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1 June 2010 - After the Event

What a fantastic event the Big Battlefield Bike Ride was with 300+ riders and support staff moving through Northern France in harmony and with a great sense of fun. Not for a moment did we forget the seriousness of our undertaking and there were many emotional and poignant wreath-laying ceremonies throughout the trip. I managed to find the name of a Great Uncle on the memorail at Thiepval who had been killed on The Somme in August 1916 - a very moving moment for me as I was possibly the first of his family to see the inscription.

The organsiation of the event contributed greatly to the success with a great send-off from HMS Victory (where I had my first puncture!) and a fantastic finale where we were 'rescued' from the beach at Dunkirk by the Royal Marines and brought back across the channel by the Royal Fleet Auxilary with a flypast from a Spitfire to 'crown the glory' - magnificent.

I want to thank everyone who has contributed to my fund-raising which, at the last count, was over £4000! I will drop everyone a personal note of thanks but this is a collective THANK YOU on behalf of Help for Heroes.

 

19 May 2010 - Just days away......

Only a matter of a few days before we set sail from Portsmouth; this time next week we will be into day 2 of the ride. It is an exciting prospect and I am not sure what I will do once I don't have this to look forward to!

Training continues to be good fun though the weight-loss has slowed-down considerably. I wanted to be under 14 stone for the start of the ride but it looks like I will be marginally over the target weight.

However, I am ahead of the target for my fund raising, thanks to all the lovely people who have supported me. Between this site and another I have set-up and the cash/cheque donations received I am well on target to reach, or maybe even exceed, my original £3500 target. This is great news for Help for Heroes who's stated aim is to raise £1M from this signature event and pass the £800k raised last year.

With this in mind, if you feel so inclined, please donate more or pass the web link to your friends and colleagues. With your help we will all achive "greatness".

Thanks for your support.

 

11May 2010 - Into the 'Home Straight'

With less than 2 weeks to go before the event I am trying to 'step-up' on the training by riding 20-30 miles per day (time permitting) and a couple of back-to-back 50+ mile trips at weekend. I am not troubled by the distance now but I do hope the terrain in France is not exceptionally hilly. Someone recommended that I look at a Google Map application - pedometer - which tracks the terrain, it didn't look terribly inviting! Hey ho!

Fundraising is 'on target' but I - or rather Help fro Heroes - could always use more. So if you 'feel the need' please donate again and again and again!

3 May 2010 - 3 Weeks to run!

Fundraising and training are both progressing well and all we have to hope for now is great weather - but not too warm!
While I say fundraising is going well, you will notice that I am still some way of from my target; though I did have a good result from my local RC Church where I received donations and pledges for approx £400 after making an appeal at the weekend - a great result and hugely appreciated. A big "thank you" to Fr John O'Brien and the congregation at St Patrick's in Corsham.

Last home game of the season at Bath Rugby next weekend so I will be 'putting the squeeze' on my fellow Bath Rugby supporters.

If you are visiting the site for the first time, please donate but, if it is a repeat visit, see if you can find a 'little more'  to donate or pass my web site details to others who may like to contribute.

Thanks for your continued support.

26 April 2010 - 4 Weeks to go!

Into the 'home-straight' in terms of preparation and have managed an 80-mile ride in a single trip! It wasn't too bad and gave me increased confidence - however, I didn't ride for the next couple of days, unlike the BBBR when I will have to do this sort of distance for 5 consecutive days!

I have now received the itinerary for the challenge and it looks like it will be great fun but a challenging time. The event begins on 24th May at HMS Victory in Portsmouth before crossing The Channel to Le Havre. We will then ride from Le Havre to Dieppe (day 1), Dieppe to Amiens (day 2), Amiens to Arras (day 3), Arras to Ypres (day 4), Ypres to Dunkirk (day 5), where we will attend the commemoration of the 70th Anniversary of Evacuation of Dunkirk before an overnight crossing back to Dover (possibly courtesy of Pusser!)

Fundraising is going well but I am still some way short of my personal target of £10 per mile (£3500) so, if you haven't already donated, please do so and, if you have, why not dig-out a little more to show your support for this great cause?

The photo attached was taken by my daughter-in-law, Georgina, at Christmas when she & Mark bought me my first pair of Lycra shorts - not a pretty sight but the shorts are much more comfortable as the weight continues to drop!

End of March - Update

Well, it is now just 8 weeks until I set-off on the Big Battlefield Bike Ride and the training is going well. I have managed to lose about 8 Kg's (17lbs) in weight and now I love riding my bike. I am riding about 120 to 150 miles per week, depending on my work schedule - this last week in Germany hasn't helped much - but I still have a long way to go, but I am 'up-for-it'!

I want to say a big "thank you" all of those that have already contributed to 'the cause' but I need more of you to start to 'dig deep', I am a long way from my target so please, please, please get out the credit cards and start giving.

Launch Information

I cannot believe that I signed-up for the Big Battlefield Bike Ride but, now that I have been accepted, I am delighted to be 'doing my bit' to Help our Heroes. I realise that my delight may be short-lived as the challenge is to ride my bike (along with other like-minded individuals) 350 miles in 5 days through the battlefields of Northern France during the last week of May 2010!

As many of you will know, I have a son serving with the Royal Engineers and a 'nearly nephew' serving with the Duke of Wellington Regt (Yorkshire Regt), both of whom have served in Afghanistan and have lost or had colleagues seriously injured. I decided that I needed to 'get off my butt' and try to raise some funds to help our brave soldiers, sailors and airmen/women. We see on our news screens, almost daily, details of more lives lost and these losses are tragic. But we hear little of the casualties that have been suffered, both physical & mental; it is these brave individuals that desperately need our help & support in order to recover and adjust to their transformed lives.

To this end, I have set a personal target of raising £10 for each mile of the ride to raise a total of £3500 and I hope that you will 'dig deep' and help me to achieve this target.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

I will be updating this page with my training achievements and progress on fund-raising so please bookmark the page and come back and visit (& donate) often.

Thanks in advance for you support and please 'dig deep' and donate now.