Barry Thomas
BARRY THOMAS, London to Paris Bike Ride
Fundraising for COSMIC
Story
Hello, and thank you for visiting my fundraising page.
When she was three years old, Marcie, my youngest daughter, woke up in the middle of the night. She was a little unwell but nothing out of the ordinary; slight temperature, restless, thirsty, and a bit irritable. I suggested we gave her a spoonful of Calpol and put her back to bed (this may explain why I'm a driving instructor and not a doctor) but Vicky sensed that it was something serious so we drove her to Kingston Accident and Emergency. Within an hour Marcie was in Intensive Care, surrounded by doctors and nurses, and later that morning she was transferred by ambulance at around 80mph to St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, desperately ill with bacterial meningitis and literally fighting for her life.
Things did not look good at all. Marcie spent the next ten days in a coma, totally dependent on life-support machines and twenty-four hour nursing, and we spent hour after miserable hour at her bedside with our fingers crossed, watching a cocktail of different drugs being pumped into her little body.
We were very lucky. The incredible care and expertise of the staff at St. Mary's enabled Marcie to make a slow but full recovery and she is now a very healthy nine-year-old chatterbox who spends her time singing and dancing to 'High School Musical' and begging us on a daily basis to buy a dog. She also would like to be 'a nurse who cares for sick children' when she is older.
The support we received from the COSMIC charity during and after Marcie's four weeks in hospital was absolutely priceless, but despite good intentions our efforts at fundraising since then have been quite poor. However, I aim to rectify that in June 2009 when I shall be cycling from London to Paris with more than a hundred other people. Just over 300 miles in 4 days. (Stop laughing, it's true, I really am going to do it. Yes, I'm a little overweight and more than a little unfit, but I have started training and I'm determined. And I've paid my event registration fee of £99 and had the necessary medical checkover, so there's no going back now)
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: COSMIC (Children Of St Mary's Intensive Care) gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
Or if you prefer, you can send a cheque. This should be made payable to COSMIC and posted to me at 389 Hurst Road, West Molesey, Surrey, KT8 1QW.
Anything you can donate will definitely help COSMIC to continue their superb work and I hope too that it will inspire me to keep pedalling all the way to Paris!
Barry Thomas
mobile 07956 801375
email drive@ntlbusiness.com
Update, Oct 2008
Still more than seven months to go but both the training and fundraising are going well. I'm not yet the lean mean cycling machine but I'm trying to get out on my bike three or four times a week and I'm no longer being overtaken by kids on BMX bikes on their way to school. I've lost more than a stone in weight since July and have managed several rides of 30+ miles, and surprisingly felt okay the next day. The ride organisers ask each participant to raise £1250 for their chosen charity and we have reached this very quickly. So I am now wondering if I may be able to double this amount? Is this realistic? I have plenty of people still to contact and pester!
Update, May 2009
Just over two weeks to go and I'm making final preparations. Yesterday (May 17th) I completed my longest ride ever; 75 miles over a hilly route throughout the Surrey countryside in a strange mixture of bright sunshine, high winds and heavy showers. The first day of the ride to Paris is 90 miles from Blackheath to Dover, ferry at 5.15pm and then 5 more miles of cycling to the hotel in Calais. The next day is 75 miles, followed by 70 on day three, and 65 on day four. It's going to hurt and I'm sure I'll be sore, but I think I'm as ready as I will ever be and hopefully it will be good fun.
Today the fundraising total reached the £2500 mark, far higher than I ever dared to hope for, and I have been pledged more by various people if I reach Paris (with an extra bonus from Tom Coughlan if I wear his Team USA cycling jersey!?)
And a quick note from Marcie to say that 'High School Musical is really just for kids' and that she is pleased to announce she is no longer addicted to the DVD!
----------------------------------------------------------------
June 2009,
Well, I did it! After all those months of training and the big build-up and my family wondering if I would ever stop talking about my trip to Paris, I finally set off from Blackheath in London at 6.45am on Weds 3rd June.
Day 1 involved cycling to Dover and catching the ferry to Calais, and then a few more miles by bike to the first overnight stop. Eight of us missed one of the orange route markers after just twenty miles and unfortunately added 6 miles to our journey, as if we didn't have far enough to go, and we ended up cycling a total of 99 miles.
Day 2 was 78 miles from Calais to Abbeville.
Day 3 took us another 68 miles onto Beauvais.
The final day was a leisurely 60 miles into Paris and we were led as a group for the final 4 miles by a police escort to ensure we did not get mixed up with visiting President Obama's route into the capital. As we made our way to the Eiffel Tower we were clapped and welcomed by thousands of noisy French rugby fans lining the streets, prior to their domestic cup final that evening.
Everyone told me I was mad to even attempt the ride but it was an unforgettable experience, cycling in the sunshine through beautiful French countryside with 120 strangers who soon became friends. All the early starts and the lonely Sunday mornings during my training seemed to pay off and it turned out to be a very pleasant but tiring holiday, as opposed to the sore and painful task I had been anticipating. And of course, my trip raised more than £3500 for the COSMIC charity.
So, a huge thank you to everyone that has contributed to the fund. First of all to those listed at the end of the webpage who have made their donation online....
Also to those who have sent cash and cheques:
- Nancy and Charlie Jakubik
- Bramble Viglienghi
- Audrey Loeys
- Loulou Kassamani
- Alma and Jessica Lane
- Melissa Sturgis
- Valerie and Marlaina Rich
- Richard Hodge
- Matt and Phillippa Quasar-Tighe
- Kim Shelley
- Christine Evans
- Alison and Robin Derrick
- Huw and Joy Roberts
- Graham and Marian Marshall
- Ivy and Boyd Shepherd
- Driving Instructors Jeff, Steve and Fox
- Judy Spragg
- The Reddick family
- The Steer family
- Julie and Chuck Lischer
- Charlotte Davies
- Daph and Trev Murdoch
And especially to Jo Nicholson at Chelsea Football Club (and congratulations on passing your driving test!) for all your work in arranging the signed shirt; 'they're like gold dust Barry, but I'll see what I can do!' Jo, you did a great job and the shirt will be auctioned by COSMIC later this year which I'm obviously hoping will add significantly to the total.
The webpage will remain 'live' for a good while yet, so please make a donation if you have not already done so.
You will see that some of the entries below are incredibly generous but don't let this put you off; even a couple of pounds would be very gratefully received!!
When she was three years old, Marcie, my youngest daughter, woke up in the middle of the night. She was a little unwell but nothing out of the ordinary; slight temperature, restless, thirsty, and a bit irritable. I suggested we gave her a spoonful of Calpol and put her back to bed (this may explain why I'm a driving instructor and not a doctor) but Vicky sensed that it was something serious so we drove her to Kingston Accident and Emergency. Within an hour Marcie was in Intensive Care, surrounded by doctors and nurses, and later that morning she was transferred by ambulance at around 80mph to St. Mary's Hospital in Paddington, desperately ill with bacterial meningitis and literally fighting for her life.
Things did not look good at all. Marcie spent the next ten days in a coma, totally dependent on life-support machines and twenty-four hour nursing, and we spent hour after miserable hour at her bedside with our fingers crossed, watching a cocktail of different drugs being pumped into her little body.
We were very lucky. The incredible care and expertise of the staff at St. Mary's enabled Marcie to make a slow but full recovery and she is now a very healthy nine-year-old chatterbox who spends her time singing and dancing to 'High School Musical' and begging us on a daily basis to buy a dog. She also would like to be 'a nurse who cares for sick children' when she is older.
The support we received from the COSMIC charity during and after Marcie's four weeks in hospital was absolutely priceless, but despite good intentions our efforts at fundraising since then have been quite poor. However, I aim to rectify that in June 2009 when I shall be cycling from London to Paris with more than a hundred other people. Just over 300 miles in 4 days. (Stop laughing, it's true, I really am going to do it. Yes, I'm a little overweight and more than a little unfit, but I have started training and I'm determined. And I've paid my event registration fee of £99 and had the necessary medical checkover, so there's no going back now)
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: COSMIC (Children Of St Mary's Intensive Care) gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.
Or if you prefer, you can send a cheque. This should be made payable to COSMIC and posted to me at 389 Hurst Road, West Molesey, Surrey, KT8 1QW.
Anything you can donate will definitely help COSMIC to continue their superb work and I hope too that it will inspire me to keep pedalling all the way to Paris!
Barry Thomas
mobile 07956 801375
email drive@ntlbusiness.com
Update, Oct 2008
Still more than seven months to go but both the training and fundraising are going well. I'm not yet the lean mean cycling machine but I'm trying to get out on my bike three or four times a week and I'm no longer being overtaken by kids on BMX bikes on their way to school. I've lost more than a stone in weight since July and have managed several rides of 30+ miles, and surprisingly felt okay the next day. The ride organisers ask each participant to raise £1250 for their chosen charity and we have reached this very quickly. So I am now wondering if I may be able to double this amount? Is this realistic? I have plenty of people still to contact and pester!
Update, May 2009
Just over two weeks to go and I'm making final preparations. Yesterday (May 17th) I completed my longest ride ever; 75 miles over a hilly route throughout the Surrey countryside in a strange mixture of bright sunshine, high winds and heavy showers. The first day of the ride to Paris is 90 miles from Blackheath to Dover, ferry at 5.15pm and then 5 more miles of cycling to the hotel in Calais. The next day is 75 miles, followed by 70 on day three, and 65 on day four. It's going to hurt and I'm sure I'll be sore, but I think I'm as ready as I will ever be and hopefully it will be good fun.
Today the fundraising total reached the £2500 mark, far higher than I ever dared to hope for, and I have been pledged more by various people if I reach Paris (with an extra bonus from Tom Coughlan if I wear his Team USA cycling jersey!?)
And a quick note from Marcie to say that 'High School Musical is really just for kids' and that she is pleased to announce she is no longer addicted to the DVD!
----------------------------------------------------------------
June 2009,
Well, I did it! After all those months of training and the big build-up and my family wondering if I would ever stop talking about my trip to Paris, I finally set off from Blackheath in London at 6.45am on Weds 3rd June.
Day 1 involved cycling to Dover and catching the ferry to Calais, and then a few more miles by bike to the first overnight stop. Eight of us missed one of the orange route markers after just twenty miles and unfortunately added 6 miles to our journey, as if we didn't have far enough to go, and we ended up cycling a total of 99 miles.
Day 2 was 78 miles from Calais to Abbeville.
Day 3 took us another 68 miles onto Beauvais.
The final day was a leisurely 60 miles into Paris and we were led as a group for the final 4 miles by a police escort to ensure we did not get mixed up with visiting President Obama's route into the capital. As we made our way to the Eiffel Tower we were clapped and welcomed by thousands of noisy French rugby fans lining the streets, prior to their domestic cup final that evening.
Everyone told me I was mad to even attempt the ride but it was an unforgettable experience, cycling in the sunshine through beautiful French countryside with 120 strangers who soon became friends. All the early starts and the lonely Sunday mornings during my training seemed to pay off and it turned out to be a very pleasant but tiring holiday, as opposed to the sore and painful task I had been anticipating. And of course, my trip raised more than £3500 for the COSMIC charity.
So, a huge thank you to everyone that has contributed to the fund. First of all to those listed at the end of the webpage who have made their donation online....
Also to those who have sent cash and cheques:
- Nancy and Charlie Jakubik
- Bramble Viglienghi
- Audrey Loeys
- Loulou Kassamani
- Alma and Jessica Lane
- Melissa Sturgis
- Valerie and Marlaina Rich
- Richard Hodge
- Matt and Phillippa Quasar-Tighe
- Kim Shelley
- Christine Evans
- Alison and Robin Derrick
- Huw and Joy Roberts
- Graham and Marian Marshall
- Ivy and Boyd Shepherd
- Driving Instructors Jeff, Steve and Fox
- Judy Spragg
- The Reddick family
- The Steer family
- Julie and Chuck Lischer
- Charlotte Davies
- Daph and Trev Murdoch
And especially to Jo Nicholson at Chelsea Football Club (and congratulations on passing your driving test!) for all your work in arranging the signed shirt; 'they're like gold dust Barry, but I'll see what I can do!' Jo, you did a great job and the shirt will be auctioned by COSMIC later this year which I'm obviously hoping will add significantly to the total.
The webpage will remain 'live' for a good while yet, so please make a donation if you have not already done so.
You will see that some of the entries below are incredibly generous but don't let this put you off; even a couple of pounds would be very gratefully received!!