Since I last wrote we have been busy. BBC Radio Suffolk kindly gave us a slot on Georgina Rowe's (sitting in for James Hazell,) programme last Thursday, the 18th Feb. This can be heard again at 'Listen again' online and the feedback has been really positive. Since it ran just before we embarked on our first very public training session, we had a good number of people come to see us in Ipswich on Saturday, to say how much they appreciated the programme. Thank you Georgina for helping us.
Just one person benefiting from Samaritans work as a consequence of this will have made the experience worth it.
So we turned up in Ipswich town centre at 10:00ish on Saturday morning and found ourselves confronted with Saturday market day. Our booked space in front of the Town Hall was somewhat overshadowed by the labryinth of stalls, but we made the very best of the huge numbers of people out enjoying the rare sunshine, squeezed as it was between two days of wintery sleet and cold winds.
Give or take the odd trip to 'ease springs', and with the aid of 6 willing volunteers from the local Samaritans office, I managed 6 hours in the saddle on the turbo trainer. I couldn't tell you exactly how far that equates to, since my trip computer is attached to the front wheel. As a couple of observent youngsters pointed out...'you're not getting very far!' but I'm guessing that somewhere between 60 and 70 miles wouldn't be far off.
Over the course of the day the genereous folks of Ipswich donated £241.12 for which we are extremely grateful and more importantly we got to talk to a good many people who were interested both in the work that Samaritans do and the LEJOG challenge itself.
Work on the route has continued apace. Access to google earth has proven invaluable since some of the roads marked on other oute finding maps simply don't exist. On a mountainbike maybe, but not mine with all the clobber she'll be laiden down with. So far I've planned in detail the route as far as Carnforth in Lancashire and a planned stop at the RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss near Silverdale. If you've never been there, it is a fantastic place to watch Otters in the early evening and in the Autumn there is an incredible Starling roost that turns the sky grey and black in a swirling mass of feathers.
Next week I shall be completeing my first back to back cycle days and hope to cover approximatley 300 miles in four days. I'll let you know how I get on.
Tuesday 23 February 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Training and Fund-Raising
Since the end of 2009 I have concentrated on getting my fund-raising campaign off the ground and getting on my bike as much as possible. The weather hasn't helped with the latter, but an inexpensive turbo trainer has solved that particular problem. (Though I haven't run this one for long, and so have no idea how long it is going to last, I'd be interested to know what you get for a more expensive version.) When it comes to turning your legs over, this could not be simpler. Changing gear on the bike, increases the workload and thereby the effort. Certainly at this stage in my training it has proven to be ideal and at less than £50, a bargain.
As for the fund-raising, things are going equally well. As you will have seen from my fund-raising webpage, www.virginmoneygiving.com/johnbakewell I chose Samaritans for personal reasons. William and his family will be in my thoughts throughout my time in the saddle.
I have discovered that there is a lot more to fund-raising than collecting a few sponsors and things have changed considerably since I last tried to raise money doing the London Marathon in 1997. There's a lot more red tape for a start. There are also a lot more people after your money these days and I can't at all blame the public for getting a little charity weary. It is incredible how generous people have been and are, when you consider all the organisations that exist purely on the back of charitable donations. Don't let anyone tell you that the British public doesn't care.
In the end with the help of local branch volunteers I split my fund-raising into two main streams. The first is through the website and the second by getting out on the street, on my bike on the turbo trainer, with a tin. This way Samaritans volunteers get to talk to the public about what they do and I get to raise some cash for them whilst we're at it. Oh, and I get some training in at the same time.
To date the website sits at just under £400 if you include the gift aid and the first public training/fund-raising session is this Saturday, the 20th Feb, on the Town Hall steps in Ipswich. At this point I would like to thank Wendy and Nicky at Ipswich Borough Council for helping with issueing licences etc and for making this event happen so easily. Fingers crossed for the weather.
As for the fund-raising, things are going equally well. As you will have seen from my fund-raising webpage, www.virginmoneygiving.com/johnbakewell I chose Samaritans for personal reasons. William and his family will be in my thoughts throughout my time in the saddle.
I have discovered that there is a lot more to fund-raising than collecting a few sponsors and things have changed considerably since I last tried to raise money doing the London Marathon in 1997. There's a lot more red tape for a start. There are also a lot more people after your money these days and I can't at all blame the public for getting a little charity weary. It is incredible how generous people have been and are, when you consider all the organisations that exist purely on the back of charitable donations. Don't let anyone tell you that the British public doesn't care.
In the end with the help of local branch volunteers I split my fund-raising into two main streams. The first is through the website and the second by getting out on the street, on my bike on the turbo trainer, with a tin. This way Samaritans volunteers get to talk to the public about what they do and I get to raise some cash for them whilst we're at it. Oh, and I get some training in at the same time.
To date the website sits at just under £400 if you include the gift aid and the first public training/fund-raising session is this Saturday, the 20th Feb, on the Town Hall steps in Ipswich. At this point I would like to thank Wendy and Nicky at Ipswich Borough Council for helping with issueing licences etc and for making this event happen so easily. Fingers crossed for the weather.
Wednesday 10 February 2010
Rehashed Giant will do.
With the Anthrotech duly sold on, I started to consider the alternatives and found myself increasingly drawn to the idea of converting my trusty old mountian bike into a tourer. A hard tail Giant that I had inherited from my younger brother some years earlier, it needed a rigid front end and a new set of running gear.
Finding forks that would fit 26 inch wheels and fit my existing brakes and take a set of low rider pannier bags proved interesting, but John St Cycles in London supplied me with a pair of Thorn steel forks that have proven ideal at £99 for a set.
The running gear was replaced taking into account the need for a decent set of low ratio gears for the hills in Cornwall and beyond, and a complete set of Ortleib panniers finished off the conversion. From here on in it would be all about the training and planning of the route itself.
Finding forks that would fit 26 inch wheels and fit my existing brakes and take a set of low rider pannier bags proved interesting, but John St Cycles in London supplied me with a pair of Thorn steel forks that have proven ideal at £99 for a set.
The running gear was replaced taking into account the need for a decent set of low ratio gears for the hills in Cornwall and beyond, and a complete set of Ortleib panniers finished off the conversion. From here on in it would be all about the training and planning of the route itself.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
