The Beginning

I had this event booked for ages… roughly since the end of June.  So early as I did not expect that my local Tesco (Buckshaw Village) to organise this fundraising cycle for me so quickly.

I fancied doing some sort of sporty challenge for my charity as it is relevant to my trek at the end of October.  I simply contacted a Community Champion at Tesco and asked if they could help me with fundraising. Within a few days I had the date for my event booked in the diary, a bike hired from the local gym (Gym Works) and buckets, a Tshirt and balloons from the Alzheimer’s Society. It was as easy as that!

Preparation is the Key!

I had more than enough time to psyche myself for the challenge and to prepare all the props. I ordered some Chinese themed decorations to ornate my bike with and my gorgeous two daughters made a poster explaining what the event was all about. The most important purchase was the padded cycling shorts which turned out to be great but pretty useless after 4 hours on the bike. Ouch!

I promoted my  charity cycle on social media and had invited a couple of friends to come and see me and support me in my marathon cycle. My main guest of honour was the High Sheriff of Lancashire who turned up with his lovely wife Danielle wearing his official uniform. It was a great pleasure to have John and Danielle supporting me and my charity.

The Day of the Cycle

The day of the challenge had arrived and unfortunately it was a very wet and miserable day but it was not going to spoil it for me.  Me and my daughters turned up early at Tesco to set up our stall. To be honest I was expecting a spinning bike but instead I had a proper bike with all the fancy buttons and a display. I decided to position myself right in front of the entrance door so I was pretty visible.

I have to say it was a great fun fundraising throughout the day. People were interested in what I was doing and asked lots of questions. I was surprised how many customers had actually been to the Wall and were able to give me some tips on the terrain and the weather.

The end is nigh

By the 6th hour my bottom was completely numb but my legs were still going. However, when the High Sheriff arrived it was all forgotten.  The Sheriff,  the store the manager and I had a nice chat and had some pictures taken to commemorate the event.

I had to stop when my Fitbit showed I had done eight  hours.  My legs were getting too sore and I knew it was time to wrap it all up… In those 8 hours I rode 88 kilometres and gosh I felt it!

I am not going to lie I was looking forward to a hot bath and a drink. It turned out I had raised £300 and I was so pleased with my achievement!

I would like to thank all the customers and all the staff at Tesco Chorley Buckshaw for giving me an amazing experience and raising a lot of money for my charity.  It is really easy to get involved and it is so rewarding.

Thank you everybody for all the support!