****ITS DONE. IT TOOK 50 HOURS OF CYCLING*** ASK FOR DETAILS,  ROUTE ECT

 

Hey guys,

this September I am doing a fundraiser event  for the CF Holiday Fund, based in London .

The CF Holiday Fund supports and contributes towards the costs of fulfilling a dream for kids and youngsters suffering from CF. This charity provides an opportunity for CF sufferers and their families to have something positive to look forward to with a change of routines and surroundings,

whether it’s an evening out with friends or a holiday with their family.

Find out more about their work on http://www.cf-holidayfund.org.uk/

What is CF???????

CF or Cystic fibrosis is a common disease which can affect anyone. The disease affects the entire body, causing progressive disability and often early death. CF  is an inherited disease of your secretory glands, including the glands that make mucus and sweat.

is one of the UK's most common life-threatening inherited diseases.

Cystic Fibrosis affects the internal organs, especially the lungs and digestive system, by clogging them with thick sticky mucus. This makes it hard to breathe and digest food. It is a very serious illness and people suffering from it have a low life expectancy.

Life expectancy for people with CF depends largely upon access to health care. In 1959, the median age of survival of children with cystic fibrosis was six months. In the United States, the life expectancy for infants born in 2008 with CF is 37.4 years.

Not so long ago few people survived into adulthood.

There is still no cure…

Find out more on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cystic_fibrosis.

Who is affected???

It affects over 8,500 people in the UK.

The math is that people that carry the faulty gene that causes Cystic Fibrosis - is around 1 in 25 of the population.

Its an inherited disease, meaning that the disease is passed through the genes from parents to children.

From the moment the disease is diagnosed the shadow of CF dominates the lives of sufferers and their families alike.

Sufferers must endure the daily routine of taking medication and intensive physiotherapy, the long periods of time spent in hospital fighting dangerous infections and the lifelong threat posed by CF.

 

The Challenge

Why??

I found out recently that I have someone suffering from CF within the family.

This illness was as good as unknown to me first off. When I read about it online and contacted a local charity helping youngsters suffering from CF to fulfil the dream of a holiday break I thought about raising some funds to help them out to continue doing their great work, helping those affected.

Norman Brodie, charity's director of the CF Holiday Fund in London helped and explained their processes and work they do and it’s a cause which is worth supporting every mile of the journey.

Where?

For the likes of you who enjoy a stroll along the Thames on a Sunday afternoon this wouldn’t sound fun and for those having ridden a bike last in the days they went to school – a nightmare.

The journey starts in Sunbury on Thames, South West London, straight into Windsor, Berkshire and from there towards Reading.

In Reading, the route moves north West towards Oxfordshire, missing  the city of Oxford by a few miles in going through Wallingford, headed for Witney.

In Witney all headlights are directed towards Eversham which will see me into Worcester 16 miles later. If everything goes after plan I will be having breakfast there, having cycled for about 17 hours straight through the night.

Once passed Worcester and all that gibberish I am all good.

Now, well into the morning of the 2^nd day on the road, green lights for Shrewsbury (via Stourport on Severn and Bridgnorth).

Shrewsbury is somewhat of the first major milestone. Its closer to Wales than it is to home and once crossing the city walls of Wrexham, Holyhead does not seem that far anymore.

So the route goes on via Mold, St Asaph and Llandudno Junction before hitting Bangor. The plan is to have a late dinner in Bangor and get all the energy which is left to make the final step of the first part of the journey on to the island of Anglesey to reach Holyhead on Holy Island

For all those thinking this is it. Its not... 

A ferry will leave Holyhead in the dark morning hours of September 4^th for Dublin.

Having caught up on some sort of sleep, its time again to pack up, get into the cycle gear and back on the road. A few rounds around the sights of Dublin will be a refreshing start before hitting the country along the Irish east coast.

Here it goes through Drogheda and Dundalk before crossing the border to Northern Ireland at Dromad.

Once into the City of Newry I will be speeding it into Belfast via Ballynahinch to get a drink at happy hour and cheer myself with a drink or 2 to overcome potential sattle sores at this stage. Roughly around the very early morning hours of Sunday, September 5^th I will arrive at the port of Larne

The ferry from Larne to Troon (Scotland) leaves at 7:50am on Sunday, getting to the mainland of Scotland at around 10am. Having spend some time by the beach, its time for the 3^rd and final leg of this tour, from Troon to Glasgow via Kilmarnock.

In Glasgow a Virgin Train will wait for to leave Scotland at around 6pm for London. On this note, thank you Virgin for giving me a First Class ticket and my bike for under 35 GBP :P

Who???

ME

Can I get some Facts???

5 countries  - England, Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland

72 hours      - from turning the first pedal round to the departure of Virgins service to  London from Glasgow,

6 hours        - max. time of sleep

631km        -  km covered

What Gear???

Cube Aim 2009

modified to reach speed up to 44km/h flat out (im a chicken downhill lol)

The bike is equipped with 2 Air horn, handle bar extension, indicators and blue lights for maximum protection and visibility on the road, day and night.

I will carry a backpack on me with a max weight of 4kgs where I store the bare minimum essentials such as protein powder and other snacks, jacket and jerseys and about 5 pair of socks (since I ll be wearing them through like crazy)

Now, planning this trip has taken several weeks. Training wasn’t optional with covering around 200 miles a week with the bike already anyway on the weekly commute to and from work. But, how do you prepare for 630km??

Eat.

A lot.

For all those who have seen me doing London to Edinburgh in 2008, losing a stone or 7kgs on the journey, were hard on the body although regaining the weight wasn’t to hard hehe 

According to some website I will use up as much as  19.635 calories.

I hope I will have a Blackberry with me on which you can track me every mile of the journey, watch my progress and if Im on target.

I will hand out the pin to those interested in following me en route to Glasgow.

Thank you for helping me to raise funds for the CF Holiday Fund

I really appreciate it and every donation no matter how small or big.

Remember – every donation will make a difference!!!!!!

Thank You!!