Shooting Orchids

With the majority of the Shooting Orchids and their bikes now back in the UK, we can safely say that the whole event has been a huge success.

For most, if not all, of us it was definitely seven days of the hardest work we had ever done. We are all really happy the team made it and that, even while we were on the ride, the money kept pouring in so that we are now able to easily hand over cheques for £10,000 to each of our charities.

Thankyou so much for all your support both financial and the kind words we have received. Every single comment and pound spurred us on to cover just over 7,000 miles as a team to arrive in Samoens on Monday night tired but elated.

As you might have guessed we still have a lot to do but we will hopefully have a full account of the seven days appearing here in the near future. There are some superb photos to come as well as (hopefully) links to the various press articles we have attracted along the way.

A big thanks to our support teams. Without them we would not have got far and would certainly have no clothes to wear or food to eat when we got there! 

Rumours are rife that an event is planned for 2010 so keep your eyes peeled for further announcements.

Thanks for your support!

Mike Orchid 

Well, here we are. One and a half days to go and the fear to excitement ratio is fluctuating wildly amongst the assembled Orchids. One minute we're worrying ourselves crazy that its a very long way and there is a lot to sort out, the next we are bristling with the excitement of the adventure to come.

As you all know, we're leaving at 5am on Tuesday 25th from (near) the Shooting Star Childrens Hospice in Hampton. We are aiming to reach Dover about 4:30pm in time for our 5:30 boat and the awaiting press.

The team has never been in better shape. We are well trained, rested and fed. Bikes are in tip top condition, with huge thanks due to Birdie Bikes in Hampton who have been a serioius asset to our team. The supplies have been bought/provided and the support cars are (nearly) loaded.

I just want to say a massive personal thankyou to everyone who has helped out so far with their time, money and support, we couldn't have done it without you. I know the team are really grateful for all the help we've received which makes the journey we are about to undertake all the sweeter.

There is still time do donate and help out our worthy causes, as it will be open until after the ride, so please give a little more to ensure we can hand over huge cheques on our return. 

We'll be updating the website via Twitter during our journey, which will (hopefully) be displayed prominently on our site for the duration of the trip so keep checking back to see our progress over the next week. 

Thanks for visiting,

Mike Orchid 

I just witnessed my brother flying through the air. 

He wasn't skydiving, cycling far too fast or even doing aerobatics...he was smashed into by a car and the 'flying' was over the pavement before crashing into some shop advertising boards.

Don't worry..he'll be ok. Thankfully he was wearing a helmet and his extensive ninja training meant that he landed/rolled properly thus minimising the damage to his body. I'll set the scene....

We had just fixed a puncture on dave's back wheel and were rolling up to the (red) traffic lights. There was only one car stopped and, as dave cycled up along side the car, at about 7mph, the passenger blindly swung her door open, hitting The Goat for six. His wheels crashed against the curb, catapulting him out of the bike (somehow unclipping his feet in the process) and over the pavement towards the advertising boards laid out infront of a shop.

I was about 5 metres away from Dave when all this happened and obviously went over to make sure he was ok and not too shaken up. To his credit The Goat got up straight away, checked his body for cuts, his helmet for cracks and his bike for signs of damage. He was obviously shaken up though and, as the woman got out of her car and (after firstly saying how sorry she was) proceeded to tell Dave off for 'overtaking her' so close to the curb. I went on the offensive, telling her that not only was she completely at fault for a) not checking her wing mirrors before opening her door but b) getting out at the traffic lights when there was a perfectly good car park for the shop she was going into anyway about 10m down the road. She still protested her innocence and so i politely told her to have a bit more awareness and please be on her way now.

A scary episode but luckily no serious injuries. he is still on for the ride and still extremely excited.

You can't keep us Orchids down.

Please show your sympthy for Dave 'The Goat' Orchid by donating £10 or£20 :-) we are so close to our target!

Jonny Orchid. 

It's now Sunday afternoon and I thought i'd let everyone know what's been going on over the past week or so.

As you will have read, the Orchids that particpated in the Lensbury gym day were immense, and put in some hefty miles. With over £500 being raised that day, the event was definitely a roaring success!

Monday saw Nick and I pedal the 115 miles to Bristol, an epic journey that pulled us through the full spectrum of emotions. We then did a further 40 miles on Tuesday and the same again on Wednesday. A special mention for Nick 'Ledge' Barnett for dragging me through a lot of those miles!

Meanwhile our newest member Laurence 'The Hammer' Brown had been eating up the Sussex roads with reckless abandon. 50 miles on Thursday and Friday was followed by a 60 miler to Hampton to meet up with the other Orchids. Unfortunately for him, that meant cycling another 60 miles today to get home! Flanked on the Guildford-Hampton legs by Doug, Greg and I, some incredible speeds were reached and an average 17.5 mph shows we were working hard.

Jo put in a good 60 mile stint up to Essex this weekend, and Ben cycled with his girlfriend to Brighton on Friday, sporting some seriously questionable knee warmers! This will be the topic of much debate come the ride. Mike has been battering the Isle of Wight hills, with a 73 mile day to his name this week. Nice. Dave A has been putting in some serious miles, albeit with a slightly dodgy hip flexor. Dave C is just coming back from a hamstring injury but should be on the bike again this week.

As The Hammer continues to integrate himself into the Orchids clan, at least 6 of us will be cycling top Chichester next Monday, and home again on the Tuesday, and there will be multiple 50+ milers to speak of as we bear down on the 25th August.

Special mention must go to the support car of Janey and Jeremy Cook, who as we speak are completing the first day of the journey, including the ferry crossing, in the car to pick out some good rest spots and show us where the hills are! Tomorrow morning they are doing the first 30 miles of day two as well for the same reasons. These committed members are essential to our success. 

In fundraising action this week will be Dave A and Jo, who are hosting a Michael Jackson tribute gig on Saturday at Jamie's Place in town. For more information check out the events page.

Happy cycling and check for more updates soon