Thank you!

 
So, WE DID IT!!!

It was a long old slog, 7 hours to be precise, but we did it!

I will start with the important bit; with everyone's help, I have raised over £700 for British Heart Foundation, currently sitting at £705 and still climbing! This is pretty incredible. I have been knocked sideways by how generous people have been and can only say a big huge massive awesome THANKYOU to everyone who has contributed! I'm quite proud really.

So, my cycle buddy, Alice, and I set off at 8:45 to claim our places at the start line for 9:30. The

Start line at 9:30

crowds were rife, nerves were high and bikes were many. Clapham common didn't know what had hit it. We set off 9:30 on the dot, enclosed in a capsule of lycra-wearing enthusiasts and jean/loafer-wearing non-enthusiasts. The first 15 miles were slow; red lights through Tooting and Mitcham caused major build-ups, creating havoc amongst the thousands of cyclists, desperate to get on their way. I saw a little old man with a stick get knocked over, only to be lifted to his feet, continuing on his pedestrian journey muttering 'I only wanted to get to church'. Yes, chaos, poor man. He was ok.

Traffic!

Once we left the red lights of urban London, the queues had a new root: hills. We began to get some speed up on the flat bits, with crowds building at the foot of the slightly more challenging inclines. At the beginning, this was quite frustrating, as the slow movement meant either trying to keep balanced on the bike, or getting off to push. After two hours, we had a quick stop at the 10 mile-mark. This was rather disheartening as in training we had managed to cover much more ground in the same time.

Bacon butties

From here on in, however, it picked up. At three hours, 20 miles, we skipped the over-run BHF refreshment stop in preference for a local stand doing bacon butties and a cuppa. With a new fire in

our hearts and food in our stomachs, we pushed on through the now more spread out crowd and our next stop came at 36 miles. This section had been the bit I was fearing, as I knew fatigue may set in, but was pleasantly surprised that it was the bit I enjoyed the most, with good countryside views, nice slow inclines, some down-hills to balance and light crowds.  I quickly wolfed a sandwich for sustenance and we pushed on to make up time. At 44 miles, we knew that the dreaded Ditchling Beacon was approaching, a vertical finger on the contours map that we had been given. We also knew that this was the last major push before our descent into Brighton. I saw it approaching over the hills, it looked awful!

Beacon approaching!

The beacon was a killer, I tried but I didn't make it to the top on my bike, alongside the majority, and the push up was not much easier! Alice, however, rode on like a trooper and beat the beacon on her bike. Once again, it was havoc going up the hill, I saw a man fall off his bike sideways onto the verge, only to be pretty much run over and shouted at by angry people losing their rhythm. Perhaps understandably irritated, but far from sympathetic!

The view at the top!

Once at the top, the views were incredible; fields green and lush stretching out in all directions, with the Brighton coastline just beginning to peak out between the hills. The slide down the other side of the beacon was delicious, wind flying through our hair and the elation of the finish line approaching.

Finish line

A final 30 minutes of queues hit us at the bottom of the hill, mostly due to a resurgence of red lights but it didn't take long to get to the finish line, which was set-up next to Brighton pier. We crossed at 4:30pm, high-fiving all the kids holding out their hands. It was a pretty good feeling! Medals on,

water in hand, sea lapping, we headed straight for a good old fashioned fish and chips. It really was worth it!

Fish'n'chips!

So, all that's left to say is another huge thank you for all the donations, they definitely inspired me to push on through the tougher bits towards the end. I intend to keep cycling, hopefully tackling London - Paris next year and maybe a cycling holiday in between. 

The sponsor page will stay open in case anyone feels a last minute donation is on the cards!! 

If anyone fancies a two-wheeled pootle any time soon, give me a buzz!

Big love and thanks

Corks

 

The cardiac cycle: Update!

Hi all,

Oh how touched and impressed I have been with this wonderful thing called mankind. My previous blog [The Cardiac cycle, below] was meant just to add a little water to the dry JustGiving link. Admittedly, I did have the conscious objective of raising money for the British Heart Foundation, but I had no idea how my chosen topic, tetralogy of fallot, may be so relevant for some readers.  The donations I have accumulated, currently standing at £420, nearly 3 times my original aim of £150. This is astounding, I really expected £150 to be a push! So here is me shouting a huge THANK YOU to all those who have donated so far.

Cycle to Hampstead heath

My training has been trickling along. 20 miles the day after my birthday was a good start. Interweaving a picnic in a springy Hampstead heath made for a great day, whilst also building up the old leg stamina. London can feel grey and opressive sometimes, and being a country girl, I like to make a point of searching out the green. Living in Kennington does not aid me in this, I must admit, as Kennington park is my most accessible greenery, and that is saying something! However, Clapham common, Dulwich and H. Heath have made for good training excursions around London!  I would happily try out some new routes if anyone has any suggestions?

Comments:

 Over easter, I had the pleasure of going back up to Scotland to visit old uni friends. Passing through a rainy Glasgow, a super sunny Edinburgh and up to the highlands never loses its novelty. We booked a log cabin for the weekend on the shores of the incredibly beautiful Loch Awe, it's well worth a visit if you're looking for a break on UK soil. On driving to the feral cabin, we got lost and passed through the valley where Skyfall was filmed, possibly the only enjoyable place to find yourself lost. That evening we crowded around a wood burner, played board games and drank wine. Perhaps I am getting old before my time, but if this is what getting older is about, I'm happy!

We managed to fit a cycle ride in on the second day. It was a little different from the flats of London; what seem like small gradients are misleading. We also learned that what would be difficult on foot is no easier on a bike! With, however, the four gruelling ascents in the London-Brighton ride, I do need to get used to it.

Cycle by loch Awe

I now find myself back in the bustling streets of London, and the quest for fitness continues....

Since the previous blog, the cause of my London-Brighton ride has taken a slightly more personal turn. The feedback after the previous blog brought to light the significance of raising money for the British Heart Foundation and just how much this can affect people without you even knowing...

My page is still open if anyone wants to support the cause :) I've upped my target to £650!!
Let's do it.

The cardiac cycle

I thought I'd write a wee blog to accompany the JustGiving link. Please donate if you feel like it's a worthy cause!


This blog is a slight exception to the rule for me, it actually has a purpose. My most successful new year's resolution to date started on the 1st January 2013; a rather dull promise to get fit and healthy. Living at home in Norwich, without much excitement to perk up my days, I bought a bike with my first pay-packet. While the first few days on the modest 3 mile cycle to work took it out of my dormant quads, my legs and heart soon adapted to the art of cycling and I'm still going strong. A year on, now living amongst the bright lights and dark shadows of London, I'm a huge advocate of the bike as the most effective form of transport; a way to avoid the hellish suffocation of rush-hour tubes, the temperamental timetables of buses and the huge dent that they both leave in a poor student pocket (my choice, I know). Yes, the daily struggle with those people I call 'the lycras' prevails but, overall, I couldn't recommend it enough.

Anyway, the point I'm meandering towards is this: I am doing the British Heart Foundation cycle from London to Brighton on the 15th of June. Having heralded the positives that I have personally gained from learning to cycle properly (oh if only you could see me in my bright yellow helmet and and fluorescent jacket), I will now move on to the positives that the money that could be raised from this cycle can bring.

As you may or may not know, I am currently training to become a children's nurse, and the decision to do this cycle has also coincided almost perfectly with some lectures on cardiology. With a bit of fresh knowledge in mind, I thought I'd take this opportunity to give an example of exactly what the money raised for heart research can achieve.

Have you ever heard of a 'Tetralogy of Fallot'? No. Not surprised. Its a rather dry and unattractive name for a very unforgiving congenital heart defect. I won't go into the minute details of it but basically it is a defect that some babies are born with which involves four anatomical abnormalities of the heart. Basically, this leads to blood leaving the baba's heart which has not properly picked up oxygen from the lungs. As you may imagine, this causes many adverse effects as the growing body is left with insufficient oxygen, and if there's one thing a baby needs, it is a hearty (appropriate!) supply of O2. As well as this, the heart (tiny tiny, we're talking the size of a new-born baby's fist here) has to pump super hard to get the blood around the body due to a malformed pulmonary artery. This, as you may imagine, is a lot of strain for a wee bab's heart to be under. 25% of children born with this die in the first year of life. Adult health is not my area of expertise, but I must highlight that TOF can and does affect all ages so this is a problem that can affect anyone around you, not just the young'uns.

Now I don't want this to be a cling-to-your-tissues-wipe-the-tears-from-the-keyboard moment. The conclusion that I want to get to is that scientific research has changed the prognosis for this defect incredibly. There now exists a three stage surgical intervention to correct the malformed artery that can restore a near-normal oxygen supply to the body. And by-gum is it complicated, involving expanding balloons, meshes put inside the heart, insertion of stents, removal of stents, bypass machines....the list goes on. It is incredible that this stuff exists, let alone that it really can work. This can, and does, extend the life of many sufferers, making it possible to lead a practically normal life.

I have to note that there are many many heart problems that affect people and their families in all kinds of ways. TOF is just one of these and by focusing on it, I am by no means trying to take away from the other life changing heart defects and diseases that people suffer with. However, the point still remains that the money raised by events such as London-Brighton cycle contribute to the development of treatments and care interventions, such as the surgery for TOF, that I help patients with on the wards. It really happens and it's awesome.

So here's the crux: it would be awesome if you could donate even just a couple of pounds to help push this forward and make the lives of those affected by heart disease much improved. I'm aiming for £150.

Moral bit over, thankyou!

Please donate here if you want to support me in this!





Reading for the interested and geeks amongst you:

Tetralogy of fallot and surgical interventions: Patient.co.uk

BHF: Tetralogy of Fallot

Apitz, C., Webb, G.D., Redington, A.N. (2009) Tetralogy of Fallot. Lancet.

Walker WT, Temple IK, Gnanapragasam JP (2002) Quality of life after repair of tetralogy of Fallot. Cardiology of Young