Thank you for visiting my fundraising page. Ok this is me at my 40th birthday bash a couple of years ago. Since then I decided I was going to make a few changes to my life which meant coming out of the lab and out of my comfort zone. I wanted to travel the world experience different cultures and try new things. I consider it a privilege to be able to visit such places of outstanding natural beauty  (and to still be able to ride a bike!) so I decided this time I would sacrifice my creature comforts and help raise funds for such a vital and worthwhile cause it is also my way of "giving back".This is by no means going to be an easy challenge but it is nothing compared to the challenges that are forced on some families when a relative is diagnosed with cancer.  This is where Macmillan cancer support come in. I hope I never have to call upon their services but I know that if I did they would be there for me and my family.  The preparation for this challenge requires months of commitment in terms of training and of course diet !!(Anyone who knows me well knows how important food is to me so this alone is going to be a serious challenge to me!!) I also hope to be able to converse "en Castellano" (Spanish to you and me) after months of Spanish lessons. So I am asking you all to dig deep and sponsor me online. Every single donation  counts no matter how big or small. My training is now underway, very soon chunal will be a small and distant memory!

So hasta pronto mi amigos!!

x Tracy

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Macmillan Cancer Relief will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

So please sponsor me now!

Many thanks for your support.

Training update!!

Ok so far so good!! As some of you already know this included the Manchester to Blackpool ride which was a pleasure to do this time round with great weather. These are some of the runs I have been doing lately so if you see me about give me a wave.

1) Glossop-Chunal-Thornsett-Mellor-Marple and back via the canal to New Mills-Sett Valley trail to Hayfield and of course Chunal!

2) Glossop-Snake Pass- Derwent reservoir (the big one!) and back over the snake.

3) Glossop-Longdendale trail-Woodhead pass-Dunford bridge-end of trail and back to Dunford bridge

4) Glossop-Snake pass-Bamford-Castleton and yes WINNETTS PASS!! (although I had to walk from half way -tooooo steep at the moment but I WILL conquer it all before I go to Peru!!)

So that's it so far, look out for me and if you have any other suggested routes please let me know either on this web page or my email on tracy@gcr.uk.net if you saw me at all please mention it (I need lots of encouragement and support it's quite lonely out there!!)

Fundraising update

Ok we had a brilliant day today thanks to teamwork. We had a cake sale which started off at a car boot sale but then the heavens opened and everyone went home : (  However Ros ( my middle daughter) had a great idea! Since she was going to church she asked if she could sell some there. So she did, along with her friend Sonia who went to another church. Wow!! They did absolutely brilliantly. They sold every single one of them and got more sponsors and what's more  they want some more next week!! :D  So a HUGE HUGE thankyou to Mike Rosalind and Sonia for helping me while I was sleeping (I was on a night shift!) and a massive thank you to all those who bought the cakes and sponsored me. Also thank you to Beccy for filling the smarties tube. Thank you !

I have had some success with the cake sales Thanks to Erin at Stockportsports trust for letting me loose on the Cheadle site. We raised £129.52 in the 2 days hope everyone enjoyed them as much as we enjoyed making them. Unfortunately at Dinting car boot sale the rain made a dramatic entrance so we had to throw the soggy meringues and fairy cakes that were left but, nevertheless we raised £32.00 before the rain came. Thanks to Mike and Roz again for their dedication and patience. Lets hope the sun shines next weekend!

Last night was the first of our 2 quiz nights at the Ring OBells in Marple. It was a huge success thanks to Pete and Sue and everyone on the night. We raised a whopping £130 which is brilliant! On top of this a few people sponsored me and bought raffle tickets which came to an extra £48.00 totalling £178.00. Hope to see you all again next week 9pm Weds 30th same place!  

Okay we had a scone sale at work yesterday and today. Thanks to everyone who bought my cakes. Together we raised £60.20.

Last night was our second and final quiz night at the Ringers. A huge thank you to Sue and Pete and all the bar staff and of course to all those who turned up on the night. It was a record night with 29 teams competing and you all helped raise a massive £142.00 so altogether over the two nights we raised £272.00. Absolutely fantastic!! Thank you for your support.

Training - Due to deadlines and work commitments, I have only managed to cycle to work once last week. However, I have been rock climbing this week and shown my face at the gym twice so even though I havent been in the saddle i have been able to maintain some upper body strength and fitness. I am going to try and fit a big cycle in this weekend before i go to cuba next week. When i get back i intend to get my head down and do some serious miles in the saddle. I am also hoping to shed a few pounds whilst in cuba with all that salsa dancing!!!

So, hasta en dos semanas

3/9/06

This weekend was Victorian weekend in Glossop and unfortunately yesterday was a bit of a washout. Today however was a little better but still very windy. The prize draw was drawn this weekend .I am not sure how much we raised in total from it yet but I am in the process of counting the remaining tickets and will announce it shortly.Thanks to everyone who bought a ticket and everyone who donated a prize these were;

Harlequinns, Glossop caravans, Costco,The Little Mill inn, Lidl, Wains, Cohens chemist, Manor stores, Bay tree books,Nat West staff and emotion gym.

The winners were; Sue Etchells,Mrs Marlow,(who won twice) Joyce Ashley, Mrs Crompton, Sandra(s), David Chilton, Gerald Scriven, Robin from Biochemistry, Alice Squires and Brock! Mrs Belcock won the outdoor heater but has donated her prize back so I will have to think about what I can do with it to raise more funds maybe I will have an auction I don't know.

4/9/06

Ok the amount raised through prize draw tickets was £363 so thank  you to all of you.

26/09/06

Just a quick update to let you all know I am back in the land of the living after a torturous 2 weeks salsaring in Cuba!!!!Ha Ha ha! I have good strong thigh muscles now but I have also brought back a chest infection which I am dealing with at the moment.Ihave been back in the saddle twice this weekend but just 20 milers. Am hoping tojoin another cyclist and do a few bigger routes over the next couple of weeks so if anyone elso would like to join us you are more than welcome. It will probably be about 40-50 miles.

09/10/06

Ok I have just returned from Hungary and managed to hire a bike for a day whilst I was out there. It was a shopping bike though with a proper basket on the front and only 6 gears. However, I managed to do a respectable 80km on it in that one day although I have to confess it was fairly flat!! I am off to the gym shortly and tomorrow I am preparing to go on a 50/60miler. My chest infection has almost gone so I can put some miles in now.

It has been brought to my attention that there is not much info on this site regarding the challenge.My sincere apologies to you all I hope to put that right now by adding the details here. If there is anything I have missed out then please let me know so I can add to it.

Ok,No.1.I will be cycling 445km over a period of 6 days reaching altitudes
from 4000m up to a maximum of 4883m. I will check the route further for
different heights at each point and get back to you about that. The route is
mainly road, no motorways up in themthere hills!! and there is a portion of
dirt trackroad which I believe is on the last day.
2. Civilisation.Hmm I think it is mainly llamas!!! But seriously, from my
own memory of the area it is mainly farmland  however this is limited to
what they can farm at that height.There are not many people up there but
there are the odd inhabited villages dotted around. To the west is Arequipa
where the Volcanoes are, one of which has been emitting gases but this is
approximately 80 to 100 miles away so don't worry. Again I will find out
more about habitations.
3. Accommodation. This is basically rough camping. At the end of the day we
are required to erect our own tents. There should be two people to each tent
so it will be a bit of teamwork I think. There are no toilets or even
portaloos, it will be a long drop hole in the ground and all paper is to be
burned. There are not going to be showers but there will be hot water and
bowls to wash. Everything we take i.e.soap shampoo paper etc has to be
biodegradable. The food will consist mainly of pasta and rice dishes.We will
have only one day to acclimatise in Puno at Lake Titicaca, here we will be
staying in a 2 star hotel. When we arrive in Cusco after the challenge we
will be staying at a 2/3 star hotel.
4.The backup team consists of 3 support vehicles. One at the front one at
the back and a roaming vehicle. There will be a doctor on the roaming
vehicle and all vehicles will carry bike spares snacks and water. There will
also be mechanics also but I am not sure how many. The bikes we willbe using
are either going to be Giant or Merida.
5. We willbe arriving at the beginning of the rainy season but the weather
can be quite changeable. There may be strong sun or cold winds and rain.At
night it will be quite cold though.
6.Yes you can locate our progress on a map.We begin at a place called
Juliaca near Puno. If you look at the border between Peru and Bolivia you
willsee there is a huge lake (the highest navigable lake in the world!!)
called Lake Titicaca. Juliaca is at the north west tipof the lake. Okay
thisisthe basic itinerary;
Day1. FromJuliaca anice flat start along open country and our destinationis
Pucara. Distance approx 65km
Day2. Pucara to Santa Rosa.Uphill today. Scenery is rolling hillswith the
jagged peaks of the Andes. 70km
Day3. Santa Rosa to Rakchi. Still climbing through remote villages upto the
highest point of the challenge 4883m. In the afternoonit is downhill.80km
Day4. Rakchi to Huambutio. Here we follow the river Vilcanota mainly
descending but with a few short steep climbs.70km
Day5. Huambutio to Pisac. Apparently this is supposed tobe the most
challenging day!! It is because the terrain will change fromtarmac to hard
dirt track. Here we gain another 100m in altitudeover 73km.Highest point
today is 4150m then 28kmdownhill. 100km
Day 6. Pisac to Aguas Caliente. Through the sacred valley to Ollantaytambo
which is the closest we can get toMachu Picchu by road. We then have to
board a train to Machu Picchu 60km.
The following day we are free to visit the ruins of Machu Picchu and then we
travel back to Cusco by train and bus and have a celebratory mealin the
evening.
7. There is about 60 people taking part.
8.On the road there will be a mixture of rolling hills jagged peaks some
partly desert (Arequipa side) and towards Machu Picchu will be rainforest.
I will not be able to contact anybody fromthe outside world during the
challenge because the reception is very poor,however one of our guides will
carry a satellite phone for absolute emergencies only so I'm sorry I won't be
able to contact anyone for 6 days.
Countdown to D day is now 10 days and counting!!

Hasta pronto mi amigos!

26/10/06

Okay I have now completed my training, the seat is off the bike and my clothes and medication are packed. I am told the weather in Peru at the moment is very cold so I am going to have to wrap up although I think living in the north of England I have the advantage of being acclimatised to the weather!! What do you think???I am hoping to update this website at the end of the challenge to let you all know how it went . Well only 2 days to go it's now or never! thanks for your support everyone see you all when I get back 4 stone lighter!!!( I wish)  Hasta en 2 semanas  xTracy

Okay well I`m here in Peru. You will all be pleased to know I have finished the challenge in one piece! The weather was mostly scorchio and we all managed to get burnt even with factor 45 suncream. I didn`t really sleep very well but I didn`t become ill either until the last day which just required some sleep.It was pretty tough going due to the altitude which makes things 100 times harder. Also we had some pretty strong headwinds to contend with. When I update my journal I will update you all soon with further details about the challenge.  When I return I am going to do winnats pass which should be pimps after this.

Ciaow for now

x Tracy