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Dear Friends,
You will be only too aware of the devastating effect cancer can have on an
individual, let alone that individual’ s
immediate family, friends and work colleagues.
Bridging the Gap 2007
will be the third in a series of fundraising efforts that have been
undertaken. In August 2005, Robin and his son Christopher supported by
his elder son Peter, made huge strides in highlighting the
problems in the Sudan. They cycled 817 miles from London to Marseille over a
period of 19 days and raised £13,879.91
for aid to the Children of Darfur (Google search - The Darfur Challenge
2005). Prior to this The Golden Circle
Challenge 2003 raised £12,500 for Demelza House
Childrens' Hospice through a cycling challenge in Holland.
During which 308 miles were covered in 6 days. Having
experienced the devastating effects of cancer within his extended family,
Robin is determined to raise a considerable sum to support the vital work of
Cancer Research UK.
To this end
Robin has set himself a challenge of cycling with
Tom Limb, a long time close and dear friend from Nottingham.
The Challenge,
an estimated 240km ride from the magnificent iconic structures of
Tower Bridge, London to the Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol,
will take place between
Sunrise 28 and Sunset 29 March 2007
with the twin aims of raising awareness of breast cancer and also much
needed funds for Cancer Research UK.
Cancer does not discriminate in any way. In
particular almost 42,000 women
are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK.
It is now the
most common of cancers in the UK (excluding non melanoma skin cancer) and by
far the most common cancer in
 women.
For women, the lifetime risk of
developing breast cancer is currently 1 in 9. Most of the women who
contract breast cancer are past their menopause, but almost 8,000 diagnosed
each year are under 50 years old.
Not commonly known is that just
fewer than 300 men are also diagnosed with breast cancer every year.
Breast cancer now accounts for 16% of all cancers. |
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OUR ROUTE |
| Day One - 28th March 2007 |
Day Two - 29th March 2007 |
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Depart Tower
Bridge at Sunrise 0646hrs |
Depart
Hermitage 0600hrs |
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Buckingham
Palace |
Newbury |
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Hyde Park
Corner |
Hungerford |
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Chiswick |
Marlborough |
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Heathrow |
Calne |
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Slough |
Chippenham |
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Maidenhead |
Bath |
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Reading |
Keynsham |
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Theale
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Bristol |
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Thatcham |
Clifton
Suspension Bridge |
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Newbury
estimated arrival time 1800hrs |
Arrive by
Sunset 1926hrs Latest. |
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Overnight
stop at Royal School of Military Survey Hermitage |
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FUNDRAISING FUNCTIONS
- DATES FOR YOUR DIARY |
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Charity
Fundraising Dinner To Launch Bridging The Gap 2007.
Where? Commissioners' House, The Historic Dockyard, Chatham
When? 7.15 - 7.45pm Friday 9th March 2007
For more details contact:
Mrs J C Jones
Function
PA Coord
Tel: 01892 530836
Email:
jane66jones@yahoo.co.uk click here to look at the pictures
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A Report from Robin:-
Much planning and forethought went into the
Charity Fundraising Black Tie Dinner in to launch Bridging the Gap 2007
and to ensure all who
attended
had a thoroughly enjoyable evening. The magnificent venue of
Commissioner’s House in the Historic Dockyard secured, with appreciative
thanks
to the Historic Dockyard Trust; a Quintet from the Band of the Corps of
Royal Engineers to play throughout the evening, with grateful thanks to
the Engineer in Chief (Army)
and a first class four course menu devised by Mr Kevin Sparkes of
Lardercraft Caterers, guaranteed the aim of the evening would be
achieved.
And so it was with all 69 guests wholeheartedly entering into the spirit
of the evening which was all about raising funds for Cancer Research UK.
The Quintet’s programme of light music with the frivolity of the
Acrobat and Post Horn Gallop added just the right touch and was
much appreciated by all. A wide variety of tantalising items ensured a great response from the
auction and raffle which were kindly run by, Mr Kevin Gearey, a BBC
Sports Correspondent and
Mr Paul Ellis MD Limen Construction ably supported by Ms Kate Hunter from
Cancer Research UK and Ms Heather Gardner.
A short talk was given by Robin in which he explained the
challenge, motivated by his sister Jenny, he had set himself –
Bridging the Gap 2007,
a two day cycle ride from Tower Bridge, London to the Clifton Suspension
Bridge in Bristol in order to raise awareness and funds for Cancer
Research UK. In all just short of £5,500.00 was raised during the evening which has
been added to the mounting total for the project. Grateful thanks goes to
all who attended and supported
the theme of the evening and to those who worked so tirelessly to make the
evening a resounding success. A huge appreciative “thank you” to you
all.
The following photographs add their
own comment to the evening – enjoy!
Should you wish to order a copy please contact:
Mr David Swinbank at Maple Leaf Photography
Tel: +44 (0) 1634-300832
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Charity
Fundraising Brunch
Where? Sherwood Methodist Church, Nottingham
When? 10am - 2.pm Saturday 10th March 2007
For more details:
Mr P T Limb
Fellow Cyclist
Tel: 01159 552541
Email:
tom.limb@yahoo.co.uk |
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A Report
from Tom:-
The bacon could be smelt from the main road to Mansfield, as you
approached Sherwood Methodist Church, Nottingham. It was a nippy and
overcast Saturday
morning 10th March and the Brunch was being prepared in the church
kitchen.
Tables were laid out in the hall, set with a spray of flowers and a brief
flier for our fund-raising cycle-ride. There were posters in the nearby
shops, and banners round
the church building...all blue and pink reflecting the corporate colours
of Cancer Research UK.
At the back of the hall, Tom had his Halfords/Raleigh bike, a high spec
hybrid in black and silver. The bike stood in front of a table with
sponsor forms and other
related literature explaining the challenge - "Bridging the Gap 2007". He
was there meeting and greeting whilst friends from church cooked breakfast
or lunch.
Orders were taken by Dorothy, the minister's wife.
There was a steady stream of visitors, with a couple of dozen eaters at
peak time, just after eleven am. One of the visitors, whose mum had died
of breast cancer a
couple of years previously, had waited until the morning to give Tom a
cheque for £50. This was to be Tom's biggest single donation received.
When all was totted up, the Brunch had made £165.00 - a marvellous
effort!! The interest generated, and support expressed could not have so
easily been reckoned. |
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Charity Tea at
Tower House
Where? Tower House, Prospect
Terrace, Lossiemouth, Morayshire,
Scotland IV31 6JS
When? 2.30pm Monday 12 March 2007
For more details:
Mrs. J A Collins
Tel: 01343-813255
Email: andrew.collins@which.net
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A Report from Jenny:-
The fund raising “Afternoon Tea” in aid of Cancer Research UK with Bring
and Buy and Raffle was held at Tower House, Lossiemouth, Moray, Scotland
on Monday 12 March 2007. A most enjoyable
afternoon was spent with forty five local ladies attending. Those ladies
who were unable to attend kindly sent donations. The final amount raised
was £450, which delighted the fund-raiser, Mrs Jennifer Collins, who
thanked everyone for their support and generosity. |
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St.
Mark's Charity
Fundraising Quiz
Where? Palm House Cottage
When? Friday 23rd March 2007
For more details contact the parish office or
see current issue of Marktime
Please click
here to read the report look at the pictures
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A Report
from Robin:-
Some 140 people attended the
St Mark’s Annual Quiz Night, this year held in the Palm Cottage Social
Club which had been decked out in helium balloons and posters
in support of Cancer Research UK. Quiz Master, none other than our
resident Curate, Jim Findlay ably supported by Rob Trowbridge guided the
evening through some
interesting and varied topics which caused much overloaded brain power to
be heard on many a table. Conversation and general jollity suitably
enhanced with good food lovingly prepared by Jane Trowbridge and Pauline
Jackson and their willing team of helpers and of course the odd drink from
the bar, abounded from every corner of the hall.
Robin provided a
display of his previous fundraising projects and gave a short talk on the
challenge he had set himself - Bridging the Gap 2007,
a two day cycle ride from Tower Bridge, London to the Clifton
Suspension Bridge in Bristol over the period 28 – 29 March 2007 in order
to raise awareness and funds for
Cancer Research UK. A most enjoyable evening was had by all and
the raffle, which was in support of fundraising for Cancer Research UK
netted £250.00. Thank you all for your encouraging support and this
fantastic amount which has been added to the overall mounting project
total.
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The Ride
Day One – Wednesday 28 March 2007. Please
click here for the report
and pictures... |
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| The Ride
Day Two – Thursday 29 March 2007. Please
click here for the report
and pictures... |
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Contact Details: |
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Project Director: |
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Major (Retd) Robin Alexander. |
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Address: |
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10 College Road, The
Historic Dockyard, Chatham, Kent. ME4 4QX |
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Office: |
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01634-822813 |
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Home: |
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01634 817500 |
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Mobile: |
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07932-633141 |
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Email Office |
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So2emw@rsme.mod.uk |
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Email Home: |
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RJRAlexander@aol.com |
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| Fellow Cyclist: |
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Mr Tom Limb |
| Address: |
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21 Fairview Road, Woodthorpe, Nottingham.
NG5 4GW |
| Home: |
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01159 552541 |
| Email Home: |
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tom.limb@yahoo.co.uk |
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If you wish to
make a donation please
send your cheque payable to "Cancer Research UK"
together with the
Gift Aid Sponsor Form below direct to
Robin or Tom. Thank you. |
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Download our Joint Gift Aid Declaration Sponsor Form (5.1MB) Virus Free |
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Why not
contact Robin or Tom on their bikes
between Sunrise 28 and Sunset 29 March 2007? They would
much appreciate having your "on bike"
support! |
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Robin:
07932 633 141 |
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Tom: 07792 653 366 |
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Challenge
Support Vehicle: 07810 208
630 |
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Bridging
the Gap 2007
The Ride
Day One – Wednesday 28 March
2007 |
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Getting ready to depart from
the Historic Dockyard, Chatham at silly o’clock in the morning (0510hrs to
be exact, before the dawn chorus!!), we were there in body if not in
mind. After a hasty breakfast and a cup of tea, the team - Robin, Tom, Pam
and Trev were ready for the off.
We journeyed to Tower Bridge
and were met by Keith Baker and text messages from Jane, Huw Jones and Ernie
Mann from St Mark’s Church, who works some crazy hours in London and was
already in the area!
We had a very glamorous photo shoot in front of Tower Bridge and then
crossed it to begin our new adventure at sunrise - 0646hrs…as we had
promised.
The Challenge began!!
Tom was practically wearing a duvet (stripped off for the photos), where
Robin was wearing next to nothing, shocking half the population of London!
Pam and I enjoyed travelling in the Volvo V70 Challenge Support Vehicle with its heated seats
and the radio to keep us awake...forgot the matchsticks! |
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The boys weaved in and out
of the traffic in London and having passed Nelson and with a royal handlebar
wave to the Queen from the Mall, they made the A4 in good time
after a quick stop for a cappuccino and a bit of fund raising at Chiswick.
It was noted that the aforementioned persons did not contribute at all to
the cause...so rude!! Whilst weaving in and out of traffic, they were
constantly reminded that other vehicles were on the road but believe me, the
boys won the battle!
After two phone calls to the
handlebars from John Saunders and Keith Baker, the next stop was for a much
welcomed pub lunch in Twyford. This was unfortunately
followed by a minor repair session courtesy of Tracy and David at the
Halfords branch in Reading. All fixed, the boys left with adjusted
gears, two pairs of new gloves and a few pennies in the pot. Sunshine
abounded and spirits were high and soon Reading was left far behind.
The next exciting
installment was being met by four of the finest Royal Engineer cycling
proficient gentlemen. These included Lt Col Rupert Dash, CO 42 Engr Regt
(GEO),
Capt Travis Wert CME, WO 2 Simon Robinson and Cpl Graham Rogerson. At this
point I became very interested in the ranking levels in the army and
paid much attention (purely professional of course) to the cycling technique
that was being performed in front of us…thank God I had my chaperone Pam
with me! Their escorting Robin and Tom
some 6 miles, at a most leisurely pace for them, to the overnight stop in
Denison Barracks, Hermitage, Nr Newbury, home of the Royal School of
Military Survey was
a great lift for morale. |
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Having arrived at Denison
Barracks at 1625hrs, Pam’s sister Ann then joined the team in time for tea
in the tranquility of the garden of the Officers’ Mess.
Being with us for the next day’s adventure, ensured that Pam and I would
have to behave ourselves in the Support Vehicle...like we wouldn’t!!!! |
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After
completing a thoroughly enjoyable first day with 72 miles on the clock and a
most pleasant evening spent in the Officers’ Mess, we were off to bed by
2130hrs.
Bed bugs may have bitten, but we were all pretty much out for the count and
would not have noticed if any had!.
Bring on Day Two!! |
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Download the PDF document of day one 1.85MB (virus free) |
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Bridging the Gap 2007
The Ride
Day Two – Thursday 29 March
2007 |
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  Another
untimely start for the early birds...or worms, depending on how well we
slept! Having been very adequately fed and
watered by the chef, Steve, in
the
Officers’ Mess, Rupert and Travis arrived to escort us out of Denison
Barracks at 0600hrs and back onto the A4 for Bristol. |
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The morning’s weather was not
kind – 6 degrees and seemed to be dropping. The day was to encounter
quite a lot of rain and head wind which was not to put too happy a smile on
the boys’ faces. That said, as along as they were fed chocolate at
regular intervals, it did not seem to deter their efforts.
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They
ploughed through gorgeous rolling countryside, being watched by some very
handsome sheep and were able to occasionally perch on random vehicles
along the way,
from HGVs to the still so very warm and cosy Volvo V70…heated seats still
in action! Unfortunately, windscreen wipers have not been invented for
spectacles as yet, so they were not able to appreciate the views as much, as they had to
concentrate on pounding the tarmac. |
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Being somewhat ahead of schedule
we stopped off in Calne for an hour and a half lunch break...chips amongst
other fine food on the menu was
 consumed
and
 our
on board nutritionist was keen to make sure both Robin & Tom were fuelled up
to face their next stage. Ann is still
recovering from the parsnip soup which had a kick...more like a boot!!
During lunch the weather had turned once more to “liquid sunshine” and as we
left the restaurant wet weather tops were again the order of the day.
The boys, not to be put down though, persevered and cycled off – yet again. |
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Being somewhat ahead of schedule
we stopped off in Calne for an hour and a half lunch break...chips amongst
other fine food
 on
the menu was consumed and
 our
on board nutritionist was keen to make sure both Robin & Tom were fuelled up
to face their next stage. Ann is still recovering from the parsnip
soup which had a kick...more like a boot!! During lunch the weather
had turned once more to “liquid sunshine” and as we left the restaurant wet
weather tops were again the order of the day. The boys, not to be put
down though, persevered and cycled off – yet again. |
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As the
afternoon miles slipped by, the sun returned and the sky began getting bluer
and the tarmac dryer. This lifted their spirits and they were soon passed
Chippenham and aggressively negotiating Bath to make sure that the pace was
kept steady and continuous. The boys faced some steep hills, which were
gratefully received as this warmed
them up and dried them out. No doubt they will become mountains when they
are described to you, but to be fair they had many long slow climbs to make
and one
particularly steep ‘mountain’ in the last stages before arriving at Bristol.
Closing on
Temple Meads Railway Station we were met by a loud shout from Tony Beckingsale (a dear friend of Pam and Robin’s). The junction of the roads
at this point were similar to the chaos on the roads at the Arc de Triomphe…ok,
slightly exaggerated, but it was the height of rush hour and it had now
become second nature to cut up any vehicles that dared to come between Robin
and Tom on their bikes and the Support
Vehicle. After the statutory welcome and chat, Tony now kindly and
sympathetically navigated
us through the hustle and bustle of downtown Bristol to our end goal.
Having been
advised by Pam and Robin’s son, Pete (rather smugly may I add!!) that the
weather outlook had promised hail and thunder, we arrived at the
Clifton Suspension Bridge at 1816hrs with 146 miles on the clock and in
lovely sunshine with not a hint of rain in the sky and with ample time to
spare. |
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The boys in
pink crossed the bridge, hand in hand with beaming smiles and the Support
Vehicle closely following behind, recorded by video and photo. The sun
was now in
its last hour but still gave light to some stunning views from the
bridge. Being the man that he is, Robin insisted that the bridge was
crossed a second time to ensure that
there was sufficient footage to record the event for perpetuity. |
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The
Challenge was complete!!
All the hard
work paid off and the gap from London to Bristol had been well and truly
bridged, but more importantly all in the cause of raising
funds for cancer research. It was now time to take our leave of the
Challenge and spend the next two days relaxing in the company of our most
generous and hospitable
hosts Tony & Di Beckingsale. Memories of the ride no doubt will abound
for some time to come. |
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Download the PDF document of day two 1.55MB (virus free) |
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| And finally our
thanks.. |
| The
Challenge would not have happened without the goodwill, support and
encouragement from many a quarter. Heartfelt thanks go out to so many who
have enabled such a large sum to be raised and added to the mounting
project total for Cancer Research UK – thank you all once again. |
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