Sunday evening. End of our rest day
Just a short update as limited wifi access today. After a simple and basic, but at least home made, breakfast and a visit to the Inter Marche for picnic stuff, we did a gentle ride to some impressive waterfalls called the Cascades of Herrison. After baguettes, cheese, pate, tomatoes, grapes and two bottles of wine they looked even more impressive. An even more gentle ride back and we all fell asleep for an hour or so!
The lethargy had another effect though as it made us feel more energetic for tomorrow and, perhaps rashly, we have cancelled our booking for halfway to Lausanne and decided to go the whole way in one go. It's only about 60 miles but has two very big climbs so it may yet be a challenge we might rue. We'll see tomorrow! We will be cycling in another country though so that will be fun.
Now just having a final glass of vino before turning in. I'll try and paste a photo of the waterfall on my Facebook page. Keep your feedback coming. All for now, goodnight!
Sunday 31 August 2014
1730hrs Saturday 30th Augusr
Just arrived in The nice little town of Doucier which is to be home for 2 nights. We found the hotel check in only opens at 6 so, although it was a hardship we had to have a couple of beers to pass the time. Interestimg day today. 40 normal miles to Lons Le Saunier then we did a ridiculously steep climb to a village for lunch - which it turned out was in the wrong direction. In trying to get back on course we ended up pushing down a long muddy footpath and getting the bikes, and us, covered in sticky mud! Once we were back on track, cleaned up and climbing another humongous hill (in increasing heat) we had the nice surprise of crossing an old railway track which is now a cycle path! This took us through several floodlit tunnels as it climbed upwards in the right direction, making our climb a lot less arduous than expected. Once we were back on the proper road it wasn't very far to our hotel in Doucier. I'm a bit disappointed with this actually as our room has one double bed but then two bunks. As we are here for two nights I had hoped for better facilities. Hey ho!
Apart from that the day has been great with another 60 miles covered and we are all feeling we've arrived. The ride so far has been 'getting here'. Now we are in the Jura Mountains and have only relatively short rides ahead, it seems as though we have arrived!
Later
We ate at the hotel where we appear to be the only guests. Food is 'their thing' and all was homemade and carefully prepared, though the wine was very expensive!
We have been surprised here and right through France how quiet everywhere is. There seem to be very few tourists around now, French or from elsewhere. Seems as though their season has pretty well finished, despite the weather still being fine and summery. At least it makes the roads a hit quieter.
There is no wi-if in the hotel so I am sending this on a cool Sunday morning. Enjoying a break from the bikes of course but now need to head for the Inter Marche before it closes early as it's Sunday, to get some reasonably priced wine as well a picnic. More next time. Thanks for reading.
Just arrived in The nice little town of Doucier which is to be home for 2 nights. We found the hotel check in only opens at 6 so, although it was a hardship we had to have a couple of beers to pass the time. Interestimg day today. 40 normal miles to Lons Le Saunier then we did a ridiculously steep climb to a village for lunch - which it turned out was in the wrong direction. In trying to get back on course we ended up pushing down a long muddy footpath and getting the bikes, and us, covered in sticky mud! Once we were back on track, cleaned up and climbing another humongous hill (in increasing heat) we had the nice surprise of crossing an old railway track which is now a cycle path! This took us through several floodlit tunnels as it climbed upwards in the right direction, making our climb a lot less arduous than expected. Once we were back on the proper road it wasn't very far to our hotel in Doucier. I'm a bit disappointed with this actually as our room has one double bed but then two bunks. As we are here for two nights I had hoped for better facilities. Hey ho!
Apart from that the day has been great with another 60 miles covered and we are all feeling we've arrived. The ride so far has been 'getting here'. Now we are in the Jura Mountains and have only relatively short rides ahead, it seems as though we have arrived!
Later
We ate at the hotel where we appear to be the only guests. Food is 'their thing' and all was homemade and carefully prepared, though the wine was very expensive!
We have been surprised here and right through France how quiet everywhere is. There seem to be very few tourists around now, French or from elsewhere. Seems as though their season has pretty well finished, despite the weather still being fine and summery. At least it makes the roads a hit quieter.
There is no wi-if in the hotel so I am sending this on a cool Sunday morning. Enjoying a break from the bikes of course but now need to head for the Inter Marche before it closes early as it's Sunday, to get some reasonably priced wine as well a picnic. More next time. Thanks for reading.
Friday 29 August 2014
Friday evening at Isle St Laurent at Chalon sur Soane
Just taxied to the restaurant area from our rather naff hotel on the outskirts of town. Not my best choice of the week it has to be said. Perhaps surprisingly we are all feeling pretty good after another 80 mile day which included 4 big climbs totalling nearly 5000'. Actually the roads on the climbs are very well engineered with a steady gradient meaning you can select a comfortable gear and just pedal away steadily and before you know it you're at the top (I wish). In fact they do seem to go on for ages but, in truth we have managed them better than we expected. That may well change when we're in the Jura Mountains or the Alps however!
The countryside has been beautiful today and we've reached the Burgandy wine region with numerous vineyards, cruising through the town of Mercurie which is quite a centre for wine production. The weather has been quite cool and once again the rain kept off, so an ideal day for cycling in hills. Tomorrow should be shorter then, joy of joys, we have a rest day on Sunday. I'm hoping that will be a nice hotel as we have two nights there.
As some will know I like engineering stuff and today we saw a very impressive and beautiful aqueduct which was 100' high (sorry to be anoraky). It was actually a feeder to a canal rather than a canal itself. I will post a photo on Facebook (as I have with a number of others now) so you can judge for yourselves.
Thanks to all who have responded to the blog and photos on my Facebook page, it's good to have your feedback.
Now about to eat so that's your lot today! Cheers
Just taxied to the restaurant area from our rather naff hotel on the outskirts of town. Not my best choice of the week it has to be said. Perhaps surprisingly we are all feeling pretty good after another 80 mile day which included 4 big climbs totalling nearly 5000'. Actually the roads on the climbs are very well engineered with a steady gradient meaning you can select a comfortable gear and just pedal away steadily and before you know it you're at the top (I wish). In fact they do seem to go on for ages but, in truth we have managed them better than we expected. That may well change when we're in the Jura Mountains or the Alps however!
The countryside has been beautiful today and we've reached the Burgandy wine region with numerous vineyards, cruising through the town of Mercurie which is quite a centre for wine production. The weather has been quite cool and once again the rain kept off, so an ideal day for cycling in hills. Tomorrow should be shorter then, joy of joys, we have a rest day on Sunday. I'm hoping that will be a nice hotel as we have two nights there.
As some will know I like engineering stuff and today we saw a very impressive and beautiful aqueduct which was 100' high (sorry to be anoraky). It was actually a feeder to a canal rather than a canal itself. I will post a photo on Facebook (as I have with a number of others now) so you can judge for yourselves.
Thanks to all who have responded to the blog and photos on my Facebook page, it's good to have your feedback.
Now about to eat so that's your lot today! Cheers
Thursday 28 August 2014
Corbigny. 1815hrs hursday 28 August
Just arrived at our hotel in what looks a nice little town. Another long day of 86.5 miles with numerous hills thrown in. Nice weather all day though and good surfaces on the roads so the miles came and went fairly steadily. We had trouble finding our way out of Montargis this morning however and ended up going through long grass and lifting bikes onto a motorway slip road to get off on a road we recognised and could 'escape' on. Coffee after 30 miles then excellent picnic lunch on top of a massive hill after 50 miles. Meant we had a terrific downhill start after lunch. I did 40 mph. Scary! Final stop was, rashly perhaps, for a beer with about 20 miles to go including, though we didn't know it then, some serious hills. Anyway we made it and the countryside is lovely round here, a complete contrast to the endless plains of yesterday.
For the umpteenth time I have forgotten to bring a ball of string and some clothes pegs (will someone please remind me another time!). As we have two sets of biking gear we wash the set we've used each day then hang it to dry overnight though we don't actually need it until the day after the following day (if you follow). As a result of my omission each hotel room is festooned with washing draped on the windows, light fittings, chairs, television, picture hooks etc! A right mess.
We've now all just had a shower and are about to check the restaurant and bar situation.
Total mileage so far is 457miles in 6 days- Phew! We've earned a beer!
Later:
And very nice it was too.
Incidentally I'm not only sorry I can't post photos on the blog but also that it is hard for others to post comments. It is always nice to hear from you and know you are reading this stuff/drivel. Perhaps you could send an email instead. My address is malcolmgarner@yahoo.co.uk or,if you know Kevin and/or Paul, you probably already know their email address. If not ask me!
Thanks for reading this far.
Malcolm
Just arrived at our hotel in what looks a nice little town. Another long day of 86.5 miles with numerous hills thrown in. Nice weather all day though and good surfaces on the roads so the miles came and went fairly steadily. We had trouble finding our way out of Montargis this morning however and ended up going through long grass and lifting bikes onto a motorway slip road to get off on a road we recognised and could 'escape' on. Coffee after 30 miles then excellent picnic lunch on top of a massive hill after 50 miles. Meant we had a terrific downhill start after lunch. I did 40 mph. Scary! Final stop was, rashly perhaps, for a beer with about 20 miles to go including, though we didn't know it then, some serious hills. Anyway we made it and the countryside is lovely round here, a complete contrast to the endless plains of yesterday.
For the umpteenth time I have forgotten to bring a ball of string and some clothes pegs (will someone please remind me another time!). As we have two sets of biking gear we wash the set we've used each day then hang it to dry overnight though we don't actually need it until the day after the following day (if you follow). As a result of my omission each hotel room is festooned with washing draped on the windows, light fittings, chairs, television, picture hooks etc! A right mess.
We've now all just had a shower and are about to check the restaurant and bar situation.
Total mileage so far is 457miles in 6 days- Phew! We've earned a beer!
Later:
And very nice it was too.
Incidentally I'm not only sorry I can't post photos on the blog but also that it is hard for others to post comments. It is always nice to hear from you and know you are reading this stuff/drivel. Perhaps you could send an email instead. My address is malcolmgarner@yahoo.co.uk or,if you know Kevin and/or Paul, you probably already know their email address. If not ask me!
Thanks for reading this far.
Malcolm
Wednesday 27 August 2014
Wednesday 27 August - Chartres to Montargis
Well the rain blew through and we had a very good day. This part of France is amazingly flat and we cycled 75 miles without a single hill! Not only that but there was a gentle tailwind and as a result we averaged 15.5 mph for that distance - that's fast with heavy bikes - arriving even after coffee and lunch stops at 1500hrs.
The landscape was rather surreal, some would say boring, with wide plains and lines of wind turbines turning lazily round. France should never go short of food with so many acres of arable land, it seems to go on for ever.
Montargis is a big town but isn't a tourist centre and we had a job to find a restaurant that we liked - in the end it was a tex mex burger bar. Not quite what we wanted but filling enough.
The hotel has added a camp bed to the existing twin bedded room. Kev got the short straw this time!
Sorry I'm not able to add photos to the blog. It seems there isn't the link I need to access the photo album on the phone. Perhaps I can do a gallery when we're back.
I was sorry to hear today that the two Gambian Sign Language Interpreters we hoped could visit the UK have had their visa applications refused on the grounds that the authorities weren't convinced they would return to Gambia. Very disappointing for them and for the folks here who had done do much to set up the visit. Hopefully they will be able to do so in the future. The sponsor money I'm raising now will, I hope, therefore be used to pay for a second pair of teachers of the deaf from Gambia to visit Longwill School in Birmingham and see how we teach deaf children here.
Well the rain blew through and we had a very good day. This part of France is amazingly flat and we cycled 75 miles without a single hill! Not only that but there was a gentle tailwind and as a result we averaged 15.5 mph for that distance - that's fast with heavy bikes - arriving even after coffee and lunch stops at 1500hrs.
The landscape was rather surreal, some would say boring, with wide plains and lines of wind turbines turning lazily round. France should never go short of food with so many acres of arable land, it seems to go on for ever.
Montargis is a big town but isn't a tourist centre and we had a job to find a restaurant that we liked - in the end it was a tex mex burger bar. Not quite what we wanted but filling enough.
The hotel has added a camp bed to the existing twin bedded room. Kev got the short straw this time!
Sorry I'm not able to add photos to the blog. It seems there isn't the link I need to access the photo album on the phone. Perhaps I can do a gallery when we're back.
I was sorry to hear today that the two Gambian Sign Language Interpreters we hoped could visit the UK have had their visa applications refused on the grounds that the authorities weren't convinced they would return to Gambia. Very disappointing for them and for the folks here who had done do much to set up the visit. Hopefully they will be able to do so in the future. The sponsor money I'm raising now will, I hope, therefore be used to pay for a second pair of teachers of the deaf from Gambia to visit Longwill School in Birmingham and see how we teach deaf children here.
Tuesday 26 August 2014
Chartres 1600hrs
For once and probably once only I got the distance right. 39 miles so a nice easy day. Lovely level road with, wonder of wonders, no rain and a tailwind. Average of over 15mph for the day. Arrived in Chartres at 1345 with hotel right beside the stunning cathedral. Easy to find as you could see the Cathedral from about 5 miles away. Nice bright afternoon now and after a bit of washing we have wandered round the town and visited the inside of the Cathedral. It really is enormous, the nave roof must at least 100ft above the floor and all very old, most of it 12thC. Came back for a lie down before heading off to eat later. Having re-calculated it looks as though each day is longer than the distances I had got from an internet distance finder. Looks like they will be nearer 80 miles rather than 65! Oops! Consequently hoping for more tailwinds and no more rain from now on!
Mileage so far is 307. Not bad for 4 days riding in some tough conditions!
Later:
After nice meal in Afro-Caribbean Restaurant now with last beer listening to live music in Market Square, all very civilised. Plus fantastic light show on Cathedral on way back to hotel. Looked beautiful with all reflections in the wet (it had just started raining again!). Hope it blows through by morning. All very impressed with Chartres though surprised how quiet it is. I for one would like to come back sometime, perhaps with a car!
For once and probably once only I got the distance right. 39 miles so a nice easy day. Lovely level road with, wonder of wonders, no rain and a tailwind. Average of over 15mph for the day. Arrived in Chartres at 1345 with hotel right beside the stunning cathedral. Easy to find as you could see the Cathedral from about 5 miles away. Nice bright afternoon now and after a bit of washing we have wandered round the town and visited the inside of the Cathedral. It really is enormous, the nave roof must at least 100ft above the floor and all very old, most of it 12thC. Came back for a lie down before heading off to eat later. Having re-calculated it looks as though each day is longer than the distances I had got from an internet distance finder. Looks like they will be nearer 80 miles rather than 65! Oops! Consequently hoping for more tailwinds and no more rain from now on!
Mileage so far is 307. Not bad for 4 days riding in some tough conditions!
Later:
After nice meal in Afro-Caribbean Restaurant now with last beer listening to live music in Market Square, all very civilised. Plus fantastic light show on Cathedral on way back to hotel. Looked beautiful with all reflections in the wet (it had just started raining again!). Hope it blows through by morning. All very impressed with Chartres though surprised how quiet it is. I for one would like to come back sometime, perhaps with a car!
Monday 25 August 2014
Monday 25th August. Caen to Verneuil Sur Avre
What a day! 85 miles. Started off from the ferry port in Caen at 0600. Arrived hotel 12 hours later. It rained solidly all day long, plus gale force winds which were mainly from the side but occasionally head on. Sometimes like a film set where you see winds driving rain across the set in waves! We were soaked to the skin by late morning and had to ride to keep warm. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant somewhere with very slow relaxed service so this made us rather later as well. We left puddles all round our table! Once again the distance was greater than I had calculated (I'm not believed any more!) and I think we were all heartily glad to see the Hotel du Saumon when we eventually got here at 1900hrs (local time)..
The hotel is excellent though. Right in centre it what looks a lovely classic French town. The Bedroom is big with two singles and a double and they have taken all our soaking clothing and shoes etc to dry. Hope they manage it or it could be a naked bike ride to Chartres today! The food in their restaurant was first class as well so all in all a very good end to one of the toughest days cycling we've ever done! I think I earned my sponsor money today!
It was reminiscent of the 'real' Tour de France though. A couple of lovely days in England followed by serious rain in France - so we are in good company! Hoping for a dryer day for what we hope should also be a shorter day to Chartres.
What a day! 85 miles. Started off from the ferry port in Caen at 0600. Arrived hotel 12 hours later. It rained solidly all day long, plus gale force winds which were mainly from the side but occasionally head on. Sometimes like a film set where you see winds driving rain across the set in waves! We were soaked to the skin by late morning and had to ride to keep warm. We stopped for lunch in a restaurant somewhere with very slow relaxed service so this made us rather later as well. We left puddles all round our table! Once again the distance was greater than I had calculated (I'm not believed any more!) and I think we were all heartily glad to see the Hotel du Saumon when we eventually got here at 1900hrs (local time)..
The hotel is excellent though. Right in centre it what looks a lovely classic French town. The Bedroom is big with two singles and a double and they have taken all our soaking clothing and shoes etc to dry. Hope they manage it or it could be a naked bike ride to Chartres today! The food in their restaurant was first class as well so all in all a very good end to one of the toughest days cycling we've ever done! I think I earned my sponsor money today!
It was reminiscent of the 'real' Tour de France though. A couple of lovely days in England followed by serious rain in France - so we are in good company! Hoping for a dryer day for what we hope should also be a shorter day to Chartres.
Sunday 24 August 2014
Day 2 proper - Oxford to Portsmouth
Sunday 1400hrs
Now at another Kings Arms! This one in Whitchurch, Hampshire. Kevin just had a close encounter with 3 deer We were minding our own business cycling smoothly through the Hampshire downs when the deer ran right across just in front of us. Doe Stag Doe. We named the stag Ray if you follow the drift.
Actually we got lost south of Newbury having decided to follow some minor roads which is why we are now at Whitchurch rather than Overton having already done 48 miles. It will be a longer day than expected.
2245hrs
Now on board huge ferry at Portsmouth about to set sail for Caen. We eventually arrived at Gosport at 1835, about 90 mins later than originally planned, the reason being that we had done over 90 miles rather than 75! There were some serious hills included so it was a tough day but still fun and the weather was dry all day as well. The best thing was that we called in on my old college mate Paul and his lady friend Barbara (Paul lives in Gosport) and they laid on lovely BBQ for us and made us very welcome Paul guided us to the Gosport Ferry then we cycled to the Brittany Ferry Terminal in good time for the 'big' ferry. Many thanks to Paul and Barbara for excellent hospitality.
We will be bedding down pretty pronto now as we arrive at Caen at 0545 tomorrow. That's an early start by any standards so we need as much kip as possible before tomorrow's ride!
So it's goodnight from them and goodnight from me.
Sunday 1400hrs
Now at another Kings Arms! This one in Whitchurch, Hampshire. Kevin just had a close encounter with 3 deer We were minding our own business cycling smoothly through the Hampshire downs when the deer ran right across just in front of us. Doe Stag Doe. We named the stag Ray if you follow the drift.
Actually we got lost south of Newbury having decided to follow some minor roads which is why we are now at Whitchurch rather than Overton having already done 48 miles. It will be a longer day than expected.
2245hrs
Now on board huge ferry at Portsmouth about to set sail for Caen. We eventually arrived at Gosport at 1835, about 90 mins later than originally planned, the reason being that we had done over 90 miles rather than 75! There were some serious hills included so it was a tough day but still fun and the weather was dry all day as well. The best thing was that we called in on my old college mate Paul and his lady friend Barbara (Paul lives in Gosport) and they laid on lovely BBQ for us and made us very welcome Paul guided us to the Gosport Ferry then we cycled to the Brittany Ferry Terminal in good time for the 'big' ferry. Many thanks to Paul and Barbara for excellent hospitality.
We will be bedding down pretty pronto now as we arrive at Caen at 0545 tomorrow. That's an early start by any standards so we need as much kip as possible before tomorrow's ride!
So it's goodnight from them and goodnight from me.
Day 1 - Bewdley to Oxford
Sunday 0745. Good morning readers. Couldn't do this last night as no wifi in college rooms so now doing over breakfast in the excellent Loncoln College Annex in Oxford. We had an very good first day cycling with lovely weather, beautiful scenery and no headwind (a nice change from the Hebrides where I was last week). Coffee stop in Pershore after 2 hours and 25 mikes. We didn't stop as planned in Bourton on the Water as it was completely overrun with coach loads of, mainly Chinese, tourists mainly looking at each other and thinking this was a typical English village. It is pretty but so was the next village and there was absolutely no one there! We carried on for another 20 miles or so and all began to run out of energy when the welcome sight of the Fox PH in Leafield hove into view. Brilliant timing for the inner man but also for our comfort because no sooner had we stopped than it started to rain! It was only a heavy shower so when we emerged it was just wet roads. The attached photo shows Kev and Paul by the church ( if I can paste it! - I couldn't! Sorry)
We ploughed on to Oxford and found the hall of residence after a few hiccups. The rooms and facilities are really nice. Seem good value for £40ppn in single room with en suite. Recommended.
Substantial meal and several drinks in The Kings Head set us up and I think we all slept rather more soundly than usual as a result. All in all a very good start to the ride apart from the fact that Paul is grumbling as he had been told it was only 75 miles when in fact we did
79.8 miles!
For any anoraks I will mention that we averaged 14.4mph. I'll spare you the calorie count though!
Portsmouth next stop!
We ploughed on to Oxford and found the hall of residence after a few hiccups. The rooms and facilities are really nice. Seem good value for £40ppn in single room with en suite. Recommended.
Substantial meal and several drinks in The Kings Head set us up and I think we all slept rather more soundly than usual as a result. All in all a very good start to the ride apart from the fact that Paul is grumbling as he had been told it was only 75 miles when in fact we did
79.8 miles!
For any anoraks I will mention that we averaged 14.4mph. I'll spare you the calorie count though!
Portsmouth next stop!
Friday 22 August 2014
Bewdley to The Alps - The Plan
Bewdley to The Alps - The Plan
Starting tomorrow morning (Saturday) the Three Heads will Roll. The three in question are myself, Kevin Bailey and Paul Roper, all retired head teachers (though Kevin unconvincingly claims to still be doing some vague sort of work!) and the plan is to cycle from our home town of Bewdley to the ski resort of Samoens in south-east France, a distance of about 600 miles.
Some friends of ours, Simon and Derval Jenkins, own a house there and that is our target.
Tomorrow we are cycling to Oxford University, not for study, but to use one of their empty halls of residence as our first B&B. This will be about 75 miles, with a similar distance on Day 2 to take us to Portsmouth in time for the overnight ferry to Caen. From there we will cycle between 40 and 75 miles per day through France in a generally south-easterly direction, with one rest day in the Jura Mountains. Once we reach Lake Geneva at Lausanne we will take a ferry to Evian then cycle south on a very hilly stretch through Morzine and onwards to Samoens, a tough final day!
Our return will be by overnight coach from Lyons on September 7th. This will drop us at Northampton Services on the M1 on Monday 8th, from where we will cycle to the station and take the train back home - well that's the plan anyway!
Although we are doing it for fun I have invited anyone who is interested to sponsor me for the ride, with all proceeds (including Gift Aid) going to the work I am involved in to develop and improve services for deaf children and adults in The Gambia. Details of this can be found on our website www.gambiandeafchildren.com .
Should you be so inclined you can still make a contribution via the Virgin Giving site, the address of which is: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/GambianDeafChildrenSupportProject
My target is £1000 and I am nearly there already so I will have to finish the ride now - no pressure!
I haven't used a blog for over twelve months so it will be steep learning curve once again to remember how to do it, so please bear with me. I hope you will find it of some interest, and comments back are always welcome when en route (though I think you may need your own Google account to do so). Thanks for even reading this far!
Malcolm Garner
Fri 22/08/14
Starting tomorrow morning (Saturday) the Three Heads will Roll. The three in question are myself, Kevin Bailey and Paul Roper, all retired head teachers (though Kevin unconvincingly claims to still be doing some vague sort of work!) and the plan is to cycle from our home town of Bewdley to the ski resort of Samoens in south-east France, a distance of about 600 miles.
Some friends of ours, Simon and Derval Jenkins, own a house there and that is our target.
Tomorrow we are cycling to Oxford University, not for study, but to use one of their empty halls of residence as our first B&B. This will be about 75 miles, with a similar distance on Day 2 to take us to Portsmouth in time for the overnight ferry to Caen. From there we will cycle between 40 and 75 miles per day through France in a generally south-easterly direction, with one rest day in the Jura Mountains. Once we reach Lake Geneva at Lausanne we will take a ferry to Evian then cycle south on a very hilly stretch through Morzine and onwards to Samoens, a tough final day!
Our return will be by overnight coach from Lyons on September 7th. This will drop us at Northampton Services on the M1 on Monday 8th, from where we will cycle to the station and take the train back home - well that's the plan anyway!
Although we are doing it for fun I have invited anyone who is interested to sponsor me for the ride, with all proceeds (including Gift Aid) going to the work I am involved in to develop and improve services for deaf children and adults in The Gambia. Details of this can be found on our website www.gambiandeafchildren.com .
Should you be so inclined you can still make a contribution via the Virgin Giving site, the address of which is: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charities/GambianDeafChildrenSupportProject
My target is £1000 and I am nearly there already so I will have to finish the ride now - no pressure!
I haven't used a blog for over twelve months so it will be steep learning curve once again to remember how to do it, so please bear with me. I hope you will find it of some interest, and comments back are always welcome when en route (though I think you may need your own Google account to do so). Thanks for even reading this far!
Malcolm Garner
Fri 22/08/14
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