Check back regularly to hear how Gary is getting on..
Happy New Year!
Hi
everybody. I hope you all had a good Christmas. Both our children
were home and we had a quiet family occasion. I have been working
this week looking after the cattle and they have been well behaved.
We had two calves born on Christmas day, both without difficulty.
Now I am looking forward to a few days off, although I have a cold
at the moment, which is a pain but I have been told I am making
a fuss. As for Cathedral Quest, things should now start to move
forward, especially my bike! On Christmas Eve a photographer from
the Hereford
Times came out to take some pictures of me on my bike over at
the church. This article should be in next or the following weeks
paper. In the near future letters will be going out to the bishops
of the cathedrals I will be visiting
and I will also be contacting various companies to see if they will
be interested in supporting us. So the New Year is nearly here and
it is going to be a busy one. Hopefully it will be a good one for
you. I will do my best to keep you informed via the blog and if
you have any comments or advice for me I will be pleased to hear
them. Once again happy New Year to you and on with the adventure.
The BBC, Cows and the Christmas Fayre
Not
a great deal of training has got done this week again. Monday evening
we had a service in the church to celebrate epiphany. This was taking
place early because BBC
Hereford and Worcester were there to record the service, which
will be broadcast on 6th January. The reverent Bob King, who took
the service, wanted to include my Cathedral Quest journey as part
of the service so I was invited to say a few words. I always find
standing up in front of people difficult but I think it went ok.
Anyway those of you who live in the area can judge for yourself
at 07-00
hrs on Sunday 6th January. The rest of the evenings this week
have been taken up with calving cows, which is the main priority
at the moment. Saturday we had the Christmas
Fair in the church which was a great success . I did my usual
car parking duty and kept an eye on the cattle as well. Hopefully
by Christmas most of them will have calved and I will have a bit
more time. To help with this lack of training I have an idea, which
is still on paper at the moment but will become clear over the next
week I hope.
Winter has arrived!
This
week has been a poor week from a training point of view. We had
6 inches of snow at the beginning of the week and no electric for
24 hours. Frosty foggy evenings has meant its been too risky to
go out in the dark. Today I did go for a short run of 17 miles around
the villages of Almeley, Eardisley, Woodseaves, then onto Whitney
to pick up a newspaper and back to Letton. I think I will have to
get the exercise bike down from the loft. Its not quite the same
but safer than going out after dark in poor weather.
Gary's Blog
Had
a bit of a lay in this morning till 09:30hrs, got cycling just after
10:00hrs. Went out to Sarnsfield and onto Norton Canon. Arrived
at Credenhill just on 11:00hrs so stopped for two minutes silence.
Went on into Hereford along roman road using cycle lane for as far
as it goes, which isn't far. Then on into the centre to do battle
with the traffic. Need eyes in the back of your head, still I will
have plenty of that on my journey next year in busier cities than
Hereford. Had a stiff head wind all way back to Letton arriving
just after 13:00hrs having covered 30 miles.
Gary's Blog
I took to the saddle this afternoon heading towards Hereford. Turned
right at Bridge Sollers, over the new bridge. Then went onto Preston-on-Wye,
through to Mocas, back by Bredwardine and home. Total of 15 miles.
Gary's Blog
Out again this evening only for a 6 mile trip. I wish car drivers
would dip their lights for cyclists.
Gary's Blog
Went out this evening. Good lights and reflective clothing required.
Riding at night isn't ideal but necessary to get the miles in.
Letton Village and First Use of HelmetCam
Now we have got all the crops planted I have more time to get down
to some much needed training. Today I did a round trip of 30 miles
to Three Cocks and back. This was ok except I didn't take food with
me and by the time I got to Clifford on the way back my energy had
gone. This shows how important food and drink are going to be.Once
home I ended up with cramp in both legs, not a good start.
Personal Statement
This
is going to be the most physically and mentally demanding thing
I have ever done. In 2006 I enjoyed Letton 2 London very much and
we raised just over £5800 which was shared equally between The Prostate
Cancer Charity and Letton Church. Because this event was so successful
and I was being asked what my next challenge would be, I thought
there should be something else, but this time a bit more adventurous,
preferably something that had not been done before. So, what about
cycling to every Anglican cathedral in England, Wales and Scotland?
That should be challenging and to my knowledge I don't think it's
been done before. After a village meeting to discuss the idea, Cathedral
Quest was born. No going back now!
Latest News
Click on the links below to read Gary's blog, to view Gary's route and the distance covered, to view the photos and videos taken en route. And click here to read and listen to all the latest news.
Sponsors
The support of the following individuals and organisations is very
gratefully acknowledged:
Dawes - Gym
and Tonic - Harris
Active Sports - IMPRESSprint
- Mastercraft Cycles
- Widemarsh Workshop