Yes I made it- and not one injury

to view my exploits during the trip see below

Thank you for visiting my fundraising page.

The reason I am doing this 300 mile bike ride, apart from total insanity, is because my daughter, Odette (who is now 19) was diagnosed with Insulin dependant Diabetes (Type 1) when she was just two years old and I would like to see a time when she does not have to constantly use her body like a pin cushion! 

 I thought if I raise money for charity then it couldn't be any thing other than Diabetes UK as not only does my daughter have diabetes but various other members of my family have since been diagnosed with one type or another of it, including my Mum, two of my sisters and my nephew.  Some of us were even idiotic enough to marry into families with diabetes, my own father-in-law having received a medal for having had diabetes for over 50 years.  

So come on dig deep and help me out here; by the time you have finished reading this page another person would have been diagnosed with this illness because it happens to someone  somewhere every five minutes.

I'll try to keep everyone up to date with my training, and you can all hassle me if you think I'm not doing enough.  I've started writing a training diary if your interested below.  Anyway a big thanks to everyone who is helping me out,

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Diabetes UK 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.

What we actually did

Day 1

Flew out from Heathrow heading towards HoChi Minh City (Siagon)

Day 2

Arrived in Siagon, site seeing tour, then an expedition briefing.

Day 3 cycling distance 52kms

Rode from Siagon to Tra Vihn via My Tho.  After a ferry across the Tien Giang river at My Tho we cycled along narrow roads past banana plantations and sugar cane fields.  Then off road for a while before another ferry across the Co Chien river to Tra Vihn.

Day 4 Cycling distance 80kms

From Tra Vihn to Can Tho via BaOm Pond (known locally as the Kissing Pond) we  also be visited a Khmer Temple  Today, and every other day in Vietnam, we  cycled over many small wooden plank bridges, I didn't exactly conquer my fear of bridges over water, but I did notch up the speed going over those bridges, some had no side rails so I just put my head down and peddled like the wind. 

Day 5 Cycling distance 80kms

From Can Tho to Phong Dien, past many cottage industries and market places.  Then a boat trip along the river to visit the floating market where we ate freshly picked pineapples, before returning to Can Tho to continue cycling by canals and then eventually ending up in Long Xuyen via another ferry. 

Day 6 cycling distance 65kms

From Long Xuyen to Tri Ton towards Chau Doc, this bit says it is undulating as the mountains loom nearer (does this mean bloody great hills to cycle up I wonder). It turned out it was just the old slope in the road now and again, nothing major! Cycled to the Killing Fields at Ba Chuc then back to Chau Doc . Yeah we did have the energy left to climb Sam mountain and see the spectacular sunset. 

Day 7  a 6 hour boat ride up river to Cambodia 

At Chau Doc we boarded a ferry that took us across the border from Vietnam into Cambodia where after 6 hours on the ferry and stops at both the Vietnamese and Cambodia border patrols, the Cambodians couldn't work out whether I was male or female because of my short hair, we got a bus that took us into Phnom Penn where we were then taken to the Killing Fields before a tour of S21 the notorious prison where people were taken before being sent to the Killing Fields

Day 8 cycling distance 90kms

Out of Phnom Penh and onto Kompong Thom, past the old capital of Udon.  then we will be the 20 nuts cycling past the nut plantations, paddy fields and the odd water buffalo (or are we the odd ones?) took pictures of the odd buffalo. Here we all went for a meal and got food poisoning.

Day 9 cycling distance 100kms

This was the final day of cycling we went from Kompong Thom to Seam Reap via Stoung.  Today did get some shelter from the heat (another of my fears as I hate hot places, der, why am I going to Vietnam then? the challenge!!) as we cycled past the occassional roadside palms.  Although that wasn't much of a relief as we were travelling along pothole ridden roads, a legacy from Pol Pots regime. The roads were not as potholed as I expected, but the road was very straight and someone commented that it was like cycling up a long runway at the airport.  We will finally arrived at our ultimate destination of Angkor Wat in the evening and settled down for a good nights rest ( if by this time we can even sit from all that riding). Part of this journey I was being sick, we did go for a celebratory meal which half of us couldn't eat due to our gippy tummies.

Day 10

Site seeing in Angkor Wat, our tour guide was Angelina Jolies tour guide and advisor during the making of Tomb Raider. 

Day 11

Flying home to old blighty, possibly transformed into a new person and certainly a lot fitter that this time last year.

Dec 6th

YES I MADE IT

     I arrived back in the UK on Sunday morning only to discover that at Heathrow my bag had been checked for drugs.  My toothpaste had also been cut open, to check for any signs of terrorism I imagine! 

     I did manage to cycle the whole 300 miles although I must admit the last 30km nearly killed me due to the fact that at Kompong Thom nearly everyone got food poisoning.  I was fine in the morning whilst everyone else suffered but by lunch time I was being sick.  After lunch we only had 30km to go and I was determined not to give up so close to my goal.  Dosed up with rehydration solution and for the first time at the back of the pack I managed to cycle the final stretch with the help of two of our Cambodian guides Sar and Valit, arriving just before sunset as was the plan only slightly behind the rest of the group.

    I can truly say this trip was the best thing I have ever done in my life. The heat wasn't as bad as I imagined (although it was around 32 degrees every day). The locals were so friendly along the way, everyone running out to see us foreigners and to say hello. Everytime we stopped for a break people seemed to appear out of nowhere just to look at us and sometimes talk to us too.  On the ferries across parts of the Mekong Delta people wanted to touch me as my skin was so white, they were even more gobsmacked when I took my cycle helmet off to reveal my bleached white hair. The scenery in both Vietnam and Cambodia was awesomely beautiful. I conquered my fear of bridges by cycling over them as fast as I could, some of them were very scary as they had no side rails in the centre, or some of the planks were missing. I even tried out the local delicacy of fried tarantula, the legs were crispy and the body had a texture like roast chestnuts.The riding itself did not seem too hard as everyone helped everyone else along just by chatting and generally encouraging each other if you were tiring.  The whole group got on really well together in general.  Cycling through the countryside I think we got to see a great deal more than any normal tourist would.  The saddest part of the trip was when we went to the Killing Fields on both sides of the borders, in Vietnam people had been massacred in the temples, where they had hidden because they thought they would be safe. In Cambodia thousands had been murdered in most brutal ways at both the killing fields and at S21, a huge prison complex in Phnom Penn, you could still feel the sadness surrounding the place.

  Generally I had a brilliant time and would recommend that everyone should at least take part in one of these treks at least once in their lives. 

  Dont forget you still have time to sponsor me either on this page or personally. 

Thank you to all those people out there who have helped either by sponsoring me, donating stuff, i.e.clothes for me to wear, given me stuff to sell etc.  and everyone who has given me moral support especially Odette, my daughter, and all her friends.