The Final Total

We've been busy collecting all the sponsorship, working out gift aid and adding it all up... the final total is....

Yes, that's right. £6294.84! Way more than the £3000 target we hoped to achieve. What a fantastic amount and thank you to everyone who contributed, or cycled, or helped on the day.

Cycle for Uganda 2014 - The Report

On Saturday 21st June 2014, at 8.15 am, 24 cyclists set off from Clevedon Christadelphian Hall under clear blue skies and glorious sunshine, threaded their way through Clevedon town centre to All Saints Lane to start their epic journey of the whole Avon Cycleway cycle route - all 85 miles - to raise funds for the Namisindwa Orphanage In Uganda.

We had riders of all ages, from the youngest aged 11 to those in their 60s, many of whom had never ridden this distance before. The route would take us through beautiful countryside with scenic views and several quaint villages, and in great excitement we set off at a steady pace down Route 410. Our first challenge was to climb Brockley Combe, 2.5 miles long and 420ft of climbing up to Lulsgate Bottom. Many relished the challenge and attacked the hill, others were happy to simply make it to the top, but we all reconvened outside the Airport Tavern and took a few moments to catch our breath while watching the large, noisy passenger jets take to the skies.

Matthew (aged 11) and his dad, Joe

Five miles later, just before 10 am, we made our first scheduled stop at the picturesque Chew Valley Lake where London Camera Exchange provided us with coffee, biscuits and a chance to refill our water bottles (unfortunately the café wasn't due to open until 10.30 am!). It was still sunny, and the day was just starting to warm up. 15 down, 73 miles to go!

After a 30 minute stop we set off again and headed through Pensford and Compton Dando (a lovely, steep, but short hill awaited the other side). Unfortunately we made an unscheduled stop soon after when Mick had a tumble on a descent outside Saltford and cut open his knee and bruised his shoulder and hand. We managed to patch him up at the side of the road, fix his puncture, and he carried on cycling into Saltford where we bandaged him up more thoroughly outside the Bird in Hand pub, next to the Bristol to Bath Railway Path - our next section of the route.

This delayed us by about 30 mins and many made good use of the time to rest their aching bottoms and refuel and hydrate. We then continued up the superb cycle path to Emersons Green before rejoining the roads that took us through Coalpit Heath and Frampton Cotterell and the beautiful village of Iron Acton.

Just before 2 pm we rolled into Yate and were enthusiastically welcomed by a large crowd at Yate Christadelphian Hall for our lunch stop where we just as enthusiastically tucked into pasta, bread and cakes to refuel our weary muscles. Mick had bravely managed another 15 miles after his fall, but found that his bruises were starting to swell up and was in some discomfort so sensibly decided to catch a lift back to Clevedon instead of continuing. Philip also decided to call it a day, not wanting to overdo it, so we lost a couple but picked up ten new riders who were going to join us for the last 47 miles.

At 2.45pm we set off again to re-join Route 410 where we had left it, now with 32 cyclists (although Bob also joined us for a few miles so we had 33 for a while). Soon we were back out in the countryside enjoying some lovely quiet roads and wide open space, particularly as we travelled through Inglestone Common. The worst of the hills were behind us, the sun was still shining strongly and a gentle northerly breeze was keeping the temperatures down to a still rather warm 26oC.

We made good progress during this section and other than a bit of a climb into Thornbury it was pretty easy going for all. Once in the historic market town of Thornbury we made another scheduled stop at Coffee #1 for 30 minutes for teas, coffees and ice creams. At this point we had covered 60 miles - only 28 miles to go… for some!

Setting off again, we picked up the Avon Cycleway where we had left it and headed down country lanes through Littleton-upon-Severn and into Olveston. Joe, who was with our rear-guard supervisor John, apparently decided to stop here to buy some local honey, but neglected to watch which way the rest of the group were going. Unable to read the cycle route signs between them and trusting to local knowledge instead they turned right and headed off towards Severn Beach. Dave, the ride co-ordinator soon realised that not all were present and with the help of the other Dave (another supervisor and strong cyclist), the main group continued and they went back in search of the missing pair. They were soon located with the help of mobile phones, only having gone a couple of miles off route. However, now with the main group at least 4 miles ahead they put the foot down and slowly caught up with them, regrouping just outside Lawrence Weston.

A number of riders were starting to struggle now after such a long day in the saddle and there were many weary legs, aching bottoms, shoulders and necks. However from here there were just thirteen miles to go! Only the long climb over the Avonmouth Bridge offered any real obstacle, but every small bump felt like a mountain to some of the riders, which is perfectly understandable after nearly 80 miles of cycling. We pushed on slowly, the pace not quite so fast now, counting down the last few miles.

Once we reached Clapton-in-Gordano it was pretty much a quiet, straight road all the way back to Clevedon. James was really struggling by now and his legs had all but stopped working, but he kept pushing all the way, with John and John giving him a helping push over the final few rises.

With the sun getting low in the sky (we hardly saw a cloud all day), we regrouped at the end of Norton Woods Lane in Clevedon, virtually at the end of our Avon Cycleway loop. With only 1.5 miles to go and a flat run in, we all cycled back through Clevedon town centre together and arrived back in one big group at 8.55pm to a fantastic reception from all who were waiting for our arrival.

We made it! 88 miles of cycling! Some thought they would never be able to do it, but they did! What a fantastic achievement. What a fantastic day!

More wonderful food - lasagne, rice, pasta, cheese, strawberries and ice cream - awaited us back at the hall in Clevedon to feed our hungry and weary bodies, including a beautiful cake decorated especially for our efforts.

It was a brilliant ride, it was glorious weather, it was a wonderful day of friendship and fellowship and as of 23rd June we have raised just over £3,000 (which increases to over £3,400 once gift aid is included). This has exceeded our £3,000 target and we expect it to still rise further! We are accepting donations until the end of July. The children of Namisindwa will be so happy and all the cyclists should feel so pleased with everything they have achieved both personally and for the children.

So much thanks is due to all the helpers who provided valuable support throughout the day including catering for our food needs and on the road backup and transport. Without their help it wouldn't have been the superb day it was.

For some it really was the longest day of the year, in more ways than one! But hopefully also one of the most enjoyable and most memorable. Well done everyone!

To donate or see how much we've raised: https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cycleforuganda/

To view pictures: http://cycleforuganda.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/pictures-from-event.html

To view our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/cycleforuganda

Pictures from the event...

 

Congratulations!

8 am... just before setting off.

We completed our 88 mile challenge!! More news to follow soon....

Weather & Fundraising Update

So... less than 24 hours until we start and we've raised over £2,000 towards our £3,000 target!

...and the weather looks glorious!!

Keep those donations coming in... £3,000 is a target, not a limit! ;-)

Dry & Sunny...?

Here is an early weather forecast for Saturday... dry, sunny, not too hot, gentle wind... sounds good! :-)

Four days to go...

Press Release

Charity Cycle Ride around the 85 mile Avon Cycleway to support a Day Nursery in Uganda

On 21^st of June a group of cyclists, the youngest being 11 years old, will be riding the giant 85 mile Avon Cycleway around Bristol –in just one day!

Starting at the Clevedon Christadelphian Church, they will be taking in the Dundry Hills, Chew Valley Lake and the Bristol & Bath Cycle Path, continuing through South Gloucestershire with spectacular estuary views before making their way back to Clevedon.

The Namisindwa Day Nursery was started in 2008 with 23 children and two teachers. It now feeds and educates 90 children and costs £3,000 a year to maintain, relying entirely on voluntary contributions. It’s situated in the remote foothills of the Mount Elgon region of East Uganda.

Letter of Appreciation from Fred

Fred Wetekhela (who runs the Namisindwa Orphanage) sent a note to John & Sue today... we thought you would like to read it...


Dear Brother John and Sue Mathias,

Receive greetings from Namisindwa orphanage, Teachers, cooks and guardian.

thank you for being concern about the orphanage and needy children who are in the worsened situation. 

thank you very much for the information of Cycle Uganda may the Almighty God Bless you all who are concerned about the activities which is going to take place on this month i.e. the well wishers, the donors, those who are praying for it and the organizers at the same time. we are also praying day and night for the success for Gods protection  for all the participants journey.  

May our Good Lord  God bless you all 

Fred  

Summer Concert Raises over £200 for Namisindwa!

The Bristol Christadelphian Choir and Orchestra held a concert on Saturday, playing and singing a wide range of music. A collection was held for the Namisindwa Orphanage and raised £242.60 which takes us over the halfway point towards our target of £3,000! Thank you so much everyone!

The Final Countdown

It's now June! Where did the time go? There are only 19 days until the start of Cycle for Uganda 2014.

The last month has seen a lot of behind the scenes preparation for the ride, sorting out the itinerary, finalising all the cyclists details and briefing them on safety and nutrition, promoting the event, collecting sponsorship money, organsing catering, cafe stops, preparing risk assessments... the list goes on. There is always way more to organising a ride like this than would first appear. But I think I've got it all under control!

The number of cyclists has increased from a decent ten, to an amazing 25 - 30 with some of them coming from as far off as Bournemouth, and London. It's all getting very exciting, and many of the cyclists can't wait to get started... some of them are feeling a little nervous though! We've got vehicle support to provide backup which has brought comfort to some of the more apprehensive riders.

Fundraising is going very well. Extremely well. Many people have already been kind enough to donate and this Saturday our local Bristol choir and orchestra are holding a summer concert at Downend Hall, and have agreed to hold a collection for the Namisindwa Orphange.

To date we have already raised £775 (including gift aid) towards the £3000 target. It's still over two weeks until the ride and I'm hoping we get another wave of sponsorship when we actually do the ride! I'm hoping those children have a very nutritious and educational year!

I've just received an email to say that one of our churches in Bournemouth held a beach event last night and raised £200 for the Namisindwa Orphange! That's simply amazing! Thank you all so much! Once that's passed on to us it will bring our total to nearly £1000!

I'm really moved by all the support and enthusiasm that everyone is showing, not just from the cyclists, but all the others who have agreed to help in one way or another and to all those who have donated or said they'll donate. Thank you everyone!

...unfortunately I can't organise the weather. Let's pray it's dry, calm and warm!

Donation Page is live!

The long awaited page to allow you kind people to sponsor our ride and help the children in Uganda is now live. We've been waiting on some signatures on the charity papers and for BT to approve the account, but it's all go now!

I've quickly put together an event page (which I'll improve in due course), but you can now donate (yes, lots of people have already asked even though the ride is still over two months away).

Point your browser at https://mydonate.bt.com/events/cycleforuganda

We've initially set the target to raise at £3,000 which reflects funding required for the Nursery for one year. Then if we are successful we can do it all again next year!!

Keep in the Loop

Our Cycle for Uganda Facebook page is now up and running, allowing you to stay up to date with the latest news and show your support from within Facebook.

Keep in the loop by pointing your browser at https://www.facebook.com/cycleforuganda and liking our page from within your Facebook profile.

We will be posting pictures of the event and photos from the Namisindwa Nursery, and you can see who else is following and supporting us.

Springing Into Action

It seems that Spring has finally arrived and I've found the motivation to get back out on the bike and sort out some more details for the charity ride. We're currently sorting out the donation page so you can all sponsor us and give money to the orphange and help the children's education and provide them with food. It looks like we'll have a decent number of riders, but to encourage those who don't want to commit to 87 miles we are running a shorter 47 mile ride that takes in the latter part of the loop.

There are 15 weeks left until the event. That's going to fly by quicker than you can imagine. Some of our riders are perhaps a little behind in their preparations (John still hasn't got tyres on his bike!), but there is still plenty of time to get those training miles in.

John and some others flew out to Uganda in January and visited the Namisindwa orphange. We hope to provide a report and pictures soon.