Picos Original Riders

Picos Original Riders
Highlights of 2010

Last of the Picos Riders - to Rome Alone!

Our first two charity rides were a huge success - raising over £20,000 for the South East Cancer Help Centre.

The Centre does a fantastic job of supporting patients and carers at the most difficult times of their lives. They make a real difference and you could help them in their work by contributing to our fundraising. Donations can be made via JustGiving.comhttps://www.justgiving.com/Tom-Vaz/ or directly into the Centre. For more details of the Centre and their work see their website at http://www.sechc.org.uk/

After 3 years of rest it seemed time to dust off the old muscles, bones and sinews and do one more spectacular ride in aid of this fabulous charity.

This time I will travel alone for 25 days, mainly following the ancient pilgrimage route to Rome, the Via Francigene, covering a distance of around 1,400 miles.

The route travels through Newhaven - Dieppe - Paris before I eventually reach the Via Francigene in Eastern France. From then on it is pretty simple apart from having to cross the Alps without an elephant!

Friday, 27 July 2012

A Day of Disasters

Three of us decided to cycle 50 miles to Finestrra while Des opted for a day off and a more leisurely bus ride. First up anew set of pedals for Christopher as the old ones collapsed under the pressure of all the heavy climbs.
So we set off at a fast pace following the ups and downs. We had 10km 8% climbing followed by 10km straight down. As we reached the end of the downhill disaster struck. I hit a big ridge in the road surface and came off my bike at 45kmph. I was able to get up with just some nasty bruises and grazes but no broken bones. My helmet probably saved my life as it was smashed by the impact leaving me with just a bump on the side of my head.
All in all I feel a lucky chap as the total cost to me was 3.50 euros for a bus fare and 35 euros for a new helmet. A very good investment I think!
Having come back into the seminary I have a lovely room with three windows anda lovely view across to Santiago. A day off tomorrow and time to heal.




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Location: Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela

1 comment:

  1. Anonymous30 July 2012 at 11:09

    Sorry to hear about your nasty accident! Glad to hear you are okay and that we won't need to find a new IT Officer!! Take care and cycle safely.

    ReplyDelete

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