apart from a few miniscule towns which all have churches and no shops or cafe's,there was just open road resembling the aussie outback!Stopped off at a nice
small town in the middle of nowhere called formista(see clowns photo) for lunch but not for long as there were still quite a few miles left to be done.Again a hot day averaging 25c.Unfortunately the first crash of the trip was to be had when sean clipped the back of gray's bike causing sean to hit the deck and hurt his shoulder and back however he wasnt seriously hurt just quite sore but he got back on the bike and carried on
The boys finally got into Villanubla late into the day into the hotel located right opposite Valladolid airport.the hotel is meant to resemble bits and pieces of ancient rome and greece but its not finished yet!
A decent evening meal and a beer or two and straight to bed for yet another early start in the morning

Day 4 Villanubla to Bejar 125 miles
Unfortunately due to the incompletion of the hotel and lack of service that they offered the lads started day 4 without breakfast and wouldnt get it for another 20 miles. Stopped off in Tordesillas and despite it being a relatively large town,it seemed impossible to get breakfast at 10am so a quick trip to the supermarket for some supplies and a do it yourself sandwhich breakfast was had.slowly but surely we began to realise that this was going to be a long day as a lot of cycling was getting done but there still seemed to  be a fair few miles left to do. a wrong turn 3/4 of the way through the day was unhelpful also costing an extra 3 miles onto the trip.bit of a bad day for phil as not only were his knees playing up but his bike followed suit not only having chain issues but after  the group were directed down what only can be described as a dirt track a bomb had hit during the war and never been repaired since,he had his second puncture of the trip and the spare bike was called in.
The long day was beggining to take its toll and the lads were looking very tired but they battled bravely on and finished very late on in the dark.after a lightning fast shower we went on the hunt for food but were too late to get any so we tucked into some of the supplies in the van.all in all this was comfortably the worst and hardest day of the trip and special credit must be made to the riders for finishing the day

Day 5 Bejar-Caceres 82 miles

Relatively easier day for the lads today and they set off at a tremendous pace.a much easier route out of bejar and down through spain meant that the van caught up with the boys after a good 30 miles had already been done in only an hour and 45 minutes. this was probably helped by the much nicer scenery and flatter roads. a relatively quick lunch as normal and the gang had to "plod on" as it is regularly reffered to.bar a hefty nose bleed for sean, today's ride was relatively smooth so smooth in fact that a few members of the group decided to turn the trip into a triathalon and had a good swim in a lake on the rio alto(pictures to follow). A great place to stop and a very refreshing swim indeed. finally the lads pulled on into caceres after a tricky meander through its busy streets. Caceres is set to be the european capital of culture for 2016 and it certainly looks a lot nicer than liverpool!so a nice evening was had including the italian meal that sean had been craving for three days!a few beers and bed in preparation for a mammoth day ahead

Day 6 Caceres to Evora-121 miles

After an early breakfast the trip got under way yet again for a day of 120+ miles. just like the day before however the lads set off at a tremendous pace and it was 40 miles before the van was able to get to them.the trip proceeded onto lunch just short of the portuguese border in Badajoz (renamed "proper job" by jerry). After the quick lunch the border was crossed and the watches set back to GMT giving the lads an extra hour on the day.( there is no border patrol crossing into portugal here so for the smugglers out there take note!) the boys plodded on once more stopping only a couple of times in the last sixty miles noticabley in the town of elvas (queue several stupid elvis jokes later "we're all shook up boys" etc). they then rolled along finally into the beautiful town of Evora. alas the cobbled streets of the town had the final say giving sean his first puncture of the trip in the last few miles(also noted is how despite him repairing other peoples punctures,he is expected to repair his own in the morning!) The last 6 days are beggining to take its toll and colds are flying around the group even phil had lost his voice for a while(to great relief for some of us!).again a nice meal was had in a stunning hotel and spirits were raised in the knowledge that two easier days are ahead to finish the trip on

Day 7 Evora- Castro Verde 72 miles

Far easier day to be had today considering the 50 miles less there were to do.the boys left reasonably early and again got a good start to the day,the van caught up 30 miles in to bring more water and a light snack but there was only one noticable stop around half way in a sleepy village as most of them are in portugal!second half of the day slightly slower than the first half but again this seems a regular occurance,the last 5-10 miles often seem like double what they are.nevertheless the bikes rolled into "castle cary" in the early evening for another most suitable meal and a few glasses of wine/beer which were permitted due to the lesser mileage left on the last day

Day 8 Castro Verde-Armacao de Pera 55 miles

At last the final day came,spirits were relatively high in the knowledge that the finish line was in sight. the last 55 miles were however to prove a tough challenge for the lads as they had some steep and regular hills and the first bits of rain came.a later start than normal alongside regular stops and tricky terrain meant that the lads took a bit longer than first thought to get to the line but nonetheless they arrived at the coast late afternoon to a welcome party,with several sandwhiches and pints.

A final congratulations must be given to the cyclists as this is a tremendous acheivement and many thanks to everyone that sponsored them to do it