As I write this I should be sat on the train to Penzance, watching the passing storms out of the window and looking forward to starting LEJOG tomorrow. Such a shame it was cancelled although I am very pleased to still be raising lots of money (hopefully) for two great charities: Cancer Research and Julia’s House Hospice.
25% of my target raised for Cancer Research https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lejog-clare-smale
67% of my target raise for Julia’s House Hospice https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/clare-smale-lejog
If I can raise £1000 for Julia’s House Hospice this could pay for a fun-filled six hour play session a the Wiltshire hospice for up to eight children, including complementary therapies – I hope you can help me.
Julia’s House Hospice doesn’t receive any Government funding in Wiltshire, so all their wonderful work with local children and families is funded by donations. Your money will be spent on providing nursing care in the home, palliative and end of life care (at home or in the hospice), respite care to give families a much needed break and special fun events for siblings, parents, carers, grandparents and of course the children with life limiting conditions. You can read some of their stories here https://www.juliashouse.org/stories and the latest newsletter is here https://www.juliashouse.org/about/read-our-latest-newsletter
- £12 can buy a specialist play bag of toys
- £60 pays for nurse and two care kits for an emergency at home
- 90% of children need the care of two nurses in order to attend a community support session
- Every child received 200 hours of respite care each year to use as they wish
- Families continue to be supported for several years after the death of a child
Yesterday I ‘arrived’ in Scotland on my virtual LEJOG using the Conqueror app, which seemed like a fitting milestone to blog an update. Here are a few statistics and some highlights from my cycling – all in the glorious Wiltshire countryside.
Statistics so far:
- Climbing: 7,795 metres
- Kilometres: 1,155
- Weigh lost: 0
- Weight gained 7lb (very frustrating!)
- Time in the saddle: 76 hours
- Punctures and mechanicals: 0 (tempting fate?)
I have 589 km left to go and I am aiming to complete on Saturday 20th June, which is the date the real event would have arrived at John O’Groats. That leaves me an average of 45 km a day for the next 13 days, which means a step up in my riding commitment over the next two weeks. Your sponsorship will keep me going and it is really motivating when a message pops from JustGiving to tell me I have a new donation. Every penny really does count, so even if it just the equivalent of treating me to a cup of tea and piece of cake on my way (or a nice cold pint of cider), that would really make a difference to my chosen charities.
Thanks you to all my sponsors so far and an extra big thank you to those that have donated anonymously which means I can’t send you a personal message.
I have mostly been riding on the roads as I can clock up a few extra miles in the same amount of riding time compare to mountain bike. The local lanes have become noticeably busier in the last couple of weeks (and more speeding white vans!) as lockdown has been eased, although to start with it was blissfully quiet. I see lots of riders out, many more than usual, and the atmosphere has been great. Most riders will wave or say hello, which makes it feel sociable. Mostly I ride on my own and sometimes with Barrie, although I might as well be on my own even them, chasing his disappearing silhouette as it heads off into the distance at speed – especially up the hills.
I have seen plenty of wildlife and being out most days means that the arrival of the swallows and more recently the swifts, have been significant moments in time. Some weeks the skylarks have been singing loud and clear , but I’ve not heard a cuckoo which is a bit sad. I’ve been blessed with the sunniest May on record although the number of windy days hasn’t been to my liking. I
Cancer Research https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lejog-clare-smale
Julia’s House Hospice https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/clare-smale-lejog
Please support me with whatever you can spare.
