Thanks for visiting my fundraising page.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Woodland Trust 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.
So please sponsor me now!
3rd March 2009:
One month to go and training is going well. Everybody is really putting in the miles to prepare themselves for this arduous trip. No-one (as far as we know!) has fallen off or had any punctures just yet! Derek, however, has been skiing for the last 3 weeks so he will have some catching up to do before the event! Fiona has been practising her sandwich making skills and Garry and Ed have been driving round Manchester in transit vans in order to be fully competent at cutting people up and undertaking! All is going well and everyone is getting excited about the challenge ahead and supporting these great charities.
23rd March 2009:
Just over a week to go before the big event and the boys have completed nearly 3000 miles in over 189 hours of training. This is a huge effort by the guys and is great preparation for the challenge ahead. There are a few sore muscles, however, spirits are high as the big day approaches.
Diary from our trip:
Day 1 - London to Peterborough
An early start this morning and a full cooked breakfast for the cyclists to ensure they make it out of London ok. As the riders set off into the rising sun and rush hour traffic, the support crew are left wondering how to get out of the cramped car park! The cyclists make good time out of the city as they can dodge through the cars and buses, however, the same can't be said about the support vehicle which gets stuck in what seems like the world's longest traffic jam. The first stop is Ware, which causes endless hilarity amongst the group. Where is Ware, I hear you cry?!?! As the first to arrive, the support vehicle parks up and we head off to the nearest café for a latte. Just a moment later, the phone rings and the riders want to know where we are. They shot right through the village and are a couple of miles up the road. The support team are now in trouble for slacking and then ensues a weeks' worth of jibes about us not taking our roles seriously! Having to make up for lost time, the crew set off for the lunch stop and after a pretty uneventful afternoon, we all arrive in Peterborough for dinner. 85 miles down, 380 to go!!!!!!
Day 2 - Peterborough to Goole
It's a dismal start this morning, however, the riders keep their chins up and head off for Goole. Today we have our first and only crash of the trip. Just minutes after leaving the support van after the first break, Jon slips on his way across the ford and comes crashing down. Luckily, our resident first aider, Garry is soon on the scene to patch up his wounds. Slightly shaken from the fall but with no serious injury (apart from bruised pride!), they all get back on the bikes and continue along some country roads. The support van heads off in search of some lunch when we receive a call from Jon. His saddle bag fell off when he came down so could we go fetch it. We head back about 10 miles, collect the bag then realise we are short of fuel. Do we risk going on and getting stuck or go back?? We have passed a garage recently, haven't we?? We decide to head back another 5 miles and stumble across a petrol station. We are now 20-25 miles behind the cyclist and they need their lunch. We finally catch up with them sitting in the grounds of a pub drinking lattes. Can't believe they thought we would find that funny!! Its plain sailing for the rest of the afternoon and we arrive at our destination just ahead of the cyclists. Once we arrive in goole its time to try to squeeze four bikes and seven people into the van for the drive to Sheffield where we are staying overnight. Fortunately we have some LEAN experts on hand to ensure everyone is in the van and there is room to spare! Little did I appreciate how competitive these boys really are until dinner time comes round. Its been a long day and everyone is hungry. Derek kicks off the orders by requesting nachos for two for one. This is followed by Jon's shout of 'That's sounds good, I'll have that too!'. This continues with fervour to the bewilderment of the waitress, then Steve orders chicken and chips to start followed by chicken and chips for main. Not wanting to feel outdone, Ed orders two starters and he wasn't even riding! Never before have I witnessed such overwhelming levels of testosterone in one place!!! Day 3 - Goole to Durham Back in the van this morning to drive back to Goole to re-commence the ride. Goole really isn't any better the second time around!! The cyclists set off and we arrange to meet at Helperby. There has been a bit of a gap forming between the cyclists and after 20 minutes Jon and Steve are still missing. We try to call but there is no signal on anybody's phone. Now we are panicking. "They should be here by now, they weren't that far behind us." Suddenly the phone rings and its Jon to report Steve has a puncture and they are about 3 miles away having taken a wrong turning some way back. Fed and watered Derek and Clark head off and the support van goes in search of the lost boys. Five minutes later, we find them, feed them and get the puncture sorted. Unfortunately, Clark and Derek have the map and the sat nav and Jon and Steve have nothing. The rest of the afternoon is spent driving to the next junction, Ed jumping out, directing the cyclists round the corner and heading off to the next one. All goes well until we miss the turn off and lose Steve. The support team are really stressing now!! We have to leave Jon on the right path and go find Steve a couple of miles down the road. Once we get everyone back on track we pick up Jon and Steve at Sedgefield and head to the hotel. Its now 6pm and the strain of the challenge is beginning to tell on the cyclists. A good meal and an early night is definitely on the cards tonight. Day 4 - Durham to Chathill After the strain of yesterday, today is only 65 miles and seems like a walk in the park. The weather is kinder today so that helps keep everyone motivated. Our first stop is the Angel of the North for some great photos. Then we head off to the Tyne Bridge for more pics. There is a change in the landscape today and the route becomes more hilly as we head north. The rest of the day passes without incident and we arrive at Jon's parents' place in good time. Jon and Steve are still feeling a bit behind after having to be driven to Durham so they head off to complete the 7 miles they were short from yesterday. Despite Jon's mum having bought enough pasta to feed a small army, as we are at the seaside (almost) we head to Seahouses for fish and chips by the water. Back at Jon's parents we enjoy relaxing and are all in bed by 10pm. Day 5 - Chathill to Edinburgh Last leg, can't believe its here already. Knowing that there is only 85 miles left to go, everyone is in good spirits and the aches and pain from the previous days were soon forgotten. David from Comms has joined us today and is shocked to see the speed at which the guys have been cycling at over the last four days. Having had a lot of stick over the last few days about not taking our role as support team seriously, Garry, Ed and Fiona all decide a coffee break is well overdue. We find a lovely little tearoom in Coldstream and relish the chance to sit with our feet up for a while. This break is short-lived as the cyclists arrive a few moments later looking for water bottles to be refilled and a handful of chewy bars each. Steve gets the last Jaffa Cake (he also had the first, second, third,…). We arrive in Edinburgh to a hero's welcome from OS&D Edinburgh and it’s a really emotional moment for all of us. We can't believe we've made it and how much money we have made for such worthy causes. There was a great sense of achievement from all the riders and even at the toughest points there was the assurance that they were doing this for the right reasons.
