Girls in a Whirl
Cycling Lands End to John O'Groats
Fundraising in aid of
Breakthrough Breast Cancer
£3700 raised
on the cycle ride
£5000 raised on other events
Details and
photos to follow (sorry for the delay)
Updated Jan 05
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Girls in a Whirl
Cycling Lands End to John O'Groats
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| Who are Girls in a Whirl? | The cycle ride | The sponsors | ||||
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'In 2003 Sara was diagnosed with breast cancer and throughout 2003 and 2004 received treatment. 'The money we raise from our 946 mile route will be donated to UKs leading breast cancer charity, Breakthrough Breast Cancer. 'With over 40,000 women and 300 men in the UK diagnosed with breast cancer every year and 1,000 dying each year, Breakthroughs research into prevention and treatment and maybe a cure is vital. Sara has already raised £5000 and we wish to raise a lot more. We would like to ask you to sponsor our campaign and join us in supporting the work Breakthrough do.' How can I help? Pledge at the Girls in a Whirl Breakthrough charity site with a credit card or send a cheque made payable to 'Girls in a Whirl' to
Many, many thanks.
How much has been raised? By the start of the ride, Sara and Suzy had raised about £7500. When the ride is wrapped up then we'll look at the amounts and let everyone know what raised what. Suzy and Sara are doing the hard physical bit, but you are providing what counts. Thanks again.
Breakthrough Breast Cancer is a charity committed to fighting breast cancer through research and awareness. Breakthrough has established the UK’s first dedicated breast cancer research centre, in partnership with the Institute of Cancer Research. At the centre, more than 80 world-class scientists carry out pioneering research into breast cancer, bringing together different research specialisms under one roof. This innovative, focused approach - with scientists and doctors sharing their results and findings - will result in scientific breakthroughs being translated as rapidly as possible into practical help for patients. The establishment of the Breakthrough Research Centre would not have been possible without the commitment and dedication of thousands of Breakthrough supporters across the UK. But the establishment of the Centre is just the beginning of a long journey towards Breakthrough’s ultimate goal – a future free from the fear of breast cancer. The charity needs to raise at least £5 million each year to fund its pioneering work. Breakthrough Breast Cancer is registered charity number 1062636. |
Cycling 946 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats.
Here are Suzy and Sara's trip notes so far. Any comments in italics are Keith's. Prologue A mechanical crisis two days before Day 1 meant that Suzy's original bike would not be going on the trip. Day 1: Monday 26 July 2004 Up hill all the way to Land End, and Sara had a flat tyre on the way. Got our photo at the start and registered in the unofficial End to End Club at The Old Manor Hotel in Sennen. Down hill back to Penzance, then up the coast to Perranporth. Lovely hostel at the top of the cliff overlooking a long, sandy beach. Thanks to the Penzance train driver who gave £5. The first on-the-road donation, and before the trip had started. Day 2: Tuesday 27 July 2004 Day started well with both feeling good, aches of yesterday subsided. Made good progress in the morning until we turned off the main roads and went 'exploring the scenic route'. Hard, hard hills. Had Cornish pasties in Lizeard. At the end of the day Suzy produced two quarter bottles of Bluff Hill bubbly to finish of that ready-for-bed feeling. Day 3: Wednesday 28 July 2004 Downhill start - YAHOO! Stuck to the A roads; much better. Good pace to Crediton. The Red Arrows did a fly past , and there was a Knight (Jouster?) on a horse in the main street. The reason for the Knight being in Devon has still not been established. Suzy bought the kids elephant snowstorms, and her parents brought them out for a picnic lunch in a field. Went through some really beautiful places en route. In Milverton by 4PM for a very relaxing evening. Day 4: Thursday 29 July 2004 Great start, joined by Suzy's father to Bridgewater. Fast pace across the levels. Big hill before Bristol, and boring through Avenmouth (sorry Avonmouth). News in: Oli has broken his elephant snowstorm. Oh no. Fantastic across the second Severn crossing. Met a German guy on one of those lay back feet up bikes doing the End to End; hard work he reckoned. The Wye valley was very beautiful. A very steep, long hill lead out of the valley to St Briavels requiring a lot of walking. Worth it for a stay in the YHA at Monmouth, which is in the castle. Staff there were great. The floors creaked! Day 5: Friday 30 July 2004 Slow sluggish start. Both tired, though not aching. Head wind in the morning. Chugged to Hereford for a Costa coffee break and to find a replacement elephant snowstorm. Picked up the pace along the A49. The hats are prompting a few laughs. A long day and Sara's knees packed in, so we swapped bikes - Suzy's has higher gearing, meaning less peddling. Pace picked up again after this, but still a long way to go, looking at an 8PM finish. We must have looked tired - a man in a white van stopped and gave us £5 and 2 litres of water. Beautiful scenery. Passed a couple at their house who said they had seen us in Hereford (the hats were a giveaway); they donated £10 to the fund. Kept trogging to Shrewsbury where were to meet Keith's father. A wrong turn onto the A5 almost lead us onto the M54 and John had to come and rescue us. Thanks to all that are continuing to sponsor Suzy and Sara. Sorry to those that I cornered in the training course; your assessment results didn't depend on the amount donated! Day 6: Saturday 31 July 2004 Dropped by John back at Shrewsbury. Easy day, no real hills. Three canals, one calf two Shetland ponies and a dead badger. Negotiated traffic through Warrington to Wigan to Mike and Helen's house by 2PM. Day 7: Sunday 1 August 2004 Day 8: Monday 2 August 2004 Day 9: Tuesday 3 August 2004 Good weather to start the day, though there are thunderstorms advancing from the south. Question I guess is whether it's possible to outrun a thunderstorm on a bicycle. Well, the answer was yes. Suzy and Sara made it to Glasgow with only a few spits of rain. Though the 'hurray, we're here,' on arrival at the city gates was short lived, as being a reasonably large place there was nearly two more hours of city cycling before arriving at the place they were staying. Good cycling, but come tea time both very tired. Day 10: Wednesday 4 August 2004 The rain caught up overnight, so it'll be a wet start to day 10. After a reasonably flat run into Glasgow, the Campsie Fells will be the first of the Scottish hills, though only practice ones. Wet start, wet finish. Wind, and rain, 'in your face and up your nose.' Well done Ortlieb: everything not being worn was dry... Long slog out of Glasgow, past some of the 'less posh' areas, and then things started to look really good. Stunning scenery. Sara had another puncture. That's Sara 4, Suzy 0. Actually, number of Sara's spare inner tubes remaining: 0. Tomorrow it's up the big passes through the Grampians on the road to Inverness. Day 11: Thursday 5 August 2004 'Dalwhinnie sits at the head of Loch Ericht where it meets Glen Truim, at a height of 358m or 1160ft,' making it the highest village in the Scottish Highlands. For this typist, 358m seems like a reasonable distance to cycle in a straight line... From Crieff it was wet, windy and very cold. Difficult as it is to believe down here where it's been like north Queensland, it was absolutely freezing and Suzy ended up wrapping her feet in plastic bags to try and keep some heat in. In complete contrast, the second half of the day up to Dalwhinnie was warm, sunny almost, with an excellent cycle track running alongside the A9. Spectacular views of heather and hills, with plenty of time to see them since it was several hours in an uphill direction to get there. Day 12: Friday 6 August 2004 Great country leading into Inverness. Arriving is like getting off the train at Euston though: it's such a metropolis compared to the isolation before it. Good weather. Tiredness building. The hills are relentless, though there are less shooting pains than experienced in the first few days. Had booked two bunks in the 'Ho Ho Backpackers' (ho ho). (Backpackers are like chart music: for people younger than you and I.) However, it was OK, and luckily pre-booked as the tourist information was announcing that there was literally no accommodation in Inverness below 4 star hotel. A piper and bizarrely an Oompah band provided the evening's music. Day 13: Saturday 7 August 2004 A Costa coffee before setting off (suspect that it'll be the last of the trip). Good weather for a second successive day. Stopped by a waterfall on a remote road and saw two large salmon leaping out of the water trying to swim up it. Amazing. Arrived in Lairg (not Lairgs in case you've noticed me change the arrows on the maps when I realised) about 5PM. Very tired at the end of the days, but going well on the road. Early night for tomorrow's big hill. Day 14: Sunday 8 August 2004 Windy start and it just got windier. Early on this wasn't too bad coming from the side, but by the time the north coast had been reached it had turned head on. 13 miles in 3 hours. Sometimes so fierce that first gear wasn't low enough and it had to be walked. Absolutely shattered on arrival in Melvich. Last day tomorrow. Day 15: Monday 9 August 2004 200 yards with a following wind, 47.9 miles with a fierce head wind. Another shattering day done one mile at a time. There's a reason that there are no trees in Caithness. But at 3PM, Suzy and Sara arrived at John O'Groats. Hooray! Lots of impressed tourists, and some champagne popped. I arrived about an hour later after an arduous 7.5 hour drive from Cumbria and got some admiring looks as I peddled Suzy's bike around the car park pretending to have done the End to End. Well, that's it for me. It'll be a week or so and the pics and Suzy and Sara's log - with all the tales - will be up here. Thanks again for your support. [Suzy and Sara's pictures and more trip log to come] Please remember: this is why they are doing it. Thanks. |
A huge thank you to those that have sponsored us. Thanks also to the generosity and enthusiasm of the businesses that have supported and supplied equipment for the trip:
Ralph Colman Cycles If you would like to be part of this effort then please donate at the Girls in a Whirl Breakthrough charity site or send a cheque or email to Suzy (details on the left). Thank you. Press coverage West Cumbria's News & Star 16/07/04
Suzy's web site: Suzy Fortune Glass |
