Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

We have now completed our mountain bike Coast-2-Coast challenge across the North of England, but this page will remain open until early August for anyone who still wishes to make a donation to help fund a Maggie's Centre for Nottingham.

Here's a brief summary of 142 mile event. Twelve of us were cycling, including my son Rob, my brothers Geoff and Rich, and my nephew Lewis.

Day 1:

We set off from Nottingham on a cold sunny day, but by the time we arrived in Workington five hours later the skies were turning grey. No sooner had we set off on our bikes it started drizzling and then pouring with rain. The wind was a north-easterly (not the westerly prevailing wind that normally helps to propel cyclists along the coast-to-coast route). Within just a few minutes of cycling everyone in the team was cold and wet (despite waterproofs) and we knew we had five hours of cycling to do. This was a pretty tough start, and became even more difficult when we started tackling the first hills. A couple of team members really struggled with this, while those towards the front had to wait around in the cold-driving-rain for others to catch up.

Eventually the rain subsided a little as we started a descent through woods and then came across stunning views of Bassenthwaite Lake with mountains in the background. Spirits started to lift as we made a fantastic fast descent to the lake and the waiting support minibus that took us to Cockermouth Youth Hostel.

Day 2:

Fantastic cold, crisp, sunny start to the day, but this was dampened for some team members because they were putting on cold, wet shoes and gloves because the drying room hadn't worked overnight. We resumed our journey cycling along an amazing disused railway track out from Keswick, and then took country roads to Penrith and beyond.

We then started the long climb up to Hartside on country roads and rough tracks - one of the toughest climbs I have ever done. It was with great satisfaction that I went into the tearooms at the top and ordered a massive portion of hot damson crumble with ice cream. We stayed that night at Alston Youth Hostel and spirits were much higher amongst the group.

Day 3:

Another crisp cold start, descending from Hartside against the biting north-easterly wind. It was a fantastic day of cycling with four big hills, including another really tough climb up a long 1 in 4 rough track (in the hail), continuing with a fast ride across the moors with another excellent tearoom at the end. We then carried along a disused railway line down to Consett, before heading off for Edmundbyers Youth Hostel for the night.

Day 4:

This was a bright sunny day that should have been a simple ride along tracks and disused railway lines to Sunderland. Unfortunately, the journey was made a real challenge by multiple punctures from glass fragments that were shrewn over miles and miles of the route. Nevertheless, we went through some beautiful countryside as we neared our final destination. The ride into Sunderland was good, along the banks of the River Wear. We arrived at the beach early afternoon and we were presented with a bottle of Champagne by the organisers for our fund-raising efforts on behalf of Maggie's Centres. Rob and I then raced into the sea for a bracing, and very brief, swim!

Overall, this was a great challenge and it is fantastic that so many people have supported us and Maggie's Centres so generously.

For more information about Maggie's Centres go to the following web page:

http://www.maggiescentres.org/maggies/maggiescentres/home/about/introduction.html

To have a look at the Centre that is planned for Nottingham go to:

http://www.maggiescentres.org/maggies/maggiescentres/home/centres/nottingham/introduction.html

Already £1.9 million has been raised for this project to get the building underway later in 2010, but more funds will help complete the building and contribute towards the running of the new Maggie's Centre.

Anyone still wishing to donate can do so through JustGiving. It 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.

Thanks and best wishes

Tony