GRETNA to WORCESTER

This year, the five Grumpies headed back from Scotland towards Bristol but used a couple of trains (we were not doing it as a charity challenge). Still it was expected to be about 280 miles and turned out at about 300 miles over six days despite 11 miles by train in a boring bit of Lancashire and a planned 70 miles or so from Worcester.
However only three (see photo) of the five made it as far as Gretna by train. Virgin Trains failed to allow the booked cycle connection at Birmingham New Street and the hour long delay so caused meant that two of us had to be content with starting the trip in Carlisle (NOTE: fair compensation now - mid September - received and will be shared between all Grumpies, who may even smile!)

Grumpies survive Lowestoft to Bristol during heatwave

But only just ...

and any further donations to  http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Duffy8 for our charity for this year the TEENAGE CANCER TRUST would help to make it all the more worthwhile - many thanks to those who have already been so generous.

Grumpies at  the Far east point of England

The trip was like a sociological dissection of England: Workaday (almost Northern feeling) Lowestoft to posh Southwold and polished Suffolk, through commuter and Airport Essex and then by river and canal cycle route right through London's East End, then Camden Market and Little Venice. We stopped for a swim in the rather murky Serpentine before taking the Thames route to hospitable Twickenham and next morning out past affluent Chertsey through to Windsor Great Park (now there's privilege!) bfore reaching cosmopolitan Reading and across the South of England by way of the Kennet (in which we swam)-Avon Canal. We short cut via the newly opened Sustrans Tunnels to bypass Bath and staggered home after 324 miles in five days to Bristol. Each day we did about the average of our different ages in miles!

...of England that is!

Our starting point

16th July will see the five of us meet up in Lowestoft
at England's most easterly point for our fifth annual cycle fundraiser. Early that morning we will have taken trains with our bikes from Bristol. Five days later we hope to back in Bristol during the Bristol Cycle Week and in the 2015 Green Capital of Europe after cycling via Woodbridge, Stanstead, London and Reading. http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Duffy8 directs you to our charity for this year the TEENAGE CANCER TRUST. Please give what you can.

County Cork to Bristol 2012

Many thanks to you-all who have contributed to St Peter's JustGiving (now closed) .  £721plus gift aid of about £150 is what we have collecetd: we cycled all the way home from  the wonderful Irish hospitality of Michael's family in County Cork. We travelled through Youghal and along the remote Gaeltacht up and down coast of County Waterford to Tramore and Passage East; on to

Cork-Bristol: ready to go - or almost.

Bristol G.O.M.s are soon setting off to County Cork and on Saturday 25th August will be heading back to Bristol on their cycles. Please contribute to St Peter's Hospice Bristol by visiting our Justgiving page for details

Further planning for Cork - Bristol trip

The time approaches for the off and still not nearly enough preparatory cycling done - watching Olympians is not training! Ken, Roger, David, Michael and Nigel will set off towards the end of August
Now it looks like, David will head off for Derry in advance by train and boat via Tenby, Pembroke-Rosslare, Dublin, Belfast and then make head south (still by train) for Cork, while the others pack cycles and selves into a camper van to be taken to Cork and left there for later collection.
24th August will see us all, we hope, united in County Cork and ready to set off on the morning of the 25th towards ( about 110 miles) Rosslare-Fishguard ferry on 27th and then about 160 miles through South Wales to Bristol arriving on the evening of 29th - about 270 miles in five days, we fear. Our chosen charity this year is St Peter's Hospice in Bristol.

Update on Cork to Bristol Green Charity Challenge at end of August

The grumpy five, or possibly six, will be cycling back to Bristol from Cork via Rosslare at the end of August this year aiming to arrive back in Bristol on 30th August.
A few things are now agreed but there are still a dozen or more Thursday nights to decide others. The Charity we shall be collecting for is St Peter's Hospice, Bristol.
And how we get our cycles by train and boat to Cork - what a shame the Swansea-Cork ferry has died a death!- is becoming clearer. Bristol - Holyhead - Dublin -Cork by 'Sailrail'  seems the only feasible route.

Grumpies Survive Paris challenge, make it back to Bristol and raise over £1600 for Cancer Research (UK)

We made it! October UPDATE
  http://www.justgiving.com/michael-duffy6  - the link for donations for Cancer Research (UK). Itinerary and more photos, even video clips follow under read more - the HARD FACTS

We finally pedalled into Westbury Park at 8.30pm on Bank Holiday Monday evening, a little tired after an 82 mile cycle from Romsey on our last day, but elated nevertheless and still bosom pals. Di Bruce organised a welcoming party and the champagne (well Cava actually!) flowed whilst our tales of endurance, adventures and daring deeds on our 314 mile trip took on epic proportions.

We had a fantastic ride with no hitches, bar one slow puncture which was conveniently repaired in the comfort of our hotel conference room in Rouen. We never got really 'lost', just chose alternative routes at times.

We gather last Friday was a day of appalling weather in Bristol. But we are glad to report that, whilst storm clouds frequently brewed all around us, it was as if we had Moses in the saddlebag parting the seas before us, for we escaped with only a few light showers. Though of course, as every cyclist only knows too well, the wind was always against us!

We are hopeful that the saddle-sore and aching limbs will gradually ease. The conversation of a Thursday evening might turn to the topic of “next year’s ride” but for now we will probably concentrate on re-building our drinking-arm muscles.

Thank you so much for your support and kind donations, now over £1600. Please send our JustGiving page on to anyone else who might like to donate: http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-Duffy6

Many thanks again

The GrumpiesPublish Post

Roger Ayton, David Bruce, Ken Clarke, Michael Duffy and Nigel Seaman
We left Paris at 3pm on Thursday 25th August 2011; 314 miles on the clock saw us  back home in Westbury Park, Bristol just after night fall on Monday 29th.

£1620  (excluding any gift aid) has now been donated. For photos, even videos and more detail....

Grumpies ride home from Paris for Cancer Research (UK)

Last year we survived!

Hi friends, colleagues and former colleagues and those who haven’t a clue who I am:

See our new money raising project and donate at http://www.justgiving.com/michael-duffy6 

UPDATE OCTOBER 2009

Just Giving site for David Bruce - Closing tomorrow, one year after setting it up.
Mainly via the Grumpy Justgiving site we have made nearly £800 so far
THANK YOU EVERYONE.
The Grumpy Justing giving reamians open for donations

We made it all the way!

Mike, Roger, Nigel, Ken and David got all the way back from Penzance to Bristol by cycle in four days cycling - just about as many miles per day as our average age!
Mike's JustGiving has already raised a tidy sum for Cancer Research UK but our targwet is still to be met.
You are more than welcome to contribute by visiting his Grumpies page http://www.justgiving.com/Grumpies
Mike says:
"Hi family, friends and generous donors
We five mature drinking mates [David Bruce, Ken Clarke, Michael Duffy, Nigel Seaman and Roger Ayton], collectively known as The Grumpies [or part thereof], have just completed an arduous, but very beautiful, cycle ride from Penzance to Bristol - a distance of 247 miles over four days. We had fantastic weather, with not a drop of rain, but we battled against some strong winds - so much for the theory of the prevailing winds being with us in this direction! Needless to say, all the hills [and what hills!] were stacked against us also.
Given that we can’t be seen by our collective partners to have just had a jolly good time for a few days we treated this as a fund-raising venture for Cancer Research UK in memory of our close friend Carol who died of cancer and our many other friends who have fought it, won the battle and are living inspirational lives thanks to recent advances in medical science, with funding from Cancer Research UK and other similar charities.
Please visit our Just Giving web page at http://www.justgiving.com/Grumpies and help us to raise some funds. This is the most efficient way of making a donation and if you are a tax-payer the charity can also reclaim the tax element of your donation, meaning that, for instance, for an on-line donation of just £10 from you the charity will get £12.82.
I am sure we have all been touched in one way or another by the impact of cancer on ourselves, friends and family. With your help Cancer Research UK can continue their wonderful work in combating this deadly disease.
We’d like to reassure you all that you will not be contributing to our beer fund, much as we could do with giving it a boost – all money raised goes to an even better cause!
All our love, thanks and appreciation
We have put in all the effort; all you have to do is put your hand in your pocket!
Michael, David, Ken, Nigel and Roger
PS. Apologies if you get bombarded with begging emails from all of us – you need only donate once!"

Here we are near Millbrook, Cornwall

Back from the Scillies

This coming September, 5 or 6 of us are taking up the challenge to cycle back from Penzance to Bristol over about 4 days - 200 plus miles. We will be paying our own ways but want to raise money for Cancer Research UK through being sponsored. The Challenge will be low carbon (if high energy) and we shall be tarvelling down to Cornwall by train including the Penzance Sleeper and going over to the Scillies on the ferry for the day before setting off for home by.
PLEASE CONSIDER a few pence per mile or even better per kilometre and give more strenghth to our knees!
All money raised goes directly to Cancer Research UK through "justgiving". Please see my page http://www.justgiving.com/davidbruce1 to see a brief reason why I am doing this and go there:

Perhaps a harder challenge!

a progress report

Day one saw me leave Bristol ( about an hour later than planned) and reach friends in Blagdon Hill (south of Taunton by 7pm.
Highlights were excellent pub lunch in a hill top village of the Somerset levels(?)and following a kingfisher down the Bridgwater-Taunton Canal as far as Saturn. Yes Saturn (see photo). The Canal hosts a set of scultures of the solar system to scale both in terms of distance in between and size of planet.

MORE TO COME ABOUT DAYS TWO,THREE, FOUR and FIVE

'Green' Charity Challenge Trip Bristol-Scilly-Cycle

A green charity challenge to mark my retirement.
This is the start of a fundraising year for Cancer Research UK.
PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK
I am David Bruce, until this month a Principal Lecturer in Tourism at Bristol Business School, UWE. My email address is dnembruce@btinternet.com

My plan is to go by cycle from Bristol to Penzance in four days and then to have a day cycling around St Mary's Isle in the Scillies (travelling to and fro by ship of course. I am testing it out from tomorrow (Thursday 23rd) until Tuesday 28th when I will be back in Bristol and calling in at UWE Bristol in the afternoon.
By then I shall (I trust) have cycled Bristol to Taunton (Thursday); Taunton to Kingsbridge (Friday); Kingsbridge to Polperro (Saturday); Polperro to Penzance (Sunday). Estimated total cycling distance is about 200 miles. Monday will be going to and from St Mary's by ship and cycling round the island. Monday night will see me on the Cornish Riviera Sleeper Train back to London and down to Bristol on Tuesday morning.
I shall check out the route and the mileages, the hills and the wind factor as I go and will also identify the carbon shadow (or footprint).

When at UWE, I used to organise field study trips. I propose to publish enough detail about this trip for others to follow it in whole or part by cycle (probably much faster than me), as a relay, just by train or even walking it! But I hope not by flying and not (too) car dependent. I may also be developing plans for other green charity challenge trips. THERE IS A LINK ON THIS PAGE TO "CO2BALANCE" for offsetting but I always recommend to avoid and minimise CO2 emissions before seeking to offset the unavoidable

I am covering the costs of this trip: all money raised goes directly to Cancer Research UK through "justgiving".

Wish me luck!
David Bruce