Update on the Fundraising

At the moment I've only got a very rough idea of what the total amount raised could be as I'm still collecting money. It does however look like we could raise as much as £5500/€7700 which is excellant.

The Sean Kelly cycle jersey auction

The Raffle

The auction of the Sean Kelly cycle jersey alone generated €1750. And the raffle of the bike plus nemerous other prizes raised in the region of£2000 which is excellant. The bike was won by Bill Walsh and the auction was won by Sheamus Tynan. In a gesture worthy of Sainthood, Sheamus has donated the jersey to another auction which will inevitably raise even more money for Jack and Jill's.

The amount raised so far is way beyond any of me expectations so I have to say a massive thank you to everyone whos sponsored me, bought raffle tickets or donated monies through the just giving website.

Some pictures

Me and Chris in Henley after lunch on Day 1

On the road through Gloucestershire

reaching the english/welsh border

getting to the top of the Brecon Beacons

Everyone at the finish line at Ballydyole racing Stables

Day 5 & 6

Day 5 was the trip from Llansawel to Pembroke. It was nice having a predominantly down hill run from Llansawel. I felt a bit weird coming down from the hills into a gradually more seaside environment. The air got thicker and warmer. After lunch at a very nice 'regulars' pub we set off on the last leg of the last day in Wales. The nearer we got to Pembroke the heavier, bigger and faster the traffic got, so to save me being run down by an 18 wheel articulated lorry we called it a day about 4 miles outside Pembroke Dock - much to my relief.



After the agonisingly long wait for the extremely shorts night sleep on the ferry, we disembarked and set foot on Irish soil. I met up with my mate Sam who was to be my guide on the last day. At just before 7 we set off - in the wrong direction and ended up taking a 10 mile detour. After that rather frustrating start we decided to stick to the main roads and what a good idea that was. We were flying along, had it not been for a breakfast stop; there'd have been a very large possibility that we'd have been early.

Any way, made it to Ballydoyle where we was escorted up the driveway to right outside the gates to the stables. Unfortunately due to the recent Equine flu outbreak and tightened security measures we went allowed near any horses which is a shame, but the fact that we were even let into the grounds of Ballydoyle itself is an honour bestowed to very few. I am very grateful to Aiden O'Brien for allowing us in.

At Ballydoyle I was met by Jonathan from The Jack and Jill Foundation who presented me with a signed Sean Kelly world championship cycling jersey which we auctioned later at the party (more on that later).

Day 4

Left Abergavenny and headed out on possiby the worst road ever. A dual carriage way being widened and resufaced is not a very nice place to be. Being squashed in between a seeminglessly never ending line of orange cones and fast moving trafific was really quite scary.

Anyway, before long I was on the road that lead me through the Brecon Beacons National Park. The scenery was stunning and despite the ever increasing gradient and frequency of inclines, I managed to maintain an average speed of 15mph. When your overwhelmed by the views around you it's very easy to forget that your actually going up a steep hill.

The last leg before lunch was going over the top of the Becons which saw me climb to a height of over 1500ft and though the middle of the SAS/Army shooting range. When i finally got over the very top, the view was amazing, but was surpassed by the very long downhill stretch into Beulah. I have never been so fast on a bike in my life. The very sharp left hand bend came racing towards me at a speed faster than I aticipated and it was only a mixture of dumb luck and (thankfully) newly laid tarmac that got me round the corner.

After lunch I set off for the next stop point which was to be Llandovery. The route took me through the bottom bit of the Cambrian Mountain range. I'm sure the scenery was lovely. I, however, couldn't see any of it. The clouds had moved in thus stopping any chances of me admiring the passing peaks and valleys. The fact that I was cycling through cloud though did give the slate lined roads a very omnious, almost primeval feel and the hard inclines, steep declines and twisting roads made for very exciting riding.

The last hour or so of the day was plagued with wrong turns and cyling up wrong roads and I would rather forget about it, becasue it really did make me quite cross. I'm blaming the fact that all signs in Wales are in both English and Welsh, not on my lack of paying attention.

Home for the evening was Henllys B+B just outside Llandovery. It was a converted farmstead and was really very charming indeed. The views it possessed over the Towy valley were extrememly pretty. It was a perfect place to rest after a days worth of cycling though mountains.

Days 2 and 3

Well I'm sat here in the bar of The Angel Hotel in Abergavenny, with a very handsome looking pint of Guinness sat infront of me and feeling very proud of myself indeed.

Today I got my first taste of 1:10 gradient hills and let me tell you, when your not sat behind an internal combustion engine its quite a daunting sight indeed.

But enough of that I've got day two to report on first.......

We sadly left The Plough in Clanfield (It really was a very nice hotel) after a great breakfast. I found it much more difficult to get into a stride cycling solo. I did however persist and managed to settle into a comfortable 13 mph average speed.

The Chilterns were very uneventful but did have a very nice lunch in a pub just outside Tewksbury. After lunch it was a quick hop over the M5 and a duck under the M50 before going into the old market town of Ledbury, which I managed to get lost in and spent the best part of 30 mins cycling back and forth from one end of the high street to the other.

Home for the night was The Leadon House Hotel and 'mother' for the stay made us feel very welcome indeed. Hotel was nice if not a bit twee. Had a trip into Ledbury for the evening found a proper locals pub with a mad barmaid and I swear to God, i could hear Duelling Banjos on the juke box. Had dinner in a cracking indian restaurant just opposite the pub however, as it turns out, mini cabs in Ledbury don't run past 9pm!!!!

Day 3.

Was awoken by a mysterious smell; especially to us city types....The smell of muck spreading is a most unusal alarm clock, after checking the bottoms of numerous pairs of shoes just in case. I gave up and went down for breakfast, which was good. The tea pot even had enough tea bags in it.

Left Ledbury and made my way into the heart of The Cotswolds which really are something special, especially when the sun lights up the fields of wheat and it shines like gold. Cycling through scenery like this makes it very easy indeed and the miles just roll by.

Lunch was at a pub a few miles from the England/Wales border. It did however, remind me of the pub from little Britain and the lure of asking 'Mefanwe' behind the bar for a Bacardi and coke was almost overwhelming. The menu was great though and we ate like kings.

After lunch with the Welsh Border a mouse fart away, I set off to encounter the most demanding cycling I've faced so far. Wales really is very hilly indeed.

I was over taken by a tractor carrying about a billion tonnes of hay which is really quite demoralising. The downhill run into Abergavenny wasn't.

Ok Uncle Phil and Grandad have turned up. Lets hope the next few days go well.

Day One

Just a quick message to let you know of my progress.

Day started off pretty slowly, the bike rack to carry the spare bike proved that once again instructions manuals are as misleading as they are rubbish.

Stopped for lunch at Henley which was nice except that on my way out of Henley i managed to fall off the bike in front of a traffic jam full of people. Yes i did look a right tit, sprawled out across Henley bridge.

The stop for the night is at The Plough in Clanfield which was lovely. the food is great, rich and fantastic. although take some Rennies. The need for Rennies after a meal is the sign of a good meal in my opinion :)

Roll on tomorrow..........

1 day to go

well the day is finally here, tomorrow is the start, just a quick note to say thanks to everyone who's sponsored me and thanks in advance to all of those who are still going to :)

if you plan on using the just giving site you'd better be quick as it closes on tuesday

the WSP jerseys arrived the other day and turned out far better than i though they would.

see you all when i get back.