Welcome to the Leicester to Skegness Cycle Challenge Page.

update : 6th September 2004

WooHoo, well, finally completed it and in a really good time. After some scary weather reports at the beginning of the week, it turned out smashing on the day with hardly a breeze and brilliant sunshine.

Anyway, I know you people like facts and figures so...it took me 4 hours and 50 minutes, a total mileage of 92.4 miles and averaging around 18.7 per hour. Myself, Paul and Geoff cycled together on the day, Joe came in at around 6.00 hours and the mountain bike boys (Smiggy, Tysoe and Matty) at 7.30 hours. To be fair - it wasn't as bad as I thought and two hardest things of the trip was looking at 40 miles of cabbage in Lincolnshire and trying to stand up during the inevitable 13 hour drinking session.

There are some piccies below for you to ogle over but before I go - Thank you to everyone who sponsored me (I'll be sending threatening emails as soon as the PayPal account is up) and those who sent emails of encouragement and so forth. We haven't counted up all the pennies just yet - but prelimary figures look like we've raised between £2000 and £2500, which is pretty good going! We're going to have a presentation night (apparantly) so I'll get a picture of the guys handing over one of those big cheques or something.

Cheers

Mark D

:: outside the Old Inn at 5.45am :: left to right Mark, Paul, Joe & Geoff ::

:: flying past the Roman Cafe just outside of Grantham 8.30am ::

:: job done 10.50am :: left to right Mark, Paul & Geoff ::

:: Joe rolls in 11.55 am ::

introduction : 5th August 2004

Now if you've just navigated here - it’s probably due to one of my pesky emails about sponsorship. If not, don't worry little child of internet, keep your head down and you can stay a while.

On Saturday the 4th of September 2004, myself and several other brave individuals will be cycling from the Old Inn Littlethorpe to Skegness (a glamorous coastal town on the East Coast of England - arf). Well, regardless of the complete bumhole it really is we are going to cycle there anyway, which is about a 100 miles in one day. Yes, one day. In fact I'll be aiming for around five and a half hours with favourable weather conditions (like a chuffing hurricane behind me :)

Enough of that and onto the serious stuff. We're going to be raising cash for The Anthony Nolan Trust, a charity that holds one of the largest database of individuals willing to donate their bone marrow should the need arise. These guys are not just DB Admins - but also provide funds for taking donor samples as well as funding their own research. This is not just a UK thing - the Anthony Nolan Trust also share their data with other organisations across the world...

So why the Anthony Nolan Trust? Well, a few years ago my little niece was diagnosed with Fanconi Anaemia, a rare blood disorder that literally gave her six months to live. Myself, Katie and several others threw ourselves into getting people on the Anthony Nolan Register, dealing with the local media and organising charity events to promote awareness...

Since then, Katie and myself try to at least do something each year for the Anthony Nolan Trust and this year it’s cycling (Woo Hoo).

So if you would like to sponsor me you can simply complete the online form below and should I actually complete the challenge - I'll send you details about paying, e.g. through Paypal. And that's about it - there's a little FAQ below the form that should answer any questions you should have - if it doesn't you can always drop me an email.

Thanks for your time

Mark, Katie and Reece.

Sponsorship Intent Form

FAQ

How much should I sponsor you then?
Five dollars, Ten pounds, it doesn't matter in the slightest. Every penny/cent/groat/stone with a hole in the middle helps.

So is it true that you ran into the back of a stationary car in the middle of nowhere whilst cycling to work?
Yes

You muppet, how did you manage that?
Easy tiger, stationary cars can just leap out at you. Oh BTW, apart from a little scar on my forehead I'm fine.

So how is Catherine, did you get a donor?
Yes, back in early 2002 a donor was found for Catherine (in America apparently). She's fine, back at school and an absolute cherub. And whilst her immune system has really taken a hammering at least she has got a chance to live a normal life.

What kind of training have you done?
Well, since the end of the football season I've been cycling to work as well as notching up some miles on Sunday Mornings. Accordingly to my 'on-board' computer - I've racked up about 1,500 training miles in the last three / four months.

Er - so what happens if I've got no money?
Well, don't worry. An email of encouragement will do no harm at all. And if you are really desperate, I've got about 100 credit card applications you can have.

So what's stopping you taking all of the sponsorship money, going to local docks and buying yourself a wife for the night?
Hmmm - got me there.

In all honesty, regardless of how much you sponsor me, every single penny will go straight the Charity. Actually, all internet sponsorships will be lumped together and submitted as one person in order to qualify for the GiftAid package (which basically stops the Government from claiming tax on the donations).

Can I get my company to sponsor you?
Sure - it’s a registered Charity (No. 803716). I think there are some super tax benefits from giving stuff to charity.

So is there anything I can do?
Well, you could always become a donor. I know in the UK if you can ask your local GP for details on about joining the register, they will sort out things from there and it will not cost you a bean. The testing is just a small blood test that takes all of five minutes.

I represent the Federal Government Of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; we have over $21 million dollars locked in off-shore accounts, which cannot be accessed unless it is moved to a foreign bank account...
Hmmm - Really?