Castlepoint has happened.

The Castlepoint event has come and gone. It has brought in about £240 which is OK, but not as much as I would have liked to have raised. But a big thank you to everyone from the local MNDA branch who helped out.

The weather was good - mainly sunny but not too hot.So we arrived at 8am to set up and by 9 all was ready. I started pedalling and waited for the people to come along. And waited some more. The numbers of people passing did pick up a bit by 11am, but I think everyone was too busy with the shopping to stop. Thank you to everyone who did stop and paid the £2 to take a guess at the distance.

It was encouraging to see Mike and Michelle come along. Mike was in good spirits as usual and held a bucket for passing trade. Then he had a butterfly painted on his hand by the stall next to us. He was able to stay for a couple of hours.

We had one or two people who came along who had had recent experience of family or friends who have been affected by MND as well. They wanted help and advice so having some from the branch there was a real advantage.

I took a 5 minute break in the morning, 30 minutes at lunchtime and 20 minutes in the afternoon. So the pedalling time was just about 7 hours. And the distance? 115.9 miles. The turbo wasn't on a high setting, but I feel very happy to have completed a distance that is 15 miles further than any ride before. So it has been a good day combining fundraising with a day's training. I feel tired but not completed done in.

A number of friends come along to encourage me - that you. One of these was Amy who, I think, came to check up that I was working hard enough.

And the competition winners, in order of choosing their prizes are Des Allison, Susan Delaney, Clare Busst, Judith Mills, Mike Spittle, Derek Sercombe and Mike Hardy. I am in the process of contacting everyone which may take a couple of days or so but you will hear from me.

And here is the usual request - if you haven't sponsored me, please do so.

Castlepoint Cycle Challenge

I don't normally get round to two posts in a week, but I wanted to do a short one to mention the Castlepoint event this Saturday, 28th July.

It is always difficult to ballance the fundraising and training, not to mention the rest of life. But, back in September, it occurred to me that I could combine training and fundraising by arranging a competition at Castlepoint shopping centre. So this Saturday, I will be putting the bike on the turbo trainer outside Marks and Spencer's and cycling for about 7 hours between 9am and 5pm. Those of you who are good at arithmetic will notice that this is actually 8 hours. But I will take breaks from time to time and will need a bit longer at lunchtime to refuel.

For £2 per guess (3 guesses for £5), anyone walking past will be invited by my younger daughter Rachel (plus others) to estimate how far I will go in the time. There are some good prizes that have been very kindly donated by various people.

So if you are in Bournemouth/Poole, take an hour off from watching the Olympic road race and come and throw tomatoes (and cash) at me. All the money raised at this event will be given to the local brnach of MNDA for support of some of the 35 local people who have MND.

And if you can't make it but want to make an entry, put your donation on JustGiving and put your guess(es) in the message and they will be included in the competition.

Winners will be notified over the weekend and will be able to choose a prize n turn. Winners names will be put in a post in this blog as soon as possible.

Prizes are:

Shiatsu Deluxe Massage Chair donated by JMLDirect.com (Value £99)

£50 vouchers for Aruba restaurant in Bournemouth

Waldo Pancake goods in a Waldo Pancake Mag Bag (Value approx £45) from www.reallygood.uk.com

‘the bright side’ Household goods in a ‘Hello Beach’ bag. (Value approx £40) from www.reallygood.uk.com

£30 Sainsbury’s vouchers

£30 Training session with Amy Williams (my personal trainer) www.amywilliamspt.co.uk

Sunday Lunch for 2 at Hotel Piccadilly in Bournemouth (Value £26)

I wish I had Wiggins' legs!

After the exertions of the last two weekends, yesterday's excursion was just a short 35 mile ride around Poole and Bournemouth, taking in Sandbanks and Hegistbury Head. So not too taxing, but including all those short steep hills that the seafront has to offer here. The one up from Alum Chine is probably the steepest, although Branksome Chine comes a very close second and Boscombe pier a very close third. They all get the heart rate up a bit. Haven Road in Poole is also pretty good.

During the week, there have been a couple of gym visits that have been a bit on the stiff side. In the wake of commentary on the tour de france, I decided that I had better start getting serious about the long mountain climb we have in front of us. One of similar gradient and length (12 km at 7.7%) was described as tough and would leave riders 'all over the mountain'. If this is true of these amazing professionals, it suddenly came home that it might leave me all over the mountain. Not a pretty prospect .. So I forced myself to set the static bike on the maximum resistance and do 12km. The first time it took 48 minutes. Friday it took 42 minutes. Still about twice as long as the professionals, but encouraging.

And speaking of the professionals, Isn't the tour proving amazing. Wiggins performance yesterday was something else. To win the time trial by 76 seconds is just unbelievable!

So yesterday has been more mundane matters. Ordering fence panels because three are now broken and my neighbour has been very patient. (B&Q have a lot to learn about customer service. I hate going in there. It always takes about four times as long as it should.) Various other things that have needed doing.

I was able to call in and see Mike Hardy in the morning. Mike lives at the top of our road and was diagnosed with MND 9 years ago. His is one of the slow forms, but he is now completely dependent on the wheelchair and his carers. He is always so amazingly cheerful and copes so well with his problems. He now has a device that allows him to type a sentnce and then have it pronounced for him. So although he has not been able to speak much for the last two years or more, he is able to have a conversation with you. Once again it brought home the very practical difference that can be made in peoples' lives with the money that is being donated. His wife is his full time carer.

And this evening there has been a prom to listen to on BBC4. Beethoven symphnoies 3 and 4. I haven't heard number 4 for many years and, although the Eroica has always been a favourite since my early teens, it still has evokes a powerful emotional response. It struck me that the last movement must have been a model for the last movement of Brahms 4th symphony - that wonderful great passacaglia movement.

Enough of my meanderings. Remember to sponsor me if you haven't already done so and give more people like Mike a chance of as normal a life as possible when living with MND.

So this is a crowded island, is it?

81 miles in the Yorkshire dales and for about 55 of those miles we hardly saw another soul except a few at the top of Tan Hill. The Inn there is said to be the highest in the UK - I have no reason to doubt it. It is also the only place for about 20 miles in any direction where you can buy anything at all, let alone anything to eat. There were sheep, of course, but they didn't seem to understand much English when spoken to.

This was a super ride. And for all but 5 miles, the weather was kind to us. It took in North Yorkshire, Co Durham and Cumbria. Only three of us were able to make this ride for various reasons. So John, Clare and I met up in Richmond for a prompt start at 8:30.

The first 20 yards were fine - slightly downhill. Then Clare said we had to turn right and we immediately found ourselves on a vertical hill going up. This set the scene for the next 40+ miles. The hills varied from steady to steep - they went down as well as up, of course, but the down does not last long compared with the up. The 'Stang' was the worst with a nasty sting in its tail. 'Tan hill' was the longest, but at least there was the prospect of something to eat at the top. If you ever find yourself near it, you must go in Tan Hill Inn to experience the appalling customer service. But when there is no competition for 20 miles around, you don't need to bother about that, I suppose. This marked the 25 mile point and at that stage we had already done about 3000 feet of climb.

A few more bits of uphill came along with the most wonderful scenery. And unlike previous trips up here, we could actually see it. Once again, this creation in which we live is quite amazing. At the top of another hill we met two other cyclists coming the other way. It was John who cracked first and asked the inevitable 'How far are you going?' We were pleased to hear they were only doing 60 miles. The trick is then not to say how far you are going but wait for them to ask. Much more satisfying (as long as you win). That was a nice moment this time and, as it happened, we saw them later on going the other way, so were able to wave at them again. But at the bottom of the hill they had just come up, I had to admit secretly that I had some admiration for them. It was most enjoyable going down it!

Next stop was Hawes at 54 miles, in time for a late lunch - that is normal when Clare arranges the route. This 'lunch' was at 2:30pm - last time it as at 4pm. We found somewhere that did what must be the best soup in the world with an amazing decoration piped on the top (picture courtesy of Clare). We could have spent a bit longer there, but there is always more cycling to be done.

At 65 miles came the decision point. Do we do another 2500 feet of climb or settle for just 1500 feet. Independently, Clare and I had already opted for the lower way. We could have done the harder one, but sometimes it is better to play things safer. John is obviously much more reckless. So we took seperate routes from the road that leads to Castle Bolton where John worked out how to use the auto mode on my camera. Clare and I managed to find the one cloud that had rain in it (it is just starting to get itself ready in the background), John missed the cloud but found the big hills. He later told us that he would have preferred the rain. I'm not sure I wouldn't have preferred the hills. The ones we had were still testing and with the water running down the road, it was again a case of slower down than up. Having said that, a visit to Yorkshire definitely seems incomplete without the downpour. Come to think about it, sitting on a bike and staying dry is a pretty distant memory in any county.

But that did not destroy the memory of what was a most enjoyable, if somewhat tough, ride. All necessary to be ready for the 330 miles in September! Please make the training all worthwhile by sponsporing me.!

Plastic surgery may be needed.

I have lost count of the number of people who have said something along the lines of "Rain is refreshing". The next person who says that risks having to consult a good plastic surgeon.

Yesterday was the day of the Wight Ferry Epic. 95 miles taking in the Isle of Wight. When we signed up for it (in March), we were thinking more about how much sun tan cream to take. All eyes on the weather forecast as the week progressed and from day to day it varied. However, by Friday evening it was looking pretty conclusive - RAIN. Up at 5:20 and out of the door with Alex at 6:20, arrvive at Brockenhurst 7:00 and the forecast was confirmed. Wiggle (the organisers) realised this was going to slow us up and shortened the course by 18 miles. You just can't go fast downhill when it is wet because it is so easy to slip.

The first 14 miles was actually quite pleasant. The rain was patchy and only light. But by the time we arrived in Yarmouth, that changed. The rest of the day it just rained. The next 26 miles or so were all into the wind and rain. It was very unpleasant. The wind made it very hard work up the hills (some quite testing) and the rain washing sweat from my forehead (sorry) into my eyes which made them sting badly. I was begining to run out of steam and Alex was having to wait for me regularly.

Then came the food station at Ventnor Rugby Club and this meant two things. (1) Food (obviously) and (2) a change of direction. There was still two or three miles into the wind, but then we turned east and started on the long hill. With the refuelling and the wind behind us, I felt a new man. I was always in Alex's wake and he would have completed in around 20 minutes less, left to his own devices. But at least I didn't feel totally exhausted any longer. So back to Yarmouth via Freshwater and refreshsments in the school.

If we hoped that the last section on the mainland would be less wet we were wrong. It was just as bad. There were still large puddles, inches deep, across even the B roads. But soon the sign saying 10km to go loomed up. JOY! Less than 30 minutes to go. A couple of ponies to say hello to. One other cyclist to catch and pass and then the finish line. Just to round it off, as soon as we crossed the finish line, it stopped raining.

So I can tell you rain is NOT refreshing. It is thoroughly unpleasant. But somehow, I still enjoyed the ride and we were back home by 17:00

I'm having to put in a lot of work to be ready for Paris/Geneva and when the time comes, if is is tipping down with rain, we'll still have to do it. It is for a cause that is not so well known as other ones, but just as worthy. Click here to go to my JustGiving page.