Radio Shows

We're off the the dizzy heights of Blackburn to appear on Sally Naden's lunch-time show. She's invited us to talk about our Macmillan fundraising plans for 2010. Sally wants me to take my bike to the front of the studio and she'll come out with the radio mic to chat to us. We're delighted we've been given the opportunity to spread-the-word in our local area. Tuesday 23 February between 11am and 1pm. BBC Radio Lancashire
I'll also be on 'The Morning Show with Babs' on Friday 12 February at 10am Chorley FM

UK Four Corners Challenge

Here's Paul Barker of North Yorkshire, doing what he does best. He'll be pushing his limits to the max in May 2010 by taking part in the UK Four Corners Challenge in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support.
Paul's initial idea was to ride the infamous journey from Lands's End to Jon '0' Groats. However, it wasn't challenging enough for this intrepid biker, so another two destinations were added to the brew, and he came up with the UK Four Corners Challenge.
Here's the itinerary (all mileage approximate)
Day 1 - 22 May - Home to Lowestoft (265 miles)
Day 2 - 23 May - Lowestoft St David's, West Wales (370 miles)
Day 3 - 24 May - St Davis's to land's End (360 miles)
Day 4 - 25 May - Rest day
Day 5 - 26 May - Land's End to Jon '0' Groats (850 miles) Possibly going for the 1000 mile day/route
Day 6 - 27 May - Jon '0' Groats to Kilmarnock (300 miles)
Day 7 to 10 - Join The Breast Way Round Charity Motorbike Ride

You can show your support right now by sponsoring Paul, Bryn and Chris on The Breast Way Round Just Giving Page:
http://www.justgiving.com/breastwayround2010
Please add a message to say that you are donating for The Four Corners Guys.
Every penny helps and with your donation, no matter how small, we can make a real difference to cancer sufferers throughout the UK.
Thank you!

Grand Total

£35,287

was the grand total raised by everyone taking part in Breast Way Round 2009. There's actually a bit more to add to that total, well, at least another tenner anyway. As I had a couple of sponsors who were late giving me their dosh.

My little group did really well. Including our street collection, we raised over £4,000 towards the grand total. This weekend I'm off to Motherwell in Scotland where the cheque will be presented to Macmillan Cancer Support. More to follow ...

The Best 'Trip' (The Fellas)

We couldn't have done it with out their support. Although they got much too much attention for my liking. Oh well! It was for a good cause wasn't it? Here's a selection of funnies ...

The Best 'Trip' (The Weather)

The weather wasn't kind to us. Although we did have a few dashes of sunshine along the way, it was mostly waterproofs for the whole trip. The photo above was taken in Fort William on our final morning, 25 May 2009. It might have added to our 'helmet-hair' but it didn't dampen our spirits in any way. By the time we got to Dumbarton the rain was gone and we arrived in George Square to warmer weather and an even warmer welcome.

The Best 'Trip' (Friends)

Making friends and having fun. All for a great cause too. How can you possibly improve on that? I had a great bunch of people in my team and met more along the way. Biking brings all types together. The public were so generous too. It was such a thrill to ride around the West Coast, having people waving and cheering us along with big smiles on their faces. This year was better than last year, and next year will be even better. Bikers are the best.

The Best 'Trip' (Hosteling)

Hosteling is NOT for me! NO WAY! As 'Hilda-the-German' appeared at the hostel door in Oban screeching "ZEEZE ARE YOUR KEYS!" I wondered "Why oh why didn't I pay an extra tenner and stay in a B&B?" If only my wax kit was portable, I could have made a fortune out of Hilda that weekend. We had hundreds of steps to navigate to get to our rooms on the top floor. Carrying our bike kit all the way. What a dump! But the walls of our seedy little room were covered in works of art!? Quite bizarre! We weren't going to fork out for one of Hilda's breakfasts the next morning, so instead opted for the luxury of Tesco, safe in the knowledge that never again would we have to experience Hilda's hairy hospitality.

The Best 'Trip' (Police Escort)

Oh my goodness, it's all over for this year. I can't believe it. I'm still on a real high.
Being a group leader was tough and it brought out the best and the worst in me. What a way to learn about leading a group though. I will definitely do it again next time, as I have learned so much from events this year.Through it all, when things were getting a bit stressful and tense, the thing that got me through it all .... 'my happy place', was thoughts of the brilliant police motorcyclists who so professionally guided us out of Kilmarnock at the start, and escorted us from Dumbarton into George Square for the finale.
They supported our cause in every way and even gave up their 'rest day' to help us out. I hope they too will have fond memories of us all.
What an amazing spectacle to see biking perfection, personified by these fantastic police officers.
What good sports they were too! Great fun!
My perfect group next year would be the line-up below. What do you say guys? I can dream can't I? Thank you for making my personal 'trip' one to remember.

Police Escort

We're so lucky and Shirley-Ann is so organised this year. We've got a police escort guiding us out of Kilmarnock Football Club on the first day. And one escorting us into George Square on the last day. This is fantastic news for 'Ali's Purple Helmet Display Team', hehe!

With the 'Boys in Blue' supporting us, we're sure to make a great impression too.

The Route

I've been studying the route plan for our charity ride today. I did the same trip last year but didn't pay much attention to the route ..... just the beautiful scenery.
We start at Kilmarnok Football Club on Friday 22nd May. Head to Invarary via the Dunoon ferry and ride on to Oban on Friday night. We're staying at Jeremy Inglis Hostel in Oban.
I chose the hostels in order to keep our costs down. I did my research and found them to have very good reviews so I'm sure we'll enjoy our over-nights there.
From Oban on Saturday morning, to Fort William, Fort Augustus and Inverness overnight.
Sunday morning we set off for Aviemore and then back to Fort William for an overnight stay at Chase The Wild Goose Hostel.
Monday morning we set off early for our final trip to Glasgow, passing through the most stunning countryside of the trip.
We end our journey at George Square, Glasgow, with a full police escort into the Square.
Really looking forward to the trip with my friends and hoping to make some new ones along the way.














Left - Chase The Wild Goose Hostel, Fort William. Right - A dorm in the Jeremy Inglis Hostel, Oban.