14th Sept: I made it to Paris!

The ride took place last week, and we cycled in to Paris exhausted but elated on Saturday afternoon.

Very many thanks to all of you who sponsored me. It was a gruelling but fantastic experience, and the sense of achievement when the Arc de Triomphe finally came in to view was amazing.

With your help, and by completing the challenge I have raised over £1300 for Against Breast Cancer – a very worthy charity for a cause which sadly touches so many lives.

As we set off from Crystal Palace, between the 132 cyclists we had raised a total of £204,000 for our respective charities. By the time we got to Paris on Saturday we had consumed 40 kilos of bananas, 80 kilos of pasta, 5 kilos of jelly babies, and broken the organiser’s records for the number of punctures!

Personally I had 1 puncture, 1 fall, what felt like 1 hour’s sleep(!), 1 stop for a beer in the sun, 1 repair to my brakes , 1 bottle of champagne, and 1 very sore derriere! But most of all I felt I had done something special to help women all around the world - thank you for helping to make it possible.

Dawn x

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Breast cancer is the most common single cause of death in women aged 35-54 years and 1 in 9 women will develop the disease in their lifetime. Most of us know someone who is or has suffered from breast cancer, and I would like to do what I can to help research into finding a vaccine against this terrible disease.

Along with my intrepid cycling partner Alison, I have taken on the challenge to cycle the 300 miles from London to Paris to raise sponsorship for this very worthwhile cause. The suggested training program is a little alarming, as is the 95 miles to be cycled on day 1 in order to catch the ferry to Calais (!), but knowing that our sponsorship will help so many women in the future will be what keeps us going.

If you are able to sponsor me and can make a donation via this website that would be much appreciated. 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. Thank you for taking the time to visit my page.

Kind regards,
Dawn

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Training Update:

5 Sep          33 miles

2 Sep          12 miles

28 Aug        83 miles

27 Aug        33 miles

26 Aug        13 miles

22 Aug        70 miles (2 punctures, 1 fall and 1 Starbucks!)

21 Aug        15 miles      

18 Aug        21 miles

17 Aug        18 miles

16 Aug        11 miles (achilles much improved)

30 Jul-15 Aug (On holiday, did a little mountain biking!)

25 Jul          34 miles

24 Jul          24 miles

20 Jul          11 miles

18 Jul          23 miles

15 Jul          11 miles

(out of action 20Jun -> 15 Jul due to achilles problem)

19/20 Jun   120 miles Brighton --> London --> Brighton

13 Jun         35 miles

6 Jun            50 miles (3 Counties Ride)

30 May        50 miles

26 May        27 miles

23 May        36 miles

19 May        27 miles

16 May        44 miles

9 May          60 miles (Classic Oxfordshire)

3 May          46 miles

25 Apr         51 miles

18 Apr         35 miles

17 Apr        19 miles

4-11 Apr     (On holiday!)

3 Apr           30 miles

(previous weeks average 25 miles)