You can read a full acount of our ride round the UK in aid of Beating Bowel Cancer here:
http://server4c.pressmart.net/OutAndAbout/index.aspx?issue=issue23&page=33
We will be totting up the money for the final total this weekend.
The Big British - and Irish - Ride
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Read all about it
You can read a full account of our ride in the November edition of Out and About, free with tomorrow's Newbury Weekly News. It will also be available online at http://www.newburynews.co.uk/
Just follow the link for Out and About.
Just follow the link for Out and About.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Announcement on Screening programme
Good news - David Cameron has announced major screening programme for bowel cancer.
See here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11461495
And here: http://www.beatingbowelcancer.org/Content/456/Beating-Bowel-Cancer-News
See here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11461495
And here: http://www.beatingbowelcancer.org/Content/456/Beating-Bowel-Cancer-News
Thursday, September 30, 2010
We're not done yet
We'd hoped to be able to post some video of our glorious departure (or us riding off through an industrial estate, depending on your point of view), but thus far the technical gremlins have defeated us.
What we can show you, though, is a cutting from the Newbury Weekly News from the week after we got back - I was going to put it up earlier but forgot.
You can also read a full acount of the trip in the November edition of Out & About, free with the Newbury Weekly News on October 21.
We are very grateful to the people who have donated since the last update - Robert Lester, Richard Deal, Lin Wilkinson and Malcolm Howe. The current total stands at £2,923 with Gift Aid, so we're confident of hitting £3,000 before we wrap up on October 10.
What we can show you, though, is a cutting from the Newbury Weekly News from the week after we got back - I was going to put it up earlier but forgot.
We are very grateful to the people who have donated since the last update - Robert Lester, Richard Deal, Lin Wilkinson and Malcolm Howe. The current total stands at £2,923 with Gift Aid, so we're confident of hitting £3,000 before we wrap up on October 10.
Friday, September 17, 2010
New picture slideshow
Here's a slideshow of pictures from the trip - enjoy!
The money is still coming, and that's down to people's generosity - big thanks to out latest donors, Martin and Louise, Robin Palmer, Mrs McAuley, Mark Taylor, Wendy Hubbard, and Freda Fleischer.
The money is still coming, and that's down to people's generosity - big thanks to out latest donors, Martin and Louise, Robin Palmer, Mrs McAuley, Mark Taylor, Wendy Hubbard, and Freda Fleischer.
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Day After..
Richard: The day after, and a chance to reflect on the previous day's ride, which was, frankly, awful. When some grinning idiot of a TV weatherman says it's going to be "breezy" today, what they mean is that somewhere, someone is going to be wrestling for 260 miles trying to keep 260kg of motorcycle plus passenger and luggage in a straight line. Amazingly, while we hugged the hard shoulder and tucked ourselves in behind slower vehicles, blokes on BMW R1200 GSs were blatting past in the outside lane - how to they do it? Is speed the answer? Someone please tell me.
Oh, and my helmet decided to fall apart at Keele services - the flip front hinge became unscrewed, so I had to swap with Clare so that I could get my glasses on.
By the time we reached the outskirts of London, rush hour traffic was preferable to the wind, and the welcome we were given by the good folk of Beating Bowel Cancer made it all worthwhile. By eight o'clock we were at home with fish and chips, Lidl champagne and University Challenge. We know how to live.
Today, the pain in my arms and shoulders is testament to how much I had to wrestle with the bike yesterday, while the stiffness in my left ankle is just Hank (as I call him) reminding me what bikes can do to the human body.
And still the money comes in: many thanks to our latest sponsors - Sam Tesch, Tricia, Nick H, and Liz and Richard Pugh (and the team at Lyndon Design).
Still to come over the next few days - the winner of our 'estimate the fuel' competition, a full gallery of pics, possibly some video of the departure, and of course the final total raised. So keep logging on.
Clare: Very, very nice not to have to sit on anything with two wheels today, though I can still hear, and feel, the humm of the engine. Yes, by the end, I was seriously becoming 'Half Woman, Half Bike'.... Have to say the last four days have proved a real experience. I feel really lucky to have taken part in it and to have helped raise money at the same time. Lucky to have seen the changing landscape, to have heard the changes of accent along the way and to have met some great people. So many of us have got a connection with cancer and been affected by it. Even our landlady in Stranraer, shared the fact that she had recovered from breast cancer and, along with other local ladies, had organised a fundraising Ladies and Tractors Day, when they decked out their tractors with pink ribbons. How brilliant is that!
On a less serious note, my leaning skills as a pillion have definitely improved (well, I think they have!!). I have also learnt that it is possible to be 99% asleep and not fall off the back and that in moments of extreme terror, such as on really windy motorways, I have a tendency to squeak. I think R must have thought he had a demented gerbil behind him - not a becoming feature! I think I may even have swallowed the mouthpiece from the intercom as it seems to have disappeared... I also learned that it's best not to over wave out of enthusiasm when you see other riders otherwise you could be taken for a fluorescent windmill!
Thank you everyone once again for all your support in memory of Kath and for raising funds for Beating Bowel Cancer. I'll leave you with a couple of pics....
Oh, and my helmet decided to fall apart at Keele services - the flip front hinge became unscrewed, so I had to swap with Clare so that I could get my glasses on.
By the time we reached the outskirts of London, rush hour traffic was preferable to the wind, and the welcome we were given by the good folk of Beating Bowel Cancer made it all worthwhile. By eight o'clock we were at home with fish and chips, Lidl champagne and University Challenge. We know how to live.
Today, the pain in my arms and shoulders is testament to how much I had to wrestle with the bike yesterday, while the stiffness in my left ankle is just Hank (as I call him) reminding me what bikes can do to the human body.
And still the money comes in: many thanks to our latest sponsors - Sam Tesch, Tricia, Nick H, and Liz and Richard Pugh (and the team at Lyndon Design).
Still to come over the next few days - the winner of our 'estimate the fuel' competition, a full gallery of pics, possibly some video of the departure, and of course the final total raised. So keep logging on.
Clare: Very, very nice not to have to sit on anything with two wheels today, though I can still hear, and feel, the humm of the engine. Yes, by the end, I was seriously becoming 'Half Woman, Half Bike'.... Have to say the last four days have proved a real experience. I feel really lucky to have taken part in it and to have helped raise money at the same time. Lucky to have seen the changing landscape, to have heard the changes of accent along the way and to have met some great people. So many of us have got a connection with cancer and been affected by it. Even our landlady in Stranraer, shared the fact that she had recovered from breast cancer and, along with other local ladies, had organised a fundraising Ladies and Tractors Day, when they decked out their tractors with pink ribbons. How brilliant is that!
On a less serious note, my leaning skills as a pillion have definitely improved (well, I think they have!!). I have also learnt that it is possible to be 99% asleep and not fall off the back and that in moments of extreme terror, such as on really windy motorways, I have a tendency to squeak. I think R must have thought he had a demented gerbil behind him - not a becoming feature! I think I may even have swallowed the mouthpiece from the intercom as it seems to have disappeared... I also learned that it's best not to over wave out of enthusiasm when you see other riders otherwise you could be taken for a fluorescent windmill!
Thank you everyone once again for all your support in memory of Kath and for raising funds for Beating Bowel Cancer. I'll leave you with a couple of pics....
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| Base layers - you're not dressed without them |
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| Beating Bowel Cancer loaned us this banner to prove that we've done it! |
Monday, September 13, 2010
We've done it!
It/s 4.35pm and we're sitting on the offices of Beating Bowel Cancer, being fed tea and chocolate biscuits - thanks for that warm welcome.
It's not been an easy day's ride, down a windy M6, so the welcome we've had here has been fantastic!
Here's a pic of the moment we arrived in Teddington, 1,000 miles later. A more detailed account will follow later.
In the meantime, thank you again to everyone who sponsored us - it means the world to us, and to Beating Bowel Cancer.
Mother would have approved!
Just a quick note to say .. it's so nice to be out of that wind! R told me last night that Kath would go on the back of Russell (R's Dad's) motorbike in her younger years, but would only climb onto the saddle the day before she was due to go to the hairdressers. Kath was always immaculate, and Helmet Hair would never have been an option! I have a feeling she would take one quick look at my windswept nest today (post M6), smile, then wrinkle her nose in that way she had and say... 'Oh dear'.. Clare .
It's not been an easy day's ride, down a windy M6, so the welcome we've had here has been fantastic!
Here's a pic of the moment we arrived in Teddington, 1,000 miles later. A more detailed account will follow later.
In the meantime, thank you again to everyone who sponsored us - it means the world to us, and to Beating Bowel Cancer.
Mother would have approved!
Just a quick note to say .. it's so nice to be out of that wind! R told me last night that Kath would go on the back of Russell (R's Dad's) motorbike in her younger years, but would only climb onto the saddle the day before she was due to go to the hairdressers. Kath was always immaculate, and Helmet Hair would never have been an option! I have a feeling she would take one quick look at my windswept nest today (post M6), smile, then wrinkle her nose in that way she had and say... 'Oh dear'.. Clare .
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