Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. (Last Updated 20/04/2009)

Daily reports of the ride will be (hopefully) posted to my blog at:

                     http://handc-ctc.tripod.com/Anton/

A couple of years ago I started cycling on medical grounds (its a great way for a middle aged bloke to keep the weight down), and I got the cycling bug. I managed to do a couple of 4 day charity rides in 2007, but failed to do anything in 2008. The thought of doing the ultimate UK End to End always appealed to me and therefore I decided 2009 would be the year I achieved this goal.

Having no experience of cycle touring I decided that I would join an organised event (maybe in the future I can do the ride unassisted - we'll see), and therefore signed up for one of Discover Adventure's Open Challenges.

The actual ride, according to Discover Adventure itinerary, will be:

05/05/09 Lands End to Liskeard         - 83  miles
06/05/09 Liskeard to Sampford Peverell - 84  miles
07/05/09 Sampford Peverall to Tintern  - 98  miles
08/05/09 Tintern to Shrewsbury         - 90  miles
09/05/09 Shrewsbury to Preston         - 86  miles
10/05/09 Preston to Carlise            - 100 miles
11/05/09 Carlise to Kilmarnock         - 95  miles
12/05/09 Kilmarknock to Inverary       - 90  miles
13/05/09 Inverary to Lock Lochy        - 97  miles
14/05/09 Lock Lochy to Bonar Bridge    - 83  miles
15/05/09 Bonar Bridge to Bettyhill     - 62  miles
16/05/09 Bettyhill to John O'Groats    - 62  miles
 
The journey will certainly be a challenge.

I always intended to cover the cost of this challenge myself, but the first thing eveyone asked, who I told what I was planning, was "Are you doing it for charity?" or "Who are you raising money for?"

This was a good idea. I needed a charity, but there are so many deserving causes. In the end I decided that any money I raised would go directly to The National Autistic Society (NAS) who “champion the rights and interest of all people with autism and aim to provide individuals with autism and their families with help, support and services that they can access, trust and rely upon and which make a positive difference to their lives.”

To remove the need for sponsorship forms, and having to handle any money raised directly, another friend suggested I set up a Justgiving webpage. This is it - I hope you like my attempt with the route map? Too green?

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: National Autistic Society 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. Remember that all donations go to directly support the work of NAS, since I am funding the actual ride myself.

Expenses:

Registration Fee  £299.00 - PAID
Train to Penzance   £30.50 - PAID
B&B before start          £40.00 - PAID
Train from Inverness   £74.50 - PAID
Cost of Trip  £1100.00 - PAID

Please sponsor me in my attempt to cycle Lands End to John O'Groats.

Training Diary

To improve my fitness my weekly training plan is:

Monday    pm  - Spinning
Tuesday   pm  - Spinning
Wednesday pm  - Spinning
Saturday      - Long cycle ride or Audax Ride
Sunday        - Shorter cycle ride with Horsham and Crawley Section of CTC.

Completed Rides:

31-Aug 08 Foresters Arms, Fairwarp        75 miles - Hilly and Wet
06-Sep 08                                 79 miles - Hilly, wet and windy
07-Sep 08 Recovery Ride                   29 miles
14-Sep 08 Southern Sportive, Petersfield  98 miles
21-Sep 08 Brighton                        62 miles
26-Sep 08                                 82 miles
28-Sep 08                                 60 miles
05-Oct 08 Newpound Common                 55 miles - Very Wet
12-Oct 08 Bramley Sunday Sportive         48 miles
18-Oct 08 Audax Mid Sussex Hilly          69 miles
02-Nov 08 Vintage Car Rally               36 miles
09-Nov 08 Tilburstow Hill                 57 miles - Windy
16-Nov 08 Ardingly                        21 miles
29-Nov 08                                 25 miles - Very Wet
30-Nov 08                                 59 miles - Very Wet
05-Dec 08                                 72 miles
07-Dec 08 Tulleys Farm, Turners Hill      34 miles
19-Dec 08                                 69 miles
21-Dec 08                                 58 miles
28-Dec 08 Plummers Plain                  21 miles - Icy, Knocked Out, A&E
04-Jan 09 Reigate                         65 miles - Icy and Cold, but no Accident
11-Jan 09 Tismans Common                  60 miles
17-Jan 09 Audax Hills and Mills,Hailsham  63 miles - Good ride, but very hard
18-Jan 09                                 40 miles - Good recovery ride
25-Jan 09 West Grinstead                  30 miles - Wet 
31-Jan 09 Newbridge (Planning Ride)     38 miles
01-Feb 09 Newbridge                       38 miles - Wet, Windy & Cold
07-Feb 09 Audax The 1066,Hailsham         66 miles - Nice route
08-Feb 09                                 30 miles
14-Feb 09 Audax Worthing Winter Warmer    63 miles - Good ride
15-Feb 09 Ifield                          60 miles - Got lost!
21-Feb 09 Audax Mad Jack Fuller's         75 miles - V.Hard & Hilly
22-Feb 09 Leigh                           35 miles - Recovery
27-Feb 09 Easy Ride                       42 miles - Easy
28-Feb 09 Audax The Kennett Valley 100    62 miles - Fast
01-Mar 09 Amberley & Guildford            75 miles - Felt good, but dent in rear wheel!
07-Mar 09 Pulborough                      71 miles
08-Mar 09 Audax The Upper Tea 200         130 miles - Very Windy

Got lots of miles in this weekend. Saturday I joined my CTC section on its way to Bognor, leaving them after the tea break at Pulborough. Sunday, I managed to complete my first Audax 200km. Strong head winds at the start, followed by heavy showers. The final 30km involved cycling along some narrow East Sussex county lanes in the dark. Not the most enjoyable experience when you have poor front lighting!

14-Mar 09 Easy Ride                       33 miles - Very easy
15-Mar 09 Audax Invicta SR Series 200K    127 miles - Good weather

Saturday was very easy riding with a group from my local gym who are intending doing the BHF London to Brighton. Sunday I completed my second Audax 200km. No strong headwinds and finished still in daylight. Very enjoyable day's cycling. Next week I am hoping to comlpete two long rides on consecutive days.

20-Mar 09 Easy Ride                       44 miles - Nice and easy
22-Mar 09 CTC Morning Ride                60 miles - Nice and easy

Slight change of plans this weekend. Decided to only do a couple of easy ride.

29-Mar 09 Audax Man of Kent 200           130 miles - Nice ride, pity about the tummy bug!
04-Apr 09 CTC Sloop Inn     35 miles - Nice and Easy
12-Apr 09 CTC Arbinger Hammer             30 miles - Nice and Easy
18-Apr 09 Audax Hailsham (Venta) 300      192 miles

The longest cycle ride I've ever done. 16 hours of cycling to cover a total of 192 miles. Totally shattered at the end due to the distance, hills and headwind. Well before the end of this ride I was seriously questioning the wisdom of doing it. At least I finished - just.

That's the training now over. I plan to take things easy the next couple of weeks. No rides over 35 miles until the start of the End to End.

Daily reports of the ride will be (hopefully) posted to my blog at:

                     http://handc-ctc.tripod.com/Anton/