02/05/10
I'm struggling to find a mental balance between competitiveness and realism - I just don't have the time to put in as much cycle training (or attention to fundraising) as I would like. Dartmoor Classic just 8 weeks away and I've barely sat on a bike in over 3 weeks! Only 4 months until the Help for Heroes ride, HELP!

However, this is definitely the year to be involved in this challenge - while the dramas of a husband in Afghanistan are still fresh in my mind. Competitive sport can wait, completion is the key!

18/03/10
The North Devon Journal photographer was round this afternoon; Okehampton Times coming tomorrow for pieces in both next week. It's all getting a bit serious! We're also entered into the Dartmoor Classic sportive bike race on 27th June - 100km around the hilly roads of Dartmoor. I'm terrified but at least it will show me how the training is coming along and how much a full, non-stop, day on the bike up zillions of hills hurts! I'm hoping that all the Devon training on a heavy bike with a heavy child on the back will pay off and the ride through the 'flat' landscapes of Belgium and Holland on a racing bike will be a walk in the park. Just pray for no headwinds!   

March 2010
From 13th to 19th September 2010 I will be taking part in the 'A Bridge Too Far Bike Ride'. This is a route of 350 miles following Allied progression through Belgium and Holland to Arnhem during WW2, in aid of and organised by, HELP FOR HEROES. The ride will see 200 fit/unfit, ordinary, wounded and able bodied individuals cycling together and paying tribute to all those who gave, and continue to risk, their lives for our freedom - and hopefully raising millions by doing so.
I really need your help to raise as much sponsorship as I possibly can for this amazing charity. I am no expert cyclist, only just beginning my training and haven't yet found one ounce of enjoyment in it. I'm hoping the answer lies in my new saddle!!

Most of you will know that a family member of mine is in the army and was deployed in Afghanistan last year. It struck me during the Remembrance Day service in our small town in Devon that many people these days don't have any personal experience of conflict and, supportive as they may be of our troops in theory, thoughts of what happens to those who are injured just don't cross their radar during their day to day lives. It is not just the sacrifices made during the World Wars that should be remembered, but those from current conflicts too. In the words of Christina Schmid, widow of Ozzie, the bomb disposal expert who was killed last November,
      "Harry Patch and the other gentlemen heroes of the Great War have gone and it is time for Olaf [Ozzie] and the others [his fallen comrades] to become the new faces of war. Our appreciation needs to move forward. It's time for us to take that fresh warmth for them forward."

So, I wanted find a way to do my bit, not knowing if he would make it back in one piece, if at all. Thankfully he returned in early December in both mental and physical health, but things are so different for many other families with fathers, sons, brothers, daughters, sisters being injured daily, in far greater numbers than the fatalities we hear reported in the media. While browsing the Help for Heroes website, wanting to buy a wristband to show my support I came across these challenges, and the rest is history!

I have come across (and used to be one of) many people who believe in this cause or theoretically support it but don't actually know who H4H are and what they do exactly. H4H is a non political, non critical charity that was founded just over 2 years ago by the parents of a serving soldier who wanted to do their bit for returning wounded soldiers, regardless of politics. Low overheads and a merchandising arm means that at least 98 pence of every £1 donated; goes to the cause. A massive £30 million has been raised during this short time, making it one of the fastest growing charities Britain has ever known. This is not to say it doesn't still need lots of support. There is just not enough provision by the government for wounded service personnel. The field hospitals in Afghanistan are almost full and the medical and rehabilitation facilities in the UK are severely stretched. The pressure on these resources remains constant.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my page; please give as generously as you can.

Thanks a million

Kate x

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