Asante sana!

Friday 16th November: The project at Mumias. If cycling through Kenya had been a rollercoaster of one kind, visiting the project ICT was supporting at Mumias was a whole other experience. We left Kakamega late and rather the worse for wear after the previous night's celebrations, but the Kenyans had prepared about the best hangover cure imaginable. As we arrived at the project site in Mumias we were met by hundreds of children singing, beating drums, and waving flags and banners. It was a wonderful, moving and quite overwhelming experience. I don't think there was a dry eye on the bus. As we disembarked we were met by a host child (or more likely a group of children) who took our hands and led us to the entrance to the project, where we queued to sign the visitors book and then were guided to our seats for what followed.

The project we visited is a collaboration between ICT and WEAEP - Western Education, Advocacy and Empowerment Project, a Kenya-based, child-centred NGO. It is estimated that there are around 800,000 orphaned and vulnerable children in Kenya's Western Province. The aim of the Mumias project is to build a Child Protection and Community Centre, in ICT's words

to provide care and improve quality of life for orphans and vulnerable children suffering from extreme poverty, disease, abuse and neglect. When complete, the centre will provide access to basic rights and protection to 500 children and young people per year by offering: consultation and assessment of needs and aspirations; psychological therapy; legal advice and child protection; rescue services for girls abused by violence; linking orphans to foster parents/guardians; community training in child rights and protection; and integrate/place orphans and street children in formal education. The centre will provide vocational training to vulnerable youngsters at risk and provide toolkits for those who successfully complete their courses, enabling them to find work or become self-employed.

It sounds really worthwhile in the abstract, but to experience it is something else again. The shell and ground floor of the building have already been completed, helped by some of the money raised from ICT's Cycle Cambodia ride the previous year. Without doubt it will be the best building in the area - a real beacon of what is possible. But the project is so much more than just a building. Many of the children had T-shirts that had obviously been printed for our visit. On the back they said " Cycle Kenya Team 2007 - International Childcare Trust, and then below that "Thank you for giving me back my life". Needless to say that had us blinking away the tears again, because it wasn't hyperbole, it was true. The project and the Centre are an absolute lifeline for these children.

Our visit coincided with the official opening of the Centre, at which we were among the honoured guests. The centrepiece was a set of performances by children and women that the project had supported: a mix of songs, poetry and drama expressing aspects of their lives and their hopes for the future. Richard, ICT's wonderful chairman and our constant support and companion over the event planted a tree - a symbol of the project as a place of shelter - and then we were given a tour of the new building. Throughout the morning of our visit we continued to be moved by our experience of the children, the little boy with the big smile who had scarred himself by cutting words into the flesh of his arms and legs. Wonderful Valentine, a 14 year old AIDS orphan who lived with her aunt and dreamt of becoming a doctor. There were so many stories, and now so many memories that still have the power to move me to tears.

In the end it was all over too quickly. Another (foreshortened) game of soccer, a quick lunch and then on the bus to take us to our flight back to Nairobi. This turned into a very different kind of experience. Simon had worked out that our scheduled bus trip to Nairobi could easily take nine or ten hours, limiting our available time at the project and wiping out our plans for a celebration dinner on the last night that we would be all together, so we had agreed to pay the extra to charter a bus to the nearest airport and then take the half hour flight to Nairobi. The bus arrived on time, and we set off, with the driver assuring us that he would take us on a shortcut away from the main road that would have us at the airport in an hour. Yeah right as we Kiwis say. What followed was the hairiest hour and three-quarters you would want to experience on four wheels as we flew over dirt roads going through god knows where. At one point we stopped in a village and a package was unloaded off the bus and a group of locals tried to get on to our already full bus, while Simon went ballistic and physically barred the door! It was pretty clear that, hire or no hire, the bus crew had their own agenda as well - another example of the differences between the African and Eurpean way! We did finally make the airport, with about twenty minutes to spare. Simon and Kate sprinted off to get our tickets... and found that the flight had been delayed by half an hour.

The rest of the journey back to Nairobi and our hotel was uneventful. By 9.30pm we were settled in "Carnivore" - a bit of a Nairobi landmark - but probably not the first choice of restaurant for two vegetarians :-). We finally collapsed into bed at about 2.00am, conscious that we had another early start on Saturday, as we had signed up to spend our last morning in Africa on safari in Nairobi National Park - 64 square kms of reserve just 20 minutes outside the city.

We have gained so much from this challenge. We’ve made great new friends, developed muscles that we never knew existed, and above all experienced being in Kenya, the joy of the children, and the generous welcome of so many people who stopped to wave and shout "jambo" as we cycled past. We’ve been contributed to by our many friends and supporters here in England and abroad. We’ve held fun fund raising events and now we are exploring how to create a legacy for the future, by creating a trust after our first annual ‘Cycling for children’ event, where children from 5years old to 11 came out with their parents on a sponsored cycle ride. Its been an extraordinary journey - both physically and emotionally. Asante sana Kenya! Thank you very much ICT!

The final stretch

Thursday 15th November - Eldoret to Kakamega (105 kms) Our last day in the saddle started on the busiest roads so far, but it also meant that the riding was fast and we were through the first twenty kms in not much over the hour. Julian was back on his bike but it looked like his run of bad luck might continue, as a bee got caught in his helmet and stung him on the forehead just before the first stop! (In fact his was just the first - Andrew and Ash both got stung on the next section.)

After the break we continued on the main road, which was now carrying quite a lot of traffic, particularly the infamous matutus - local minbuses which act as a cheap taxi service - some of them were really friendly but others tended to drive like they are the only ones on the road. Worse though were the lorries whose drivers seemed to have very little regard for human life at all. If you were where they wanted to be that was your problem. Fortunately no one was really injured, but a couple of the team ended up coming off their bikes as lorries brushed against them or forced them off the tarmac.

There was another unexpected challenge on the last big hill before lunch. On the up side the tarmac had melted and the weight of lorries pressing into it had created deep vertical grooves up the hill. These were smooth enough to ride in, but in some places too deep to get out of easily if a lorry decided it wanted your bit of space - which is what happened to me! As I tried to pull over, my pedal hit the rim of one of these grooves, and I was tipped off - sideways towards the edge of the road fortunately - and without too much damage to me or the bike. Once you got over the top of the hill, however, another surprise presented itself: here the tarmac had also melted and then reformed in waves and ripples down a stretch of the hill. Julian had been riding in peleton with some of the guys and hit this patch at speed. He is still not sure how he and the bike stayed together!

Shortly afterwards we turned off the main road, with some relief, and started down a quieter road towards Kakamega and the rainforest. But still Cycle Kenya wasn't going to relent; we now had to contend with nearly 40 kms of broken asphalt. Imagine a road that has had the top layer skimmed off and replaced, and then half of that top layer has broken away, leaving a bumpy and uneven surface. The sensation started off as unpleasant and just got worse - wrists and bum took on a relentless ache; fingers started to tingle with the vibration. You started to search out the better patches of road, or look for ridable stretches of dirt at the roadside - anything for a bit of relief. Finally we hit the outskirts of Kakamega - more traffic but a better surface again! And suddenly it was all over - a group of cyclists at a road junction, hugging each other and cheering each new arrival. Then a ragged peleton of 37 riders up the last short stretch of road to our hotel. We arrived and someone spotted the swimming pool. Soon - much to the bemusement of the local welcoming committee - we were all in the pool, fully clothed, laughing and cheering each jump, bomb or collapse into the water. Then the first round of the inevitable Tuskers arrived, before dinner, when we discovered we were all kings and queens of something, and then the partying really began... We'd done it!

Life at the top

(picture courtesy of Andrew Cole)

Kenya Day 5: The big hill

Wednesday 14 November: Kabernet to Eldoret (88kms)

This was it, our biggest challenge of the challenge! We started off by driving 40 kms up to the village of Kabernet which was to be the start point of today's ride across the Rift Valley. The road to Kabernet itself gave us some spectacular views as we climbed to over 2000 metres before stopping close to the start of our 18km descent to the floor of the valley. The descent itself had some heart-stopping moments. Though the road surface, thankfully, was pretty good, there were a couple of tight turns and one stretch of steep descent where the road just seemed to disappear over the brow of the hill. The views (when you had a moment to admire them) were also pretty stunning. After the fastest 18 kms I've ever done, the section across the "flat" valley floor came as a bit of a surprise: most of it was in fact uphill. There were some stretches that were really deceptive, where your eyes were telling you it was level, or even slightly downhill, but your legs were convinced you were going up - a strange sensation that had a few of us checking our bikes and wondering why it seemed like such hard work!

There was no sign of Julian at the first stop, and it was only later that I found out he'd had trouble right from the start. Our bikes had been reassembled at the top of the hill, and soon after starting off, he had discovered that the stem had not been tightened down properly and was loose and giving off quite a lot of vibration. Not surprisingly he stopped and had to wait (no allen key!) for one of the mechanics from the ground crew to come and fix his bike before setting off down the hill. Consequently despite pushing the pace along the bottom of the valley he was about half an hour behind the main group at the first stop.

The climb up the Elgeyo Escarpment began in earnest soon after the first stop. Simon had warned us that the first part would be the toughest, and we would gain a kilometre in vertical height over the first 15 kms of the climb. He wasn't kidding! By this time it was also getting very hot. In fact it got up to about 35 degrees while we were on the Escarpment - the hottest day of the challenge so far. Five or six kilometres up the hill and we had the opportunity for another break. I'd just about had enough, but both Kate and Julian had been willing me on, so I got on the bike again, and started on the next section, which seemed even steeper than the last. I gave it a go, but really did not have the power in my legs anymore. I had to stop, tears running down my cheeks, while 'Dr Raph' put his arm round my shoulder and helped me onto the bus.

Last time I'd seen Julian at the break he seemed tired but still pretty strong, so it was a bit unexpected to come around a corner about 10 kms up the hill to see him off his bike and sitting on a rock by the roadside. Raphael got off the bus to see what was up, and next thing they were putting his bike on the bus and Julian was climbing on board. Apparently he'd suddenly started to feel quite strange and shivery - which he realised was more than a bit odd in the heat. Raphael immediately identified exhaustion - Julian's sugar levels had dropped so low that he was hypoglaecemic and couldn't continue. He reckoned that the early push to catch up with the group and the hurried break, when he'd eaten and drunk very little, had taken a greater toll than he'd realised. So there we both were on the bus and only half way up the hill. Not exactly what either of us had planned!

We stayed on the bus until the lunch stop, and Dr Raph said he'd check us out after lunch. The great news was that everyone else had made it up the hill - a fantastic effort by the team!

After lunch it was decided we were both back on the bus until the next stop. Becky was also to join us, suffering from mild exhaustion too. The worst of the climb was over, but there was still over 30 kms left to ride, and at least the general direction was mostly downhill now. In fact Becky and I rejoined the team before the next break and carrried on riding through to the end. Julian however still wasn't fit. His blood pressure had been high after lunch and he now had a tension headache, so Raphael decreed that was the end of his cycling for the day.

We finally pulled into the town of Eldoret at about 6.00pm, but Kenya still had one stunt to pull on us. Despite having confirmed our booking that morning, our hotel - The Sirikwa - had double booked and so we had no accommodation! A rather fraught and increasingly frustrating two and half hours followed - slightly mitigated by a free drink and a not very good dinner at what was supposed to be 'our' hotel - until the head of our ground crew, William, got back with alternative accommodation. So it was that we found ourselves in an Inn on the edge of town, charging the equivalent of £5 per night(!!) for bizarrely decorated rooms and some very basic plumbing! Frankly, though by the time we got to our room we were pretty much past caring, and just fell into bed. Here endeth the longest day. Breakfast at the Sirikwa was pretty rubbish the next morning too. Best hotel in Eldoret? Maybe, but we certainly won't be going back!

Kenya Day 4

Tuesday 13th Nov: Nyahururu to Lake Nakuru (58 kms)

We started the morning on foot, taking a short walk from the lodge to see the fabulous Thompsons Falls, the highest waterfall in Kenya. It was grey and very misty to start with, but the mist started to clear while we were at the viewpoint to give us some fabulous glimpses of the falls. After that we mounted up for our morning's ride, as this afternoon we were transfering by bus to our hotel, ready for our big (second)crossing of the Rift Valley on Wednesday. But today was to be our first encounter with the great rift that bisects most of the sub-continent. This morning's ride started on really good roads and everyone was just flying along. We had our first stop at the Subuku viewpoint, with breathtaking views across the Rift Valley. From there it was an easy, but fast descent to the valley floor, and across, before the pull up the other side, about a 3-4 km steady climb, followed by a bit of a breathing space before another short steep incline.

We took a second break by a tea plantation - a huge field of tea bushes across the top of the hill. At most of the breaks we had a small group of onlookers, but with the proximity of the plantation we soon acquired a larger group, including a gaggle of children who were fascinated by our digital cameras and loved having their photos taken.

At the break a few of the faster guys teamed up with Simon, and taking advantage of the Kenyan police motorcyclist we had with us, set off to complete the ride in a peleton. They went flying past Julian first, who was out on the road with Duncan at the time. He tried to follow, but just could not get on to their tail. I had been one of the first to set off after the break, but they passed me too just a couple of kilometres before our lunch stop. At some points they really were moving, apparently the policeman with them clocked their top speed at about 74 kph!

After lunch we boarded the bus to transfer about 100km north to our hotel on the shore of Lake Baringo, the most northerly of the Rift Valley lakes. It turned out to be a pretty eventful trip. The "main road" from the town of Nakuru to Baringo is pretty basic, and as it nears the lake it sits in the lea of a range of volcanic mountains. In the rainy season there must be a lot of water coming down off the hills, and at a couple of places flash flooding had obliterated the road. At one point, where a bridge had been washed out, Joseph our driver had to manouevre the bus, at times leaning at a rather alarming angle, down a bank on to the river bed (virtually dry - fortunately) and drive along the river until we could get up the other side and rejoin the road! It was well worth the ride though, as Lake Baringo itself was beautiful, and the hotal was probably the nicest we stayed in - it was pretty new, with a lovely foyer and bar area that was roofed over in dark wood but open at the front to give a view over the lake to Ol Kokwe Island. We even managed to get hot water out of our shower - a bit of a rarity - and were entertained by Masai dancers at dinner.

But the real highlight of the evening was a soccer match that the guys had managed to arrange with the village next to our hotel. The pitch was some way from the village, and as it had taken us longer to negotiate the roads than we'd anticipated, it was getting towards dusk when the game started. The 'pitch' was huge and mostly dirt, with the odd patch of grass. Its probably fair to say that what the game lacked in finesse it made up for in passion, and the local team came away worthy winners. It was really moving to see how much our participation meant to the village. As one of their players said "this is a story I will be able to tell my grandchildren". By the time the game ended it was already getting quite dark and everyone hurried to leave. This, we discovered, was because the pitch got taken over at night by a local hippo who wasn't too keen on sharing his space with people!

Talking to one of the local school teachers, we also got to see the other side of life by the lake, and how little benefit the local people got from the hotel and the developing tourism on their doorstep. Some local people had got work in the hotel, but many of the staff were outsiders. The villagers had little contact normally with the tourists who came to the area, and in fact had lost business because the hotel had its own boat to take people across to the island, and so the community boat was used less than before the hotel had been built. Walking back through the village with the local children holding our hands, I think we approached our hotel with rather more mixed feelings than when we had first arrived.

Back to Kenya: Day 3

Monday 12th November: Nyeri to Nyahururu (101 kms)

The day started with the already customary 6.30 wake-up call and a cooked breakfast to load up on carbs ready for our first serious test of the week. While there were no really big hills today, the route, taking us along the edge of the Aberdare mountains, climbed steadily over the course of the day with an overall height gain of over 500 metres, giving us our highest finishing point of the week, at Thompsons Falls Lodge, 2336m - or over 7000ft above sea level.

We started out by retracing our steps through Nyeri - back down the hill we had crawled up the previous evening. The roads were pretty good and we were soon riding over open savannah. This probably makes the ride sound easier than it was. The road was far from level, but more a series of steady climbs and descents. Soon the downhills no longer felt like a relief, but just a prelude to the next up. Unfortunately, as the morning progressed, the weather deteriorated and we were faced (literally!) by high winds and heavy rain. By lunchtime, waterproofs or not, everyone was wet and cold. This was not the weather we were expecting in Kenya!! Fortunately the weather improved over lunch, drying out socks and shirts - but not squelchy cycling shoes - before we set off for the afternoon's ride. The weather held for the afternoon, and, but for one long but not particularly severe climb of 12 kms, the cycling was pretty good. After struggling with the weather in the morning Julian did really well and was among the first dozen to reach our destination around 5.30 pm, by which time one of the team - Andrew - had already ordered in a crate of "Tusker" beers to celebrate our arrival! The lodge we were staying in was an old colonial building, single story and mostly wood and brick. Given the weather and the altitude it was cold too, and we were delighted when staff came round to light fires in the bedrooms. Everyone was feeling tired that night after the combination of "relentless" hills (thanks John), bad weather and the distance. Raphael, our wonderful Kenyan doctor, and Gareth, a physio who was also on the challenge, set up a treatment room after dinner and spent an hour or more treating and massaging sore legs, necks and shoulders. It was good to climb into bed that night - even if the bedding was all a bit damp!

"The King" sighted in Warwick!

Massive thanks to Kate and (many) friends for organising and supporting our celebratory fundraising Elvis night at the the Nelson Club in Warwick last night. It really was a ball, and the combination of Elvis, an auction of gifts and promises and a charity raffle had everyone digging deep. So much so that we look set to add over £1,000 to the total money raised for ICT. Many, many thanks to Elvis (Steve) for donating his services free, to the Nelson Club for the use of their function room and to Emma P. for all her support too. And tomorrow sees our kids cycling event taking place in Victoria Park, Leamington. Its all go!

We've done it!

We arrived back on Sunday from Kenya after an amazing and truly challenging trip having made a group of wonderful new friends - the Cycle Kenya Team 2007 (pictured courtesy of Gareth Roblin) and been completely moved and inspired by ICTs work in Kenya. As promised Julian and I will try to recreate our cycling adventure day by day over the next few pages.

We left Heathrow on Friday evening and arrived in Nairobi early last Saturday morning. We'd already met Simon and Kate our "Action Challenge" reps and most of the team at Heathrow. At Nairobi we met up with our bus and some of the 'ground crew' (led by William) who would be supporting us throughout the ride. We than had a long drive (197kms) to our first night's accommodation at the Sportsman's Arms Hotel in Nanyuki. Here we spent the afternoon getting our bikes reassembled and otherwise sorted out for our first day's cycling, before relaxing in the pool and having dinner and (in our case at least) a relatively early night!

Sunday 11 Nov: Nanyuki to Nyeri (61 kms)

This was our first day in the saddle and was intended as a relatively gentle warm-up ride. We were all conscious that Monday was going to be our first long ride of the challenge. The roads out of Nanyuki were pretty good - reasonably level without any really significant hills. It was soon apparent that we had some good cyclists in the group, and we became quite spread out, though even those of us at the back were making pretty good time.

Each day's ride was split up into sections with breaks to take on more water, bananas, biscuits and fruit. Lunchtimes also fell into a regular pattern; the ground crew would find a spot, pitch a marquee for us and another smaller one for the cooks. By the time we arrived a substantial hot meal would be well on the way. We usually had between one and two hours for lunch - giving us time to load up on carbs and digest some of it before we moved off again!

Today's lunch stop was in a clearing surrounded by bush - some of the biggest eucalyptus I've ever seen. We also saw our first bit of wildlife - a couple of hornbills flying around the trees while we were eating - fantastic!

Straight after lunch we had our first taste of a steep climb out of the valley - the first three kilometres or so were the worst, winding up the hillside, before levelling out for a while. Just as we thought the worst was over there was another, shorter descent followed by a climb up into the village of Nyeri. This hill caught a few of us out, as it didn't seem to start off particularly steeply, but next thing you knew you were in completely the wrong gear and battling to find the right one! Thankfully we had a break near the top, at the English cemetry, where Robert Baden-Powell and his wife Olave are buried, with a view across to Mount Kenya (not that we could see it). Then it was on to our hotel, perched on the top of yet another short but steep climb!

Counting the hours now....

So here we are after months of training and raising money we are heading off tomorrow. I arrived back on tuesday from the USA after attending a training weekend in Denver for the Team, Management and Leadership Course I am currently participating in and had the enormous pleasure of spending five days before that with my son Daniel, his lovely wife Brandy and my fabulous grand daughters Kayenta and Jade in Seattle.

So sounds like a jetsetting life but actually just up to having my life work so I can be in Kenya this weekend knowing that everything I promised has been managed. Bound to find out that I missed something.

Julian has been great handling all the bits and pieces like the inner tubes and extra gear that we need and the paracetomol and vaseline etc. We look like a travelling pharmacy.

And its not going to get any less busy when we get back. We have both our Elvis night and the cycling event in Leamington happening within a week of our return. Pictured are some of the kids who will be taking part, together with Stephen, our local Community Support Officer who has been so supportive in helping us plan the Victoria Park event.

We're counting down the days now...

Well not quite but we are certainly aware that the time is getting close and we are under a month now. This picture was taken after riding 60 miles last sunday with Mick and Eileen around the lanes and roads of Ludlow. We had a great day out as Mick led the charge and knew where to go and Eileen cycled or was it glided up hills making it look so easy. Eileen tells me another year and I will be able to do that too!!

We've had our first jabs and have more to look forward to next week. So it really is becoming a reality now and it does have moments of ..... what are we doing but with so much support we know we will make it.

Fundraising plans are underway and going well. I have two amazing young women on the team and another two are joining us this week. Emma my next door neighbour who has two young children is the lynch pin in our 'Cycling for Children Event' that is being held on the 25th November at Victoria Park in Leamington Spa. This event will see local schoolchildren and their parents completing a sponsored cycle ride.The event is being sponsored by hirecentres.com and you can visit their website at http://www.hirecentres.com
They have hire depots all around the warwickshire county and have been an enormous help. Our local council and Police have also been great and we feel well supported by their efforts.

Kate, another young mum with three children is managing the Elvis event on the 23rd November. It is a ticket only event(£12)so you need to get in touch if you want to come along. It will be a great night with 'Elvis' and a disco, an auction and raffles. This will be a great friday night out.

Our Queen tribute concert has been rescheduled to 8th February 2008 and will be held at the Royal Spa Centre in Leamington Spa. This will be a night to remember and tickets re managed through the Spa Centre. I will include a link when the tickets go on sale. You can check out the band at http://www.thebohemians.com

So back to the training and we are getting out as much as can and using the rsistance trainer when we can't and I am swimming to improve my breathing. It does feel like there are just not enough days now and we could do with a few more months.

I am off to London tonight to hear about the details from Action Challenge the company that manager the logistics of our ride. This will be 'all the things you need to know but were afraid to ask' ;-) It is the first time I will have met the other cyclists and I am looking forward to meeting everyone. Julian unfortunately has to stay behind as he is teaching. However I am under strict orders to find out what they mean by 'kenyan/chinese bikes' which is what they will be riding out there. I am still planning to take my own bike but Julian has opted to use those supplied, hence the 'what exactly is a kenyan/chinese bike anyway'

Events and life..

It seems like there is not enough time in the day to manage all the games I have created and right now the pressure is on as we hold our first charity event and the tickets are going slowly. I was lying awake in bed going over who else I could ask in the next few days leading up to sunday 23rd Sept and decided to get up and write to more people and update my blog. So many bold plans and trying not to be in scarcity mode right now.

I have begun to ask people I don't know which is a triumph but maybe too little too late. I am finding that I am meeting new people in my town which is great and it is funny the different reactions that I get from 'I don't like children or charities' (do you think he really meant it??) to 'I would love to but I'm out of town' to 'I will have five of my friends come along'. Thank goodness for the latter.

I have two more people on my team now, Emma and Kate, both young mums who have just completely taken on creating more events and being a real partnership for what we are doing. Thank you both you gorgeous girls!!

We are planning a 'Cycling for Children' event which I hope could become a legacy from the ride, with children cycling for other children in need. We have approached our local school and the council and local police have been really helpful. This first event will be held at Victoria Park in Leamington and will involve parents and children cycling together.

Friends and family in the UK, USA and NZ are taking on being part of the Team as well and it is fabulous to create it with them as well. I really want people to have fun and not experience their support as hard work. I have found that by having a team we are enjoying ourselves meeting up each week to plan our next steps.

In the midst of all this training and raising funds Julian and I have set a wedding date which is just wonderful and so on the 29th December we will be getting married at Kenilworth Castle. My family have been extraordinary and within 24 hours of being told they had booked their tickets to fly over and be with us. I won't bore you with all of it but more and more I can see when I create inspiring big games people want to participate and they show up as being generous and extraordinary.

And thats what there is to remember, acknowledge whats been accomplished so far and continue to play full out for miracles and magic - so that means back out tomorrow sharing with people, finding more people who don't like children or charities and many more who love the opportunity to make a difference.

I think I'll be able to sleep now and if you're around this sunday we having tapas and salsa dancing, Flamenco guitar with Matt Hernandez at Catalan Restaurant, on Jury Street,Warwick, 2-5pm, tickets are £20 and all profits to The International Childcare Trust.

We have passed our first milestone

A massive thank you from us and the kids we're supporting to the many generous people who have sponsored us so far on our Cycle Kenya charity ride. We have reached the £3000 target we needed to raise by 31 August to make the cut for this trip. So, watch this space, or alternatively don't watch this space, but go to our Just Giving site and add some coppers to the collection :-)

Breaking news!

We have raised our game to £20,000 by November 20th
(and that just takes me right outside my comfort zone!)

I started this weekend on the Team, Management and Leadership programme, one of Landmark Education's Communication Course programmes and I realised that trying to do it on my own I would be doing some things along with Julian to make £8000 happen however by creating a TEAM we could be really bold and even more crazy than we have so far imagined possible.

Now doesn't that seem obvious but not in my world until now. Our families and friends are contributors but by actually having a team with a deputy and functions we can make our earlier and now this target happen and with velocity. I am so excited about what we can do together.

If you would like to be playing a fun(d)raising game at work or with friends or your community please be in touch and come on board, we will have a team member responsible for out of area games who will look after you and we will hold calls for everyone participating to support their actions.

I also wanted to thank the taxi driver who took £4 off my £9 fare and said give it to the charity. I said I would acknowledge him in my blog. Thank you!

More news as the team comes on board.

Time is going by so quickly

Wow summer really has arrived in the last few days, although today I notice it is a bit overcast. Hope it wasn't just summer in a weekend, like lunch in a can. I have started swimming a few days a week to build up my legs and lungs and it does feel great after I do it. Although curiously the riding has begun to occur as hard work and not as much fun as it was when I started.

It seems to me that I am in a middle stage as opposed to middle age (damn it might be the same thing). I have moved through the euphoria, just like a new relationship, the excitement of the beginning and the creation of a new future. One that didn't exist days before and I'm just loving every little part of it, revelling in the difference it brings to my life, talking about it, planning things to do and just generally enjoying the newness it brings to my experience of living.

Now we've been doing it for a little while and, whilst it still matters, and after all I said I would, it seems a little more like work - sometimes hard work - and I look back at the beginning and wonder why that newness can't be there like it was. This is the time when I know there is just to do the work, be your commitment and continue to choose what you're up to, right? Easy to say...

All across my life I can see the times when I have stopped choosing: in relationships, when it ain't so pretty and wonderful, and I think 'is this it, is this all it can be?' and not remember that I chose it. I am 100% responsible for how it goes, how it turns out. So after the initial excitement wains, that is where the real work and dedication begins. It's easy in those first stages because it has a natural momentum of its own.

Now as I bunker down I can choose it to be hard work or choose it to be just as much fun as it was in the beginning, because every time I get on the bike it actually is a new time. It is only my perception that has changed.

The way I see it, this process only starts with accepting the way that it is right now, learning to be with how something is, rather than forcing it to be something else. Its only in acceptance that the opportunity for a new possibility can arise. When I signed up for this ride I knew it would alter my life, and I thought 'wow, how fantastic is that' and now, as I write this, I have become present again to that experience which has and continues to effect my life and it is wow, and sometimes I just forget that.

I sometimes forget I want to make a difference to a group of children who deserve the same chance for living that we expect for our own children, but knowing that you are out there supporting us, contributing to these childrens' lives, that is a great way to be alive.

Okay I'm over it now and it will be back on the bike tonight or a swim depending on the weather.

The rains came down and the floods came up....

I am reminded of a song we used to sing in sunday school. If you didn't know it rained yet again in the Midlands this weekend with severe flooding in some areas. Warwick has been fortunate in the severe downpours we have been experiencing however the trains were cancelled out of London on friday and I was fortunate to get a National Express coach home. I was lucky as my fellow passenger who was heading to Manchester had been waiting for four or five hours by the time he got on the bus and faced a longer journey ahead after I was dropped off at Coventry at midnight. But pleased to be home safe and dry.

Anyway the long and short of it we didn't get out for a ride as planned so it back on the turbo trainer that sits in our hallway. So I sat on the bike with the front door open and rode anyway. However we need to get out on the roads, feel like my training is slipping away rather than building up.

As I write this I am aware that it is not a good metaphor for my training and as a coach I know that our words create our world and that particular context is not empowering.

Okay so new context - my body is getting stronger and will be ready for the road! Yeah baby yeah!! (the cynics amongst you can read it either way ;-)

The pathway to leadership

Recently I was one of three speakers at a fantastic reception held at Lehman Brothers on Canary Wharf. It was a fabulous evening with over 80 women working in IT attending to find out more about their ‘Pathway to Leadership’.

The reason I share this here is that I used my Kenya cycle ride as a metaphor for creating a future that we are passionate and excited about, and committed to. That future for me is one of being able to complete the ride and raise £8000 for children I will never meet, but who will be impacted by me getting on my bike. I am being pulled rather than being pushed towards this future: it is one of the things that gets me out of bed in the morning! I love that expression – having the future pull you towards it.

I’ve have since been asked to speak at the next event in November, and they even moved the date so I could be there (otherwise I was still going to be in Africa). Can you imagine how big a pull that has on me? I now have over 80 people who want to hear how it all went – another incentive to get out of bed and get training!

There is so much happening at the moment that it seems difficult to find the time to even write this but I am so excited about what is happening around me. Friends and contributors are making such a difference to Julian and me.

Also Steph and Graham, friends here in the Midlands who rode Land Ends to John O’ Groats, two years ago, have come up with a great cycle ride – moderately difficult - for the four of us to ride together this weekend. How great is that, just when I was thinking we needed to push up a level in our training, wonderful people have shown up and are working to get us out of our comfort zone!

Just quickly here to end, thank you to all of you have gone to www.justgiving/moiraandjulian.com and donated to the cause. Julian and I are moved by your contribution to us and to the children. Thank you.

Errrrhhh….

Yesterday we headed off to Draycote to get some time on our bikes. With all the rain of the last few weeks my training schedule has gone right off. I’ve had a bug and lost a good part of the week. Just finding the time to manage my training hasn’t been a priority and boy did it show in our outing yesterday.

I managed ten miles and frankly I had had enough at the end of it. Just generally felt like crap and exhausted which was a huge disappointment after our successful training weekend in the Derbyshire Dales several weekends ago where we rode 21 miles on the Saturday and a tremendous 38 miles on the Sunday and a shorter outing of 8 miles on the Monday on fairly rigorous (actually Julian says f….ing vertical would be more accurate) terrain. I felt so good after the 38 mile outing that I knew I could do Kenya. I just needed to do more riding to build stamina and power.

Went out again today, Sunday, and only did 5 miles. It felt worse than my first 5 mile outing, crikey dick, can’t believe this. All our good efforts seem to have just dissipated and it wasn’t as if we had had a night on the town either. The upside is I got off my seat to ride uphill and kept the speed up but my breathing was tight most of the ride.

We’re heading back out there on Monday night to break through this patch. Is this how it goes?

150 days to go… and £8000 to fundraise.

That’s how long we have to train and raise the money. Strangely raising £8000 doesn’t seem as daunting as getting fit for the ride. But that crunch will start to be felt soon enough.

Last week we drove to our preferred training spot, Draycote Water near Dunchurch. It is five miles round and is ideal for training with scenic views, a sealed road and no traffic except for the ranger or the anglers but as they are already out in the water, the anglers that is, by the time we get there, there are very few cars on the road. Much more disconcerting are the many walkers who straddle the road as they also enjoy the outdoors. We’re learning things like getting there earlier or later in the day to beat the walkers - but never the anglers, they are a breed apart. I will take some to pictures to share with you.

We have been doing ten miles each ride and last Tuesday when we went out we struck head winds. I now realise we could also strike that in Kenya but I had forgotten how hard it could be. Stretches I had been riding at around 14 miles an hour dropped to around nine to ten miles an hour and by the end of the ride I was having one of those – ‘what are you doing, you can’t do this, you didn’t think about this when you signed up did you’ conversations with myself. Thank goodness I’m a highly trained coach (tongue in cheek) as I had to quickly banish the thought or I would become dispirited too early in the game.

Julian was stronger and sailed off into the distance, not the right metaphor I know, but that’s how it looked from where I was. I noticed that when I could see him I felt like I was losing and badly but after he went out of sight I settled down to ride my own race. More and more I can see that I have to create small milestones of my own rather than compete with him.

On Saturday when we went out again, he sailed off and I was pleased to settle into my ride with a good pace and managed some of the hills (well more like small short uphill bursts) more easily getting up them in 3rd gear rather than 1st and actually enjoying putting my back into it and meeting the challenge of the hill rather than dreading I couldn't do it.

That was pleasing and I did my promised 15 miles round. Julian thought he would lap me and did 20 miles, however I was only a few minutes behind him as I had found to my amazement that I was feeling stronger at the 12 mile mark and had picked up some speed (its all relative trust me). It was a beautiful warm morning and I was lying in the long grass resting after my efforts when he arrived back, very hot and very sore and whilst pleased with his effort a little disappointed he hadn’t caught me. We're noticing we are getting quite competitive about this...

We’re training in house on the other days with a turbo trainer which provides a different kind of exercise. More about that later….

“Life, are you living it? Have fun whilst making a difference”

That was it. I was hooked. I had just purchased a Big Issue magazine and, on browsing through I found an advert that seemed to jump out at me. The more I read the more I felt I had to do it. I got really excited. It would even be in the month of my 52nd birthday and it seemed to me I couldn’t spend my birthday in a more extraordinary way.

The fact that ‘it’ involved cycling 411kms in Kenya in 5 days just seemed to make it even more compelling. I went online and read all about the project and the cycle ride and by that time it just felt like the right thing to do. Crazy or what?

I rang Julian and said to him we have to do this, surprisingly (he’s normally more resistant to my latest schemes than this) he said he was tempted and that we would talk about it. Smart guy Julian, after 5 years with me I think he’s now worked out the tactics - don’t say ‘no’ to her else she will just do it anyway just say ‘hmmm… sounds good, we’ll talk later’, hoping I will have gotten over it by the time he gets home, or he will have had time to build a strong defence case to persuade me of the errors of my ways.

To be honest after a few days I was beginning to wane and then stupidly or not told my dear friends Marg and Janette about it and they got all excited and said I HAD to do it and they would help me make it happen. Now I was beginning to feel a bit sick. Telling Julian I was mad was one thing but having your friends encourage you in madness is quite another.

Julian wasn’t entirely a no, but he did raise some sound points: we didn’t have bikes, they would be expensive. We hadn’t ridden for 30 years, no fitness. We would need to train, and to raise the money, too busy. I would need a medical check, my asthma. We would be cycling a 28 km ascent on the third day having done an 11 km ascent the day before, (I’d managed to ignore this when I read the itinerary). Where would we train, the roads are pretty dangerous, etc.

Now this was back in April. By early May the excitement was fading, and I hadn’t made much progress, although I did get a medical check. The ride documentation sunk further and further down my in-tray but the idea, the challenge, just wouldn’t go away and by then Marg and Janette were making more noise about action and I kept putting it off. Marg said ask people, don’t you know that there are people in your life who want to support and give to you: hmmm, okay, maybe. So I sent out an email stating the facts and wonderful, generous people said they would support me. So that was it, I said to Julian I just felt I had to do it and would he help me train. He said yes, and he then he said would buy my bike too!

The die was cast and there was no going back, I had overcome the first challenge. Well that’s what you tell yourself isn’t it?

So, on the Monday I went off to Mike Vaughan’s Cycle Shop in Kenilworth to find a bike. Mike’s a great guy, and in no time at all I’m kitted out with a Trek bike or is it cycle? And all the extra bits I need including padded cycling shorts. I went back on Tuesday, picked it up with all the accessories fitted and brought it home in the back of the car!! Very proud of my shining new black bike with just the smallest amount of pink detail, I was in love. Into the hall she went and I was a kid with a new toy.

Julian arrived home that evening and he was most impressed. He looked her up and down, noted her sleek lines and stylish looks and he was in love too!! The next day he said he wanted a bike and that we would go on the Saturday and buy his. He says it is not true, but personally I think he was just a bit jealous of my new sleek friend and wanted one of his very own.

Later that day he rang and said I’m going to do it, I am going to Kenya with you. I must be mad but if I have to train and help you raise the money, I want to be there in Kenya with you. I am going to ring the charity right now and do it.

In reality it was unexpected as I had let go of the idea that Julian would come as he is so busy with his work and finding the time to train etc was going to take some managing. I just wanted his support in what I was taking on but wonderfully he’s chosen to do it too.

So, it’s the first ride - Julian’s that is. Off we went on Saturday to get his bike and Mike showed him several options and suggested he try them out on the road. I had been fortunate that it was raining hard the day I went in so had been spared this possible indignity. There was no place to hide: with me there cheering him on Julian took the bike out onto the road.

Frankly the bike shop is not ideally placed as it is on a crossroads with traffic lights and all up hill from the shop but valiantly he pedalled off, wobbling as he went. I was just a bit concerned because he had said he liked running more than cycling and I was afraid he would come back and say no to the whole idea. However if I was concerned about the wobbles I became more worried when after fifteen minutes he didn’t return.

Several other riders had left after him and had returned. Just as I was imagining the worst I spied him walking back down the hill - with bike – and a sheepish look on his face. Still expecting some damage I was relieved by the fact that he had managed to slip the chain some way back and had not met a foreign object. He was embarrassed and I was relieved. Undaunted he took the second bike out, I didn’t look this time and, within the allotted time, he returned triumphantly.

So there we were fitted out with wonderful new bikes and at the beginning of our challenge.