March 2014

So far our group of 47 has raised an amazing £189,065  for Marie Curie between us,which will allow provision og 9,500 hours of nursing care to terminally ill patients in their own home. Thanks to all friends who helped us achieve this!

You never know, I might do this again some day...never say never....!

Many thanks to all who have supported me in this amazing challenge which I have now completed.We all have the most amazing memories and feel priviliged to have been able to witness the true cambodian way of life including the horrendous poverty and in contrast, so many happy, smiling faces, children waving and shouting hello - and  the opportunity to learn so much about Cambodian history.

Friday 4th Jan - (last day) day 5  (Siem Reap  68K)- cant believe we have coped this far. 80% of the route is off road with approx 10% tarmac and 10% jungle! We cycled through sand and dodged some of the biggest potholes ever seen. .All four of Team Dundee had a minor tumble with bruises to prove it. 3 of us due to the sand and of course the dreaded potholes.

Final stretch  - a 3k regroup to cycle along the lakeside, with the reflection of the trees in the water and not forgetting the monkeys by the roadside! We concluded our epic cycle with the most amazing  sight of Angkor Wat and a triumphant finish! We did it!! 

Thursday 23rd Jan - day 4 -hills to Kampong Cham) - getting there - a warm up on the banks of the Me Kong River - amazing ! uphill struggle  to a temple  and Monestary for lunch  (spagetti bolognese eaten with chop sticks!)-photos with monks  (one on facebook!)and street kids .Cycle was incredible - past animals and carts , tapioca drying on the road side  - all very 'biblical'' - free massages to our weary shoulders at breaks by our Camdodian bus driver- -and of course the children who made the journey so memorable  .Dont ask about the butt......

Wednesday 22nd January -(to Svay Reing Provence) -  the big day 98k - Breakfast again at 6am - and cambodian coffee is awful! -  cycled along the dry  dusty roads , past shacks  ,hundreds of excited waving children  - shouting 'hello , hello . hello ' - stopped at a school to donate pens  ,stationary and give a donation and play with the kids - all smartly dressed  in navy and white uniforms - the one who went to school that is......On the bikes again  ,past cattle on the road ,women working in the mud ,scooters refuilled with Palm oil  . We then hit the wind - didnt expect  this - thank goodness for that training by the sea - faired better than many here .Spent  latter part of the day with the front runners ,luch was  spent talking to families , many women wanting to touch and hug us .Sore foot , sore back , sore butt - but legs coping amazingly well. -One major casuality - chap had an angina attack and couldnt carry on  - Docs orders .

The evening ws spent at an orphange watching a dance show -  delighted to see such well cared for , happy  children .

Tuesday 21st Jan  - cycle via the most amazing multi religious temple before crossing the border  to Cambodia - scenery changed - houses on stilts to prevent flooding  , horrendous poverty  - past paddy fields ,    .80% population are farmers -  growing rice ,  tapioca , bananas , coconuts   .A bit of off roading today  , every thing ached!  - but met the most amazing families  -mums and babies -  at a rest stop. Cycled at the back with a fellow cyclist , exhausted tonight - a mixture of jet lag , lack of sleep and sore feet and the rest... -couldnt attempt dinner ,

Monday 20th January (- up at 5.30am and on  bus in the rush hour of scooter madness - up to 4  on a bike, including babies -  at 7 am to the Cu Chi Tunnels and an understanding of the Vietnamese resistance movement   .-then a 77k  cycle  ,on a variety of roads ,from inner cities with heavy lorries hooting  side roads - éxcited children running to shout '' hello '', water buffalo by the lake . - to Tay Ninh .Blister on foot , but apart from that  coping  surprisingly well with the hydration and the 10k/hour  pace  that the guides and front runners  were setting.  One  of the 47 wasnt so lucky and went over the handle bars when a scooter ran into her from behind and had to be bussed back - but recovered to carry on.

Sunday19th Jan- arrived in Ho Chi Minh City and begn practising Vietnamese over lunch before bike fitting and an update from ourVietnamese and Cambodian Guides.

Hogmanay

A Very Happy New Year to all who have supported us in our 'all to soon' venture and for all the Good Luck messages  !

New Year Resolution - too late to get fitter for Vietnam  so am giving up  chocolate , which means feeling obliged to devour all I can find in the house before midnight ..Did you know you have to cycle 9.5 miles to work off a chocolate orange?....

Dear Santa - What happened to the antichafing cream?! -gutted - ok the heavy duty padded cycling shorts nearly made up for it...

December update

It's the Saturday before Christmas and  I'm trying to do the usual juggling act of training - yes in the gym, I still don't do cold - and preparing for Christmas clutching my new found idol, Mary Berry's guide to a hassle free christmas (Ha Ha).

I have been touched by friends handing me money for the charity during the festive period, which I have been adding to my just giving page. This has spurred me on to 'keep cycling' for the cause!

I have asked Santa for a pair of padded cycling shorts  - long gone are the days in the summer  when I  worried what I looked like in them - and a ton of antichafing cream. I am sure he must sympathise, sitting on that sleigh for so long in the cold.....

Saturday 7th December: Jenni and I did a very successful  street collection in Broughty Ferry, raising £269.33 and it was FREEZING! We certainly got the sympathy vote. No-one could miss us in our fetching Marie Curie Christmas hats! We were really grateful to 4 Grove Academy pupils who braved the cold to join us  -Kailas playing christmas carols on the violin and Palina, Holly and Hannah playing guitar and singing. We found out the hard way that violins go very quickly out of tune in such cold conditions but managed to retune and soldier on!

November update

The pub quiz on 19th November was a great success. We raised a massive £825. I am so grateful to all friends and family who supported this and to the businesses that donated to the Auction.

Early November 2013: We have found a guru in the gym in the shape of superfit 'Kevin' who has shown us the benefits of high intensity spin cycling  training in short bursts of 10-60sec stints - which has gone a long way to inspiring me to think that I can now fit Christmas in around the training schedule. I am sure will be of relief to the family. At the moment we still feel quite sick doing it  twice weekly, but.... 

It is now dreich November and reality (some might say panic) has  set in, following my attendance an update for our cycle, in London last month. Thanks to a combination of meeting so many 'real cyclists', the promised 6am starts, that Cambodian delicacy of deep fried tarantula as well as a frighteningly fit leader informing us that his recommended preparation would be two sixty mile cycle runs back to back! Then of course there was the recommendation of adding the chamois cream to the shorts for a 'cooling effect ' in the morning and the sudocreme at night.....

Suffice to say we have upped  our game and are spinning in the gym at every oppertunity and as fast as the ol' legs will carry us.

It was a pleasure attending  a Civic Reception for Marie Curie Cancer Care on September 10th  2013 attended by the Lord Provost, nurses and local fundraisers and supporters. Michelle, one of the twenty Dundee nurses, gave a moving talk.  Marie Curie Cancer Care  provides free professional nursing care to the terminally ill at home. For the past 3 years, such care has been extended to all terminally ill patients .The tireless work  of the nurses enables  patients to die with dignity  in their own home surroundings and gives support  and respite to all family members, to help them cope with the physical and emotional demands of giving best care to their loved one.

Everyone should, if they choose, have the right to die at home.

The aim of the organisation is to double nursing provision nationally by 2014.

This is why I am joining 3  friends from the gym, in participating in a challenge of a lifetime, the Marie Curie Cycle from Vietnam to Cambodia. We will be cycling approximately 445km over 5 days in January 2014.

Before I started training, the only cycling I had done outwith the gym was a few kilometres along the beach with my dog running alongside me, the idea being that he got a lot more exercise than I did. Somehow, after my husband's death, I lacked motivation to go out on my bike on my own. This opportunity has given me a much needed focus and I now look forward to cycling along the sea-front first thing in the morning. I'm not yet a fan of hills, rain, wind or padded cycling shorts - although I have to admit to giving in to at least some of the above.... As of mid September I have made  it along the beautiful Angus cycle path to a very windy Arbroath and cycled home with the Smokies to prove it!  As the chilly mornings approach, motivation may be more difficult, so I will be relying on  your support  to keep me going!

Thanks to all who attended my Strawberries n Pink Fizz event which kicked off my own fundraising.

I have been overwhelmed by the support I have received - from friends and colleagues from as far afield as Thurso and Colorado Springs. Thank You all!