Amsterdame09 Day 2

Just a quick update, spoke to Diane on Saturday evening at around 6.45pm she advises that they had docked at Rotterdam around 8am but had only just arrived due to delays getting off the ferry and through passport control!!

Diane advises that they had covered 75 miles today and that she was feeling fine. They stopped on route and had a fantastic pack up thanks to P & O Ferries. Lunch was at the waters edge to a lake where they sat and watched people water sking, sailing and having a swim!!

Diane informs me that Holland is so cycle friendly it is fantastic and I get the feeling that if our kids were not in the middle of exams etc we could be moving!!!

Sunday was a rest day so Diane has had a cruise on one of the canals and sat and relaxed had a meal out and took a walk round Amsterdam taking lots and lots of photos!!

Today Monday is the return cycle back to Rotterdam. I will update you all after I have spoken to Diane tonight.

In the mean time please donate on line at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09

Competition

On 12th June Diane is setting off on a bike ride to Amsterdam with 53 other ladies to raise much needed funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care! They are hoping to raise £30,000!!

The Acorn Gallery are pleased to announce a competition in support of their efforts and the prize is a signed limited edition print by Paul Kenton called Early Light Amsterdam - see picture below:-



This superb print will be framed and is valued at £199.00. All proceeds from the sale of the tickets will be going to Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Raffle tickets are £1 each and are available from the gallery. Whether you want to buy 1 or 100 pop in and gets yours now and help Marie Curie reach their total of £30,000. Remember tickets are only £1 :-)

Diane will be setting off from McArthur Glen Designer Outlet in York at 9am on Friday 12th June and is due back at about 6pm on Tuesday 16th June.

The raffle will be drawn on Friday 19th June 2009 and the winner will be notified accordingly.

If you wish to sponsor Diane then you can do so on-line at www.justgiving.com/amsterdame09 Please mention her name in your message!

We will let you know how she gets on so watch this space for news...

...and not a Pina Colada in sight!

As you may know I am doing two big sponsored events this year as part of my 40th Birthday Year of Challenges! Although I have done some of my personal challenges already the Playtex Moonwalk is the first of two big sponsored events!

It is a walk of 26.2 miles through the heart of London starting in Hyde Park at midnight on Saturday 16th May - hence the name (nothing to do with walking backwards!).

My training is ongoing and last Thursday afternoon I had arranged to do a training walk with my friend, Val. I do mid-week walks which are only 3-4 miles and a once-a-week long-distance walk which increases in duration as the mileage increases...

We are averaging a walking speed of 4mph so the 14 mile walk we had planned for this particular afternoon was due to take us 3.5hours ... trouble was that we hadn't planned for it to rain!

The walk was good to start with, although pace was a little slower than anticipated we got into a rhythm and set off.

About half-way through the walk it started to spot with rain but this was soon replaced by a definite shower and then a much heavier rain which certainly qualified as a downpour!

We had no choice but to soldier on ... cars passed us and looked at us as though we were totally mad!

We strode on with our clothing soaked right through, our joggers were so wet they were plastered to our legs and it made the walk hard going! The rain was stinging our faces and the wind was howling round our soaking wet clothes - good job we were active otherwise it would have been seriously cold!

As we followed our chosen route the rain eventually slowed and stopped. For three miles we had walked in the rain, about 50 minutes! But now the sun was trying to shine and our joggers, although still moulded to the shape of our legs, even started to dry a little!

We walked the final stretch of the walk, alongside the main road, turning away from the big trucks who thundered past with a strong side-draught and showered us in muddy water from the roadside!

Eventually we arrived back at mine where my thoughtful boy found us each a big bath sheet and handed us each a steaming hot drink!

We removed our squelching wet trainers and sat down wrapped in our towels and felt the heat from our drinks as it ran down inside us...

Energy was distinctly lacking and so I was very thankful that I'd had the forethought to buy a pack of pink iced doughnuts that morning - they absolutely hit the spot and gave us the boost we needed!

Training is fabulous on hot sunny days but we needed a day like this one to remind us that it is possible that it may rain for the big event and it was good that we have had the experience - but it also made us add 'spare set of clothes' to our list of stuff to take ... just in case :-)

I have now set up my Justgiving page for donations and so if you would like to sponsor me for this event then please visit www.justgiving.com/dianewass

Alternatively just pop into the gallery where a sponsor form is on hand - you can sponsor me per mile or just an overall amount - all donations are gratefully received!

I have set a modest target of £262.00 (which is £10 per mile) but would be delighted to smash through it :-)

Thanking you (cheekily!) in advance!
Diane :-)