Julian Frankland

Geo Wheelers Home

Fundraising for Army Benevolent Fund
£8,007
raised of £8,000 target
Donations cannot currently be made to this page
Geo Wheelers Lands End to John O'Groats, 7 June 2010
Participants: Robbo, Franky, Glenn, Gaz, Taff, Joe, Dave, Fish
Army Benevolent Fund

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1146420 & SC039189
We provide a lifetime of support to the wider Army Family.

Story

 

Geo Wheelers are riding from Lands End to John O'Groats in five days. This means cycling about 180 miles per day, and is an extreme challenge for all with no guarantees of finishing. The event is organised by Robbo, the human bus shelter, who we are looking forward to riding behind. We are a team of mixed abilities with experienced cyclists like Franky, ironman triathletes in Glenn, and top runners like Gaz. The less experienced members of the team include Joe who is a hockey player, Dave who seems to have found a new passion in life, and Fish who is coming along for the ride! The final member of the team is the Welsh Cyclo Cross Demon Taff who plans to bunny hop over every mountain along the route.       Good luck!

Diary

Challenge Completed at 1900hrs 11 Jun 10

11 Jun 10.  Inverness to John O'Groats.  The fifth and final day was completed at 1900hrs as seven tired cyclists rolled into John O'Groats after being hampered by the worst weather the team had seen throughout the ride.  The day had started with the team 30 miles short of Inverness which meant a 150 mile ride on the last day to complete the challenge.

10 Jun 10.  Moffat to Inverness.  The start point of Moffat was 40 miles from the centre of Glasgow and ensured a quality cafe stop on the outskirts after wrestling with rush hour traffic and constant red lights. The team made rapid progress along Loch Lomond and were soon pushing on towards Glencoe with the temperature in the 20s and a rare tail wind to assist.

09 Jun 10.  Warrington to Moffat.  The third day was a real test for the riders as the wind decided to slow down their progress.  The team made their way through the Lake District , Gretna and on to Moffat to finish riding at 2000hrs after completing over 180 miles, some 30 miles short of target.

08 Jun 10. The second day was pretty fast and we made good time completing 158 miles in 9 hours. The Guys even had the energy to sprint into Warrington. Karen turned up from our Tour De France ride to massage us which was great and gave us a few smiles.

07 Jun 10. The first day was a success. We all finished and completed 205 miles. We were cheered along at Okehampton by the Pegrams. It was a hilly day with a fair bit of rain. Bristol was a great sight at the end of the day.

06 Jun 10. The team went down to Lands End and took some photos. Dave found a new vocation as a pasta chef.

03 Jun 10. An excellent day collecting in Reading. The very generous public donated over £1500 towards the ABF.

27 May 10. Glen has finally got a replacement bike, after an awesome display of power in which he ripped his old bike apart. We are all now looking forward to his presence at the front of the peleton.

25 May 10. Taff is still getting some long miles in and topping up his tan for the summer. Gaz and Franky both crashed this week, which has resulted in a few less bike miles. Fortunately we were both not to badly hurt and subsequently Gaz has won the RE 10k running championships, and Franky got seventh in a civillian road race.

19 May 10. The second big team ride was held on Wednesday afternoon. 110 miles was completed in 7 hours. The outward journey was into a head wind with everyone taking turns on the front. The National Trust cafe at Avebury made a great break, with Robbo enjoying a Cream tea. On the return journey Franky and Taff kept the pace high. The max speed for the day was in excess of 50 mph and the speed on the flat reached 31mph.

15 May 10. The team has had two excellent days collecting for charity. Beautiful weather and a generous public in Newbury bumped up the funds. Dave had to be prised off the bike, whilst Joe managed Pizza and chips. The preperation is going well with many hours spent on the bike, and a 100 mile plus ride planned on Wednesday.

12 May 10. The team finished its first 100 mile training ride. The ride went well and everyone finished with high spirits. Taff found a disused railway line near Marlborough and preceded to send us all off road. Fortunately there were no spills, and only one puncture. Next time we are all hoping he may find a coffee shop and a few cakes?

 

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

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.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Share this story

Help Julian Frankland

Sharing this page with your friends could help raise up to 3x more in donations

You can also help by sharing this link on

About the charity

Army Benevolent Fund

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 1146420 & SC039189
We exist to give a lifetime of support to the wider Army family, regardless of where or when a soldier served. We act swiftly and efficiently in providing support in the form of grants to those who find themselves in real need. We also provide grants to charities who support the wider Army family.

Donation summary

Total raised
£8,006.67
+ £256.95 Gift Aid
Online donations
£1,230.82
Offline donations
£6,775.85

* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.