Sadly my father passed away shortly after he retired in February 2006. He died of bowel cancer and that is why I am attempting a 440 mile bike ride in China this October. The charity I am supporting is Macmillan Cancer Relief who gave excellent care and help with dad’s last few weeks. They also gave support to us (me and my family) when sadly my mother passed away a few months after (lung cancer). Macmillan does a lot of this type of work so I know you will support me in supporting them by sponsoring me on my epic journey.

 I cycled through China as part of Macmillan Cancer Support's China Cycling Challenge. Starting from the Fortress in Yulin, a large town south of the Gobi Desert, we cycled for 7 consecutive days covering 680km, ending up in Xian, home of the Terracotta Warriors.

Event update:

I just have got back from China after completing the challenge! And it certainly turned out to be quite a challenge over the 7 days cycling. The temperatures were much lower than expected and by day 2 the night time temperature was dropping to - 10 deg C. Day 2 saw heavy rain, snow and sleet all in one day with all us limping into camp as it was getting dark and getting very cold. But we soldered on to tackle some really long climbs on days 4, 5 and 6. I have never climbed hills like this in the UK and each one was a mental battle to get to the top. The longest was 14km long and just went on forever! The most difficult however was a 8km climb on the last day to reach the finish; very steep and winding with the mental anguish of almost being there but not quite. The end was an emotional one for me but we were whisked off for a 4 hour coach journey to see the Terracotta warriors before we had time to pause.

Fund-raising update:

Fund raising has been frantic just before I left for China with some really significant contributions coming in. St Regis Paper donated £100 and I have just received the cheque from the Pampered chef party of over £125. The second raffle at work raised over £160 and was completed only days before I left. Adding to this I received a lot of personal donations from friends and family. I hope I can break through the £4,000 milestone with sponsorship still to collect in the next month. This is a great effort and I would like to thank you all for amazing support!

Thank you for visiting my fund raising page. You can still make a donation up to the end of the year. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Macmillan Cancer Support will receive your money faster and, if you are a taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

Many thanks for your support.

Regards

Andy