The bad news.

  

Half way through the challenge the organisers informed us that the 320kms mileage was actually only an estimation. The true distance would be 360kms. GREAT!!

  

The good news.

  

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!

  

Day 1

  

We started from Bexley at 7.15 and all went well especially as the sun was not long in showing its face. We made our way past Gravesend through Strood before encountering some sharp hills after the river Medway, especially leading up to Boxley. A jolt to the system but nothing that we could not take in our stride. After following the Pilgrim's Way we stopped for lunch at Wye, but the session after this break was actually quite brutal with some very long hard uphill climbs that everybody struggled with. By the time we reached the heights above the coast the wind had picked up considerably and we were in danger of missing the time scheduled for the ferry departure. One more steep hill had to be dealt with before the long drop into Dover which we finally made at about 6:30pm. With a minute to spare we managed to catch the ferry and at the other side had to cycle about 4 Kms to the hotel. 79 miles in all and a very, very hard day.

  

Day 2

  

This was the leg riding to Bruges and we started out from the hotel in Calais at a little after 8:00 am. With a generally flat terrain we were looking forward to what should have been an easier day. The weather initially appeared good and the sun was shining again. After leaving Calais, riding past Dunkirk, it soon became apparent that it was not going to be as easy as we had hoped. We quickly started to encounter a very strong headwind that we were to battle with for more than 60 miles. As our journey took us into Belgium it felt like we were riding constantly uphill. The wind slowed us down considerably and we finally arrived in Bruges well after 7:00 pm. Another very hard day and a total of 75 miles.

  

Day 3

  

From a cycling perspective this was by far the best day. We left Bruges at about 8:15 and as the wind had dropped, and (initially) the terrain was flat, we made some really good progress. It was rather cold, even after the sun came out, but the only real drama came from a mad Belgian who decided that to prove a point it would be fun to drive us off a near deserted country road onto a very bumpy cycle path. Every town we passed through seemed to be shut, but we did manage to find one cafe and obtain a welcoming hot chocolate. What should have been the shortest day wasn't and as we neared Brussels we encountered more hills (although nothing as bad as the first day). The finish line was by the side of the Heysel Football Stadium and the locals must have been so impressed with our feat that they had laid on a European Championship international qualifier between Belgium and Austria in our honour. There were therefore thousands of football supporters around to see us all complete the task. The final day had proved to be 78 miles in total.

  

All in all it was a very arduous but enjoyable challenge and apart from a sore rear end I felt very happy and proud to have accomplished it. If somebody had told me at the beginning of this year that I would cycle 232 miles in 3 days, I would have laughed at them.

  

I must thank everybody who has given me and the The Oliver Fisher Baby Care Trust their support, all of you sponsors, but particularly my family who followed us on the first day all the way to Dover giving moral support especially when the going got particularly hard.

  

My website will remain open for some weeks if anybody would still like to make a donation.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I have rather foolishly agreed to participate in a charity event that involves riding a bike from London to Brussels! The event will start on 10th October 2010 and will take me on a three day 320km journey from London to Brussels via Bruges.  

Why would a relatively sane man, who had not actually sat on a bike for at least 12 years, agree to undertake such a task? The reason actually dates back nearly eighteen years.

 On the 20^th November 1992 my youngest son Thomas was born. As proud parents bursting with pride and joy, my wife Helen and I were set to celebrate with our family. However within a few hours our joy had turned to despair and we entered the beginnings of what became a nightmare.

 Thomas had been born with a problem known as ‘’sticky lungs’’ where the walls of the lungs quite literally stick together. Clearly this was not the best of conditions for a very young baby and within hours he was fighting for his life. Although he was full term and not premature, he was removed from Helen’s side and taken to what was then called the ‘’Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Unit’’ and placed in intensive care on a ventilator (as can be seen in the picture).

 Luckily Thomas was in the hands of what has become one of the best Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the country. With the help and support of the unit’s skilled and dedicated staff, Thomas was able to make a full recovery and is now a strapping 17 year old, sport loving teenager. This November he will celebrate his 18^th birthday. You can see Thomas as he is today (with me)  in the photos.

 We have never been able to adequately thank the staff of the unit for what they did in saving Thomas’ life, but now I have the opportunity to make a small gesture of appreciation in return for the tremendous care that he received. I have therefore agreed to take part in this challenge specifically to raise money for what, to Helen and I, is a very special charity.

 The Oliver Fisher Special Care Baby Trust was a charity established in 1985 with the specific aim of supporting the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Intensive Care Unit now located in the Medway Maritime Hospital.

Since its inception the Trust has raised over a million pounds which have been used to purchase essential equipment such as ventilators, incubators, blood gas and ultrasound machines as well as new computer based cot side terminals with patient monitoring systems. This equipment is used on a daily basis by the unit and helps them to continue to provide life saving care. I would therefore be very appreciative if you would agree to sponsor my challenge. In so doing you will be instrumental in supporting a team of wonderful professionals enabling them to have the facilities to save the lives of new babies, just as they did for my family. Every penny raised will prove to be of great help to the trust, and I would ask you to give anything you can for this very worthy cause.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.