Well - that's that! A great adventure. made all the more enjoyable by the super company and professional and friendly organization. Weather could have been kinder (especially at either end) and we had a major loss when one of our team was carted off to hospital after an accident. However, she is recovering and I hope to be able to help her finish the ride one day. 

 

Thanks to everyone who has already donated..

 

 

 

Updated on Jun 13th 2011 at 2:01 PM from the JustGiving API

Just added a photo of me wearing the Marie Curie jersey. Not sure that yellow goes with my complexion :-)

I'll be setting off from Lands End on June 17th, heading for John o' Groats on June 26th. 1,573km (or just under 1,000 miles in old money) in 10 days. 

www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-gb/events/overseas-charity-challenge/Lands-End-John-OGroats-June-2011---8581/

Those who know me, or even know of me, will be aware that I lost both my parents within the last 18 months. Both went to cancer and both were taken care of, at the end, by the Marie Curie Hospice in Edinburgh. 

There is no doubt that I have found it hard to cope, but I know that the care and compassion they both received was without equal anywhere. 

Doing this challenge for Marie Curie will be a chance for me to give something back and will also, hopefully, be a time for reflection for me. 

You can help make sure that others also receive this excellent care by contributing, however little, via this page. 

I've started off by pledging the whole of the minimum sponsorship myself. This means that anything you give goes straight to Marie Curie and isn't paying for me to have fun/sleep in a dorm full of sweaty, snoring cyclists. 

I'll be adding more stuff here as I get nearer the ride and will hopefully add a few photos and tales as we go.

 

 

To help me raise even more money, five of my friends who like a 'challenge' have teamed up to ride 31 laps of Arthur's seat on Saturday 11 June. This is 164km/102 miles and 2,790m/9,150ft ascent in total. But it isn't the distance that will make this ride a challenge - the main challenge will be switching off mentally to ride round this loop 31 times. 

Anyone who would like to join us to ride as many or little laps as they like will be welcome to join us, or even just come along to cheer us on/provide some support from the side of the road. We are kicking off at 10am, and plan to ride 4 laps per hour so we will be out until at least 6pm! 

The six of us are:
Claire, Andy and Sandy (all members of Hervelo cycling club) along with Matt and Dave, who are coming up from England to ride with us - and, of course, me.