Berlin Challenge Day 3

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After the sad news this morning I decided that it was best to enjoy Every Moment by spending the day in the town of Goslar. Beautifully situated just north of the mountains the small township is baked with history dating back to the 12century.

After an original trek into town to the bank and to buy an iPhone charger, I headed back to the hotel for a bit of r&r at the spa. A gentle swim followed by an intense hot sauna cold shower combo, helped my aching body. How the pro’s do this day in day out I don’t know.

Carb loading for lunch was followed by more exploration of the town as seen above. Apparently the square or “marketplatz” hosts a very famous Christmas market and is every year covered in snow. Enjoying a beer here while watching the bell show from the bell tower, I returned to the hotel for an intense planning session for tomorrows ride. I’m sill very confused on the route to take as Garmin 800 and Garmin Connect are telling me two different things to the equivalence of 20 miles. So I’m not sure how it’ll be yet. Wish me luck!

Berlin Challenge Day 2

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As I sit here now in the hotel in Goslar, a small historic town in the mountains just outside of Wolfenbüttel (where they make jägermeister), all I can think of is the distance that I cycled yesterday.

The Garmin clapped out at 129.51 miles and I had forgotten to click start for about 10 miles, and continued on after it had until the next major town. I believe I cycled 150 miles even though I was meant to be cycling 90. The Garmin had routed me wrong causing me to head back on myself for a large wave of the trip. I must check the route properly today.

Today I’m a broken man. My Achilles are completely shot, I continue to be covered in sweat rash and the mosquito bites have matured to full itchiness. With all that said though…I cycled 150 miles yesterday. It’s the most incredibly emotional feeling to have cycled that far and getting so close to the £2000 target for EBT is making things even more special.

The ride itself wasn’t actually too bad, just long and very hot. I drank about 10 litres of water and stopped in some great little towns. I met a family who had cycled with their 11 year old daughter from Amsterdam in 9 days. That really spurred me on and gave me the boost I needed.

I woke up this morning in pain, with the idea to carry on to Detmold, but as I sat in reception talking to an older english lady whose husband had passed away this morning from a heart attach, I had the realisation that the strap line “Every Moment Matters Always” couldn’t be more true. So I’ve decided to stay an additional night and enjoy my surroundings.

Berlin Challenge Day 1

Day 1 of the Berlin Challenge is now done and dusted and I know that a lot of people have requested that I write a blog about my experiences of cycling abroad and raising money for such a fantastic cause. As I sit here now the total money raised sits at £1672.62, from 71 donators.  I really can’t thank you all enough if you are reading.

So how is the cycling? Well my first thing to tell you all is that you really shouldn’t decide to do a big event after a weekend on the beers in 30+ degree heat. I’m dehydrated, covered in heat rash and ridiculously tired. But that said cycling in Germany is undoubtedly one of the best experiences I’ve had cycling. Nice wide avenues, preferential treatment for cyclists and less bikes than Amsterdam, it sounds like a cyclists dream…and it is, if you’re into the flat straights that the city has to offer. For me with it being so flat has helped and has made it the perfect experience so far for a rookie tourer who’s carrying 30kg of bike and gear.

The day itself has been nice, with 28 degree heat and some fantastic bike paths practically the whole length of the journey. It’s also my first time properly using the garmin for touring and while it’s been great in certain situations, it’s been a nightmare in others. Today alone I found myself on sandy “unpaved” paths, attempting to access a motorway (to be stopped by a police man) and in the middle of a bug infested forest on a non bike path. I’ll show you the evidence as soon as I can.

So what would be my advice for anyone touring? Plan your route properly. We’re lucky in the uk that the majority of pathways and routes are kept clean and up to date. It’s not always the same abroad. Bring bug spray. I’ve been bitten to shreds. Get a camelback. It’s allowing me to carry an additional 2ltrs of water and keep on the road longer. Bring spare zip ties. They’re so amazingly useful. Bring some luggage straps. My tent would be left behind had I not.

Tomorrow looks set to be hot again, and with a more hilly 145km to cover I’d best be getting to bed.

 

London to Brighton 2013

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A huge thank you to all those who took part in our annual cycle ride to Brighton. This year we had 35 riders who set off from The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton and cycled to Brighton. The weather was kind to us this year and although windy at times it was at least dry and sunny. Everyone made it without any injuries and it was a really enjoyable day.

We had our usual back up support team who were great. First stop was Fanny’s farm, we then stopped for lunch at the Crown Pub at Turners Hill. After getting back on the  road it was then a well earned cup of tea at the top of Ditchlin Beacon then into Brighton for  a well earned drink at the Brighton Rock. For all of the photo’s from the day please visit https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151751340914225.1073741827.100116084224&type=1

Our total raised was over £6000! So well done everyone, thank you for your support it really is appreciated. Our cyclists enjoyed it so much they are now meeting once a month to keep in touch and have formed the EBT cycling Club!!

For details how to get involved contact Adam on adam@emmasbubbletrust.org

We’d also like to give a HUGE thank you to all of our supporters. We really couldn’t have done it without you this year. So thank you to Max at Bikes Direct in Dorking, without your bike knowledge and maintenance I don’t think we would have made it. Thank you to Gatorade UK for providing us with the Gatorade tank and supporting drinks. Finally thank you to Jamie and the crew at Bike Beans Cycle Cafe in Ashtead. You became our cycling hub and we’ll definitely be coming back for well earned coffee’s and cake in the future!

Awesome Audacity

We had another great evening at Wandgas on Saturday 8th March with the group Audacity playing some great music to get everyone dancing and enjoying themselves. What a fantastic group, the lead singer has a lovely voice and the guys playing great music make the perfect match. We raised £433.37 so thank you to everyone that came along to support us. Sorry no photos this time as the camera got run over! We won’t mention any names but he is very sorry !!

Check out the website www.the-audacity.co.uk

 

Comedy Night

 

Thank you to everyone who came along to The Station pub to support our comedy night on 1st February. We had a great evening with five great comedians putting on a very funny show. Our host was Bob Ferris and the comedians who gave their time voluntarily were Stevie Gray, Gary, Geoff Rose Michael, Lucy Cox, Steve E Blunder, and Liam Smith.

 

The audience were superb and have all asked if we are going to do another one – that shows you how good these guys were!!

 

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Comedy Night Sell Out

With 4 days to go we’re happy to announce that we’ve had a sell out of the Comedy Night at The Stoneleigh. Many thanks ahead of time for all of those that will be attending on Friday, we’re looking forward to seeing you and sharing a laugh. We’ll also be running a raffle full of lots of fun prizes so please make sure that you bring along those pennies to get a strip or two. Keep checking back for photo’s post event as well.

Emma’s Ball 2012

We had another successful fundraising ball in December. A special year as Emma would have been celebrating her 21st birthday, so for us it was definitely a “special one”.

It was great to have so many attend this year and as usual the people and the atmosphere were fantastic. We raised £4300 which is wonderful.

Thank you very much to everyone that supported us on such a wonderful evening.

Look forward to seeing you at the next one!!

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Thank you Asda

We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported us for the Community Matters at Asda in Burgh Heath.

Lynn Brandon accepted the cheque for £200 at the store on 24th October which was presented to her on behalf of Asda by Caroline and Rosie.

We are spending the day in the store on Sunday 16th December raising money by packing bags. If you would like to help then contact us by email or by calling 07732 262011

Ride for Emma: London to Brighton 2012

Adam, Andy, Ellen, Ian and Mark all took part in this year’s Ride for Emma: London to Brighton, after a very soggy event in 2011.

We were hoping for somewhat better weather this year, but when we discovered the forecast we were worried. So armed with full cycle gear and waterproofs we set off from the Royal Marsden Hospital, with the weather unsure of itself.

With just 5 riders this year we were hoping that we would be able to power on through the ride quickly and make it to Brighton before the dreaded rain was due to hit and we soon proved ourselves right when we arrived at Fanny’s Farm for a drink and a break. We knew we were ahead of schedule when we arrived before the loyal supporters who had come along to cheer us on.

And so we set off again, knowing that we had already conquered 1 of the 3 major hills. Andy who was a rookie in the event was taking like a duck to water on the bike and before we knew it we had reached Turners Hill (hill number 2 on the route). Like a trooper Andy powered on up the hill, without even a glint in his eye that he was going to give up and get off. The other 4 congratulated each other at the top, then with the thought of food in mind sped along to The Gardeners Arms, where the troop arrived yet again before the supporters (who had stayed at Fanny’s Farm for a cup of tea!).

After a great (and long) lunch, we knew that we were well over half way, with only the thoughts of Ditchling Beacon in our midst. Little did we know that the hill (mountain) would be the only issue left with the ride, with the wind blowing a gale head on, drastically slowing down. The weather however remained great in the sun which gave us a reason to carry on. Before we knew it we had reached Ditchling and in high spirits set off to tackle the beast.

Amazingly everyone made it up. Ellen, out to prove that she could do it again, flew up the hill, while following Adam, Ian and Mark. Andy who had been warned about the hill and how to attack it was amazing and powered himself up as well, with pure brute force! An ice cream later, we set off again for the seemingly easy descent into Brighton. The wind however had other things on it’s mind and continued to force itself upon us all, at times slowing our speed by half!

But alas we made it to Brighton in good time to bask in the glorious sunshine to be congratulated by the supporters who then even treater all of us to a pint. Thanks to everyone for the support…it really does go a long way!

For a full gallery of pictures please visit http://www.emmasbubbletrust.org/media/ride-for-emma-london-to-brighton-2012/