24-June-2009

WE MADE IT!

Following the five riders setting off on Friday morning, eight more left Exeter at 0410 on Saturday morning.

With good weather and a slight tail wind the two teams were mostly reunited at the halfway point outside of Frome, Somerset, at 0900. Rachel and Gaelle had opted to get ahead of the game and were on the road by 0800.

Stops at the 100-mile and 125-mile marks kept everyone fuelled and happy, and the team of eight rolled into the car park outside Elsevier's Oxford offices by 1600 in the afternoon, less than 12 hours after setting out. They were followed close behind by Rob, Eamonn and Rob, with Rachel and Gaelle arriving just after 1700.

HUGE thanks are due to all the support crew: Alex, Andy, Helen, Kirsty, Marie and Sara who kept everybody provisioned throughout the day and chose some fantastic stops.

And even more thanks to everybody who has sponsored us so far - if you find the justgiving site a little fractious at the moment then please come back as they promise they are working hard to get it working efficiently.

19-June-2009

FIVE RIDERS are on the road already and covered the first 50 miles in under five hours. The remaining eight riders get pedalling at 0400 on Saturday morning.

Full report next week...

17-June-2009

TWO DAYS TO GO...

The riders are ready and on Thursday will be making their way to Exeter ready for the 9.15am start on Friday, when five riders will begin making their way towards Oxford. Waving them off will be Tracy Izod, Fundraising Manager for Farms For City Children.

Eight more riders will set out to catch them at 0400 on Saturday, with the plan of meeting up with the two-day riders outside of Frome by 0900 for breakfast.

PLEASE SPONSOR US - every £1.00 makes the thousands of miles and hundreds of hours of training worthwhile for all of the riders and their support crew. THANK YOU - we all really appreciate it.

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4-June-2009

TWO WEEKS TO GO...

Thirteen riders are now fit and ready to ride. A support team of six with three vehicles are all set to roll.

Huge thanks from all the riders and crew to Healthy Pulses in Sidwell Street, Exeter (www.healthypulses.co.uk) who have once again come through with sponsorship in the form of a bucket of Maximuscle Viper (www.maximuscle.com/viper) to keep us fuelled and hydrated during the ride.

PLEASE SPONSOR US:

THE RIDERS
John Bailey
Eamonn Biegel
Rachel Guest
Andy Healey
Philip Hibberd
David Hopkins
Gaelle Hull
Rob Innes
Matt Lester
Rob Marsh
Neil Mowforth
Nick Pym
George Pym

THE SUPPORT CREW
Sara Doman
Alex Doman
Kirsty Driscoll
Marie Dymond
Helen Long
Andy Padfield

With the two-day ride starting at 0900 on 19 June, and the one-day ride starting at 0400 on 20 June, the Support Team have a huge task ahead of them and the riders could not do it without them. Your sponsorship is just as much for them as it is for the people doing the pedalling. THANK YOU.

20-MAY-2009

ONE MONTH TO GO!

Everybody is pedalling hard to get the miles in the bank in time for the kick-off on June 19. The team is now up to 5 riding for two days, with 8 more aiming to catch them up in a single day on Saturday, June 20.

Thank you for coming this far in the sponsorship process - please, please, please stay a few moments longer and use your credit card to support us. 150 miles is a long way to cycle and there will be pain!

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7-May-2009

Thank you for following the link to this page!

We now have eight riders confirmed for the one-day, 150-mile ride from Exeter to Oxford, and five confirmed for the two-day ride. Other names are on the list and should be confirmed very soon.

With just six weeks still to go we are all out there getting the miles in, so do sponsor us if you can!

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As a result of the 2008 Solstice Cycle we raised £3500 and sent a 40-foot container of school equipment to Sierra Leone.

This year we want to help some children in the UK. To do this we have tied up with Farms For City Children (www.farms4citychildren.co.uk to find out more).

The ride is longer and more challenging, being about 150 miles, going through Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire and Oxfordshire to our destination.

DO YOU WANT TO TAKE PART?

Email Andy on a.healey@elsevier.com to find out more. We are happy to have riders of all ages and abilities join us for the trip - so far we have six riders signed up for the one or two-day trip.

DON'T WANT TO TAKE PART?

Then please sponsor us! The money you give will make all the effort worthwhile.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor us: FARMS FOR CITY CHILDREN 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 us now!

Andy Healey and John Bailey.
pp The Solstice Cycle Team
Elsevier Ltd, Exeter, Devon.