Shooting Orchids

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 

Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening!

I hope everyone (in the U.K) is enjoying the fantastic weather and is making the most of the long days and warm evenings. Some of the late afternoon/early evening cycling has been brilliant and it's not taking a lot of effort to get out on the bike and pick up some ridiculous sun tans. I'm currently sporting the '50/50' which is to say that half my thighs are a deep mediterranean brown and the other half are as white as a sheet. Very attractive!

A lot has happened since this idea was conjured up at the back end of last summer and a lot is still to be done before we head off to Samoens in August. As you may have spotted from the Justgiving link, we have raised our target from £15,000 to £20,000. We broke through our base target earlier this summer and, instead of resting on our laurels and patting ourselves on the back, we immediately aimed for a higher amount. The more we can give to our two fantastic charities the better! We have more events and activities in the pipeline to hit our new mark so keep checking the website for details.

I should add a massive Thank You from all of us Orchids to everyone who has donated their time, money and effort to our cause so far! It really means a lot that people are getting behind us and willing us on. A couple more months and we promise we'll shut up about cycling for a while.....whilst we plan the next trip :-)

On the roads the miles have been ticking by. The hills are getting easier, the average speeds are increasing