Hello there, as some of you are aware i set of off on June 7th to cycle Europe,which is almost exactly 2 years on from Gav leaving us. It has been a sad time for many and a very hard time also. I know i speak for so many people in that i miss him everyday and think about him all the time and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.I love him like a brother as do all of the people whose lives he has touched which is many. My intention with this page and the trip itself is to raise awareness of a charity which does some great work supporting the familys of people bereaved by suicide,which is paticularly difficult to come to terms with for many. Im typing this page from an internet cafe in Switzerland,i set off from Newcastle and have cycled across Holland,Belgium,Germany,Luxembourg,France and now Switzerland.
The km count as it stands is 1237km. As part of the trip i shall be crossing the Alps into Italy,riding to Mont Ventoux known as The Giant of Provence and summiting that, as well as the Col de Tourmalet in the Pyrenees the day before the Tour de France passes through. I will finish the trip by cycling into Spain and riding to Santiago de compostela which is sacred to St James,which im sure many of you have heard of! The trip is somewhat of a Geordie Pilgrimage,we went to a few matches with Gav and always had a right laugh.Good times. After this i will catch the ferry from Santander to Portsmouth and ride the last 150 miles to the Big Chill festival where im really looking forward to seeing a lot of friends and having my first beer for 2 months!
UPDATE
I'm now in France,Mont Dauphin to be exact having a rest day aftercrossing the Alp's twice. North to South from Switzerland to Italy and then West to East from Italy into France. I've been to to many places to mention,but here's some: Lake Como,Biella,Casanova,Pinarolo,Briancon.
The plan is now to rest today (06/07) and then attempt to summit the Col d'Izoard either tomorrow or the day after depending on my legs.After this it's on to the Ventoux, the Tourmalet and then to Spain.
The KM count as it stands is 2347km. Thanks so much to all who have donated,it means a lot to me and hopefully will to many other people in the near future.
My hope is to use the money raised to set up a support group for people bereaved by Suicide, i will volunteer my time to do this. I know this is a much needed service through my own experience,there simply wasnt the provision available. i was lucky enough to recieve one to one counselling but feel that speaking to others who were going through similar challenges would have benefitted me greatly.
Thanks for taking the time to look at the page,any donation is massively appreciated no matter what size.
Much love and big up the Blakey,always.
