Yes its that time of year again - this year with added padded shorts !

rlhttp://www.justgiving.com/doingitforchrisrl

Two years ago a very close friend died from a brain tumour which had manifested itself and then claimed him within ten weeks, he was 52 years old at the time and I had known him since we were both 11, as had the rest of our Old Gits team of 1970s ex-sunday league footballers.

The last two weeks of his life was spent in Wheatfields Hospice where he received, in his words, five star hotel treatment and he should know as he'd travelled the world in his software job and stayed in real five star hotels, it wasn't just the palliative care that they gave him but the complete care package that the Sue Ryder Trust administer, and it made us want to do something to help them after he'd gone.

Two years ago we did the Coast to Coast Sustrans bike route over two and a half days for Sue Ryder and last year we did the Hadrians Wall C2C route for a different charity, but this year its back to Sue Ryder again and we're riding the Sustrans route from Edinburgh (Dunbar actually) to Newcastle starting Friday afternoon and finishing in Tynemouth on Sunday, approx 130 miles in total.

I've ordered the rain for the weekend (it always lashes it down on our rides) and unknown to each other we've all now admitted to buying padded lycra shorts which should save the problem of who to ask to administer the vaseline to the gentlemens areas first thing on a morning.

Two of the crowd are actually pensioners this year, two are grandfathers and one of them had a heart attack last year, we take a doctor with us as a precaution but all he does is chain smoke the whole weekend and eat cake, and there will be cake, there has to be cake.

Our past tales of daring do are documented here rlhttp://onemorehill.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/c2c-a-final-review/rl and if you have any spare cash down the back of the settee could you use rlhttp://www.justgiving.com/doingitforchrisrl to send it to the Sue Ryder Trust please ?

And I'll just get soaked through again.

Many thanks to Wheels for the kind donation and the opportunity for me to bump this up the page again

And many thanks too to "MrsRonnieRhino", thats much appreciated.

And again thank you to "Rhinoholic", very kind.

Just for the laydees I'm thinking of using the padded underpants that I'll be wearing throughout the journey for a free prize draw for all donatees, they will still have a bit of wear left in them after three days cycling and will be very fragrant so well worth getting a donation in now, prizes like this don't come along every day you know.

That will be an offer too good to miss especially for those who sit on the uncomfy seats in the North Stand. I'm sure that will boost the sponsorship now and you'll easily get to your target.

And thank you TadRhino, very good of you my friend, I have shaved my head in respect of your contribution (no really I have, too short this time, hope it rains now or I'll get burned)

I'll fiddle the raffle so you get the underpants if you like.

You are very welcome Mr Field.....

Hope you enjoy your padded ride.....sunshine or rain.....

by t'way, and I hope you don't think I am being too forrard wot wi' us only just having met and all, but I am not interested in t'prize if they are covered in cake crumbs.....

wahay, some new pants. please don't wash them

Thats where I keep my flapjack...

Right, I'm going to tell the banana story now so avert your eyes if you're eating, especially if you're eating a banana.

This is an absolutely true story I promise, it happened in the cycle cafe on the main A65 in Gargrave, if you cycle then you'll know the one I mean.

I was sitting outside there one Saturday afternoon with some friends enjoying a cup of coffee and cake of course, there has to be cake, when an old man cyclist invited himself to sit at our table - you know the sort, old knitted cycle shirt, tawny legs with muscles like old bits of anchor rope, not a picking on him, had probably been cycling for a hundred years.

He'd overheard one of us complain about a sore a[irs[/ie and he had a solution - a banana.

Against our better judgement we asked if a banana had some sort of medicinal qualities that eased the suffering of a sore a[irs[/ie, "no" he said, "You don't eat the bugger, you pick one that is your shape and size and you stuff it down the back of your pants and into the crack of your a[irs[/ie, then you sit on it"

I couldn't help it, I had to know, "But do you peel it first" I asked

He looked at me as though I was the lunatic and not him, "No you daft bugger" he said, "if you peeled it you wouldn't be able to eat it afterwards would you ?"

"Oh I don't know" I pondered.



PS - I've never dared to try it yet.

We depart for Scotland early tomorrow morning to be dumped somewhere on the edge of the Firth of Forth and ride our way back homewards again - live updates for the next three days rlcan be found hererl and with a bit of luck and three days hard riding we might just manage to fit the t-shirts that Sue Ryder Trust have given us (they only had Large left )

Hi Gary

I'm probably one of the few on here that have not signed up to Facebook so for us anti-social posters how did the bike ride go?

This was the nicest part rlhttp://jerrychicken.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/the-reaction-of-strangers/rl

This was the funniest part even though someone got hurt rlhttp://jerrychicken.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/the-amazing-dr-emmott/rl

And I haven't written about the rest yet

It went really well though, the first day was supposed to be a doddle but it wasn't, in fact it was the toughest day we've done on all three of our Old Gits Bike Rides so far, lots of hills and steep ones too, it was only 35 miles but it felt like 350 by the time we arrived in Berwick - and by the way, Berwick is not a place to go for a lively weekend, in fact it would be an excellent place to locate the UK arm of Dignitas, its like a waiting room for all who have lost hope.

Many thanks for the support, we'll probably manage around £1000 for Wheatfields when everything is collected in.

And my foot still hurts.