Remember Remember the 4th of Junember (well, June) is the final leg of the Tour de Gripple - Hull to Sheffield - and it is still not too late for you to take part in the ride - if you own / have access to a bike and a helmet, and fancy a challenge through the beautiful Scunthorpe and Rotherham countryside (I bet you never thought that those two names could be associated with the word beautiful!) then let one of us know and book your place on the coach up to Hull!!
Other than that, in the words of Julius Caesar: Veni Vidi Bici!
CARPARK DIEM!
Monday, 31 May 2010
Day 4 - Vesoul to Nancy via Poussay
After some trouble with his back from spending most of his recent waking life driving the somewhat uncomfortable Vivaro Van, Al decided to have a mini lie-in, which was cut short by an emergency telephone call from of the Laggards, who had landed himself a date with the pavement some three miles up the road. After rushing out to administer technichal first aid on his ass (and leg and foot!), It was a question of who was enjoying rubbing the cream in most - Tony or Dave. After insepcting the scene of the accident it was confirmed that Dave was two timing Mary (his wife) with a rather good looking French patch of shingles at the side of the D10highway. As they got back on their way the heavens opened up, damping any hot feelings between Dave and the concrete superstructure.
The AA headed into Vesoul to buy some lunch, although with a shortage of bread in the town, we had to shop around and after three attempts and some hairy parking issues, we achieved our goal and were back en route through the torrential downpour, to meet The Laggards and The Aces for elevenses at the top of a rather steep hill in Fontenoy.
Shortly thereafter, it was time for the second part of the day, destination: Poussay. Now, when it comes to Poussay, it's a marathon and not a sprint. Andy and Sam arrived in good time, and we set them a challenge to do a 12 mile lap round the Poussay landing strip, which took them just over 45 minutes - record speed! Of course with the rich French diet we have all been exposed to, they had extra propulsion and were blasting off into the wind at lightspeed!!
Once Gordon and Dave had finally arrived at the entrance to Poussay, and refuelled with lunch, it was time to wish them on their merry way and make our way to the day's destination: Nancy.
During the afternoon, the training and development manager of the AA team - Doctor Melinda Rawlinson - decided that it would be a good idea to set a task for the team in order to raise even more money for the charities.
Once the Nancy boys were all together at the hotel, following another AA call out to Dave's bike just metres from the hotel (we are beginning to think it has a curse cast upon it where by two miles from our destination, something goes wrong) we sat down to another great meal in the hotel (where Al took it upon himself to translate the menu from Franglais into Anglais) in order to discuss Melinda's suggestion. We are currently developing an idea for one of the final legs of the journey, so stay tuned to find out more!!
After we had finished our Creme Brulees, and Gordon had topped up his dangerously low fluid levels after nearly falling asleep in his ravioli, it was time to head up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire and prepare ourselves for another transnational day of cycling - Destination: Luxembourg.
It is becoming more apparent as the Tour de Gripple progresses into week 2, just how important it is to get a full 8 hours' sleep through the night, and the days of drinking wine and beer until one in the morning are now a thing of the past (until, of course, we reach the unchartered territories of Luxembourg and Antwerp, where we have decided already that we must head out and visit these beautiful cities!)
Stay tuned for more blog updates and amusing anecdotes over the next few days as we pursue our journey into BeNeLux. Onwards and upwards!!
p.s. Remember - it's not too late to get donations in to our website - www.justgiving.com/tourdegripple
Smile and have a nice day! :)
The AA headed into Vesoul to buy some lunch, although with a shortage of bread in the town, we had to shop around and after three attempts and some hairy parking issues, we achieved our goal and were back en route through the torrential downpour, to meet The Laggards and The Aces for elevenses at the top of a rather steep hill in Fontenoy.
Shortly thereafter, it was time for the second part of the day, destination: Poussay. Now, when it comes to Poussay, it's a marathon and not a sprint. Andy and Sam arrived in good time, and we set them a challenge to do a 12 mile lap round the Poussay landing strip, which took them just over 45 minutes - record speed! Of course with the rich French diet we have all been exposed to, they had extra propulsion and were blasting off into the wind at lightspeed!!
Once Gordon and Dave had finally arrived at the entrance to Poussay, and refuelled with lunch, it was time to wish them on their merry way and make our way to the day's destination: Nancy.
During the afternoon, the training and development manager of the AA team - Doctor Melinda Rawlinson - decided that it would be a good idea to set a task for the team in order to raise even more money for the charities.
Once the Nancy boys were all together at the hotel, following another AA call out to Dave's bike just metres from the hotel (we are beginning to think it has a curse cast upon it where by two miles from our destination, something goes wrong) we sat down to another great meal in the hotel (where Al took it upon himself to translate the menu from Franglais into Anglais) in order to discuss Melinda's suggestion. We are currently developing an idea for one of the final legs of the journey, so stay tuned to find out more!!
After we had finished our Creme Brulees, and Gordon had topped up his dangerously low fluid levels after nearly falling asleep in his ravioli, it was time to head up the wooden hill to Bedfordshire and prepare ourselves for another transnational day of cycling - Destination: Luxembourg.
It is becoming more apparent as the Tour de Gripple progresses into week 2, just how important it is to get a full 8 hours' sleep through the night, and the days of drinking wine and beer until one in the morning are now a thing of the past (until, of course, we reach the unchartered territories of Luxembourg and Antwerp, where we have decided already that we must head out and visit these beautiful cities!)
Stay tuned for more blog updates and amusing anecdotes over the next few days as we pursue our journey into BeNeLux. Onwards and upwards!!
p.s. Remember - it's not too late to get donations in to our website - www.justgiving.com/tourdegripple
Smile and have a nice day! :)
Day Three - Belfort to Vesoul via Besancon
Day 3 by The Laggards (Gordon and Dave)
The threesome survived the night, despite Dave snoring loudly! And head down for a hearty Novotel breakfast. After which follow the starts of ritual of creaming and oiling. It takes longer than any woman in the beautification process.
It is a hot day and we're off! With the laggers chasing the aces. However, Dave ain't feeling too great and needs a liberal dose of muscle rub! Gordon makes a fool of himself by forgetting he is surgically implanted into his riding shoes and falls off into a heap. We make slow progress today and by lunch time have drunk all the water and needed an emergency delivery from ace support man No 1. He also turned up with 2 DD melons. We find ace No1 support man as the guest of honor at a local fete. What I didn't tell him he was going to be human sacrifice. And after a fantastic last session, we completed the 56 miles into the Ibis Hotel in Vesoul. We were humbled at dinner by group of Bosch workers who have lost their jobs and are doing a cycle ride to Stuggart to protest against the closure of their factory. They donated 100 Euros to our charity.
Day 3 by The Aces (Sam and Andy)
Early rise to fill our faces full of Novotel's finest breakfast grub-adub-dub. Followed by getting lycra'd & lubed up then fixing Dave's increasingly problematic bike. Gripple carrying Loadhog again eh?
Strike out from Belfort for 100 miles through the Vosges to Vesoul via Besancon and the rather challenging journey across the Doubs taking in stunning scenery by the river in the valley, up through picturesque French villages & battle through the heat as our star support man fought to find an open road over the inconveniently located mountains. After seeing an overstimlulated ornithological metal meneagery we finally take on water in order to tackle Mont Faucon above Besanceon, where we nearly melt our brakes. We then meander through the lanes to Vesoul & check into the Ibis to a warm welcome from Manager Mr. Behava, accompanied by cracking food. Encourage our new found friends from Bosch then off to bed to prepare for the next days century ride.
Day 3 by The AA (The 4th Emergency Service / Al and Tony)
Left the hotel to get to Decathlon in Montbelliard in order to buy Dave some new brake pads (which turned out to be out of stock) and to E.Leclerc to buy refreshments, lunch and a big watermelon for a refreshing afternoon treat. Rushed to meet Gordon and Dave in a little village halfway between Belfort and Vesoul where the watermelon was a very welcome treat. Then Tony managed to find a fete in one of the villages en route to Vesoul and got talking to some locals who took pity on him and offered him some bread. After witnessing two sets of locals squaring up to each other over a game of petanque, it was time for him make a swift exit and head to the hotel and get the rooms ready for everyone's arrival.
Meanwhile, across town, Al was making an arrival of his own into a picturesque layby just outside a village called Rioz. After a brief walk through a poppy-filled meadow whilst waiting for the Aces to rock up, it was time for the final pitstop and a quick perusal through a wide range of gels, energy bars and every other cleverly marketed piece of cycling paraphernalia necessary. Then it was a quick jaunt up the N57 to our Hotel Ibis to meet the manager, who had let us stay for free and given us a free breakfast to show his support for what we were doing.
He asked us if he could wear one of our T-Shirts to wear at the Vesoul vs. Lens football match that evening. We are now completely out of T-Shirts and must place an order for several more for the final day! They are proving a very successful marketing tool!!
After a discussion over dinner about the day's events it was time to hit the hay and catch up on our lack of sleep.
The threesome survived the night, despite Dave snoring loudly! And head down for a hearty Novotel breakfast. After which follow the starts of ritual of creaming and oiling. It takes longer than any woman in the beautification process.
It is a hot day and we're off! With the laggers chasing the aces. However, Dave ain't feeling too great and needs a liberal dose of muscle rub! Gordon makes a fool of himself by forgetting he is surgically implanted into his riding shoes and falls off into a heap. We make slow progress today and by lunch time have drunk all the water and needed an emergency delivery from ace support man No 1. He also turned up with 2 DD melons. We find ace No1 support man as the guest of honor at a local fete. What I didn't tell him he was going to be human sacrifice. And after a fantastic last session, we completed the 56 miles into the Ibis Hotel in Vesoul. We were humbled at dinner by group of Bosch workers who have lost their jobs and are doing a cycle ride to Stuggart to protest against the closure of their factory. They donated 100 Euros to our charity.
Day 3 by The Aces (Sam and Andy)
Early rise to fill our faces full of Novotel's finest breakfast grub-adub-dub. Followed by getting lycra'd & lubed up then fixing Dave's increasingly problematic bike. Gripple carrying Loadhog again eh?
Strike out from Belfort for 100 miles through the Vosges to Vesoul via Besancon and the rather challenging journey across the Doubs taking in stunning scenery by the river in the valley, up through picturesque French villages & battle through the heat as our star support man fought to find an open road over the inconveniently located mountains. After seeing an overstimlulated ornithological metal meneagery we finally take on water in order to tackle Mont Faucon above Besanceon, where we nearly melt our brakes. We then meander through the lanes to Vesoul & check into the Ibis to a warm welcome from Manager Mr. Behava, accompanied by cracking food. Encourage our new found friends from Bosch then off to bed to prepare for the next days century ride.
Day 3 by The AA (The 4th Emergency Service / Al and Tony)
Left the hotel to get to Decathlon in Montbelliard in order to buy Dave some new brake pads (which turned out to be out of stock) and to E.Leclerc to buy refreshments, lunch and a big watermelon for a refreshing afternoon treat. Rushed to meet Gordon and Dave in a little village halfway between Belfort and Vesoul where the watermelon was a very welcome treat. Then Tony managed to find a fete in one of the villages en route to Vesoul and got talking to some locals who took pity on him and offered him some bread. After witnessing two sets of locals squaring up to each other over a game of petanque, it was time for him make a swift exit and head to the hotel and get the rooms ready for everyone's arrival.
Meanwhile, across town, Al was making an arrival of his own into a picturesque layby just outside a village called Rioz. After a brief walk through a poppy-filled meadow whilst waiting for the Aces to rock up, it was time for the final pitstop and a quick perusal through a wide range of gels, energy bars and every other cleverly marketed piece of cycling paraphernalia necessary. Then it was a quick jaunt up the N57 to our Hotel Ibis to meet the manager, who had let us stay for free and given us a free breakfast to show his support for what we were doing.
He asked us if he could wear one of our T-Shirts to wear at the Vesoul vs. Lens football match that evening. We are now completely out of T-Shirts and must place an order for several more for the final day! They are proving a very successful marketing tool!!
After a discussion over dinner about the day's events it was time to hit the hay and catch up on our lack of sleep.
Remember Remember!!
Remember guys - we are Tour-de-Grippleing for Bluebell Wood and Medecins Sans Frontieres - So Keep Up The Funding!!
Day 2 by The Laggards
The day dawned overcast and we were greeted by the sight of a formulae one bike garage in the hotel carpark. What is about biker with a cleaning fetish. We are ready to go except Andy needed to apply anti chaffing to the nether regions and Sam needs to be lycraed up. So far so good except the ace cyclist are incapable of walking and end up with a very bloody knee.
The laggards are off, well at least for 2 miles before Dave gets a puncture. Some sight Dave blowing up the tube, like a pro. On and on until lunch when our ace no 1 chauffer in the Jag arrives with baguettes and a gherkin. He then goes off and sunbathes ( well he says he didnt but we know different) The laggards run into a torrential storm and like true Brits run for cover.
Its time for stop 2 and guess what Dave now has no brakes and sets about rebuilding his bike with a toothpick and a bottle top. Typical Loadhog ingenuity! By this stage we just want to get to the hotel and after 78 miles we stormed the Novotel just after 8 having been in the saddle for 10 hours. Posterior pain factor 2/10. But in the interest of keeping costs to an absolute minimum Ie zero its three in a bed. Who said team building cant be intimate!! And so to bed.
Day 2 by The Aces
Firstly, we begin with the headline:Carpark 1 - Sam 0, as gravity seems to take its toll on the poor guy.
The route through Germany's vine and fruit-laden countryside was fantastic, with German roads & drivers incredible. After 60 miles we had our first stop, with baguettes smuggled over the border from France by Al. Once we had refuelled riders & van & collected passports for Switzerland, it was time to head off again down the highway towards Bale. Once into Switzerland after passing no guards at the border, we proceeded to head up towards millionaires row. Through Swiss mountains & descending hairpins at 45mph, breaking the 50k limit as we reached Al, with water, chocolate & tales of climbs to come. Weave along the border through the forest to meet Al again for a final stop with water & a "tail" to get us through the following tough miles.
Thus went the exchange:
Sam " Look, a lizard"
Andy " I saw a fox earlier"
Sam " I saw a red squirrel"
Al " I saw a horse with a massive erection, and a woman stroking it"
We assume he meant stroking the horse but were laughing too hard to ask.
Cruise into Belfort after 10.5 hours on the road & 200k's & load up on pasta at a very friendly Italian restaurant to tripling up in the rooms & Al snoring like a hippo after a bottle too many of red wine.
The day dawned overcast and we were greeted by the sight of a formulae one bike garage in the hotel carpark. What is about biker with a cleaning fetish. We are ready to go except Andy needed to apply anti chaffing to the nether regions and Sam needs to be lycraed up. So far so good except the ace cyclist are incapable of walking and end up with a very bloody knee.
The laggards are off, well at least for 2 miles before Dave gets a puncture. Some sight Dave blowing up the tube, like a pro. On and on until lunch when our ace no 1 chauffer in the Jag arrives with baguettes and a gherkin. He then goes off and sunbathes ( well he says he didnt but we know different) The laggards run into a torrential storm and like true Brits run for cover.
Its time for stop 2 and guess what Dave now has no brakes and sets about rebuilding his bike with a toothpick and a bottle top. Typical Loadhog ingenuity! By this stage we just want to get to the hotel and after 78 miles we stormed the Novotel just after 8 having been in the saddle for 10 hours. Posterior pain factor 2/10. But in the interest of keeping costs to an absolute minimum Ie zero its three in a bed. Who said team building cant be intimate!! And so to bed.
Day 2 by The Aces
Firstly, we begin with the headline:Carpark 1 - Sam 0, as gravity seems to take its toll on the poor guy.
The route through Germany's vine and fruit-laden countryside was fantastic, with German roads & drivers incredible. After 60 miles we had our first stop, with baguettes smuggled over the border from France by Al. Once we had refuelled riders & van & collected passports for Switzerland, it was time to head off again down the highway towards Bale. Once into Switzerland after passing no guards at the border, we proceeded to head up towards millionaires row. Through Swiss mountains & descending hairpins at 45mph, breaking the 50k limit as we reached Al, with water, chocolate & tales of climbs to come. Weave along the border through the forest to meet Al again for a final stop with water & a "tail" to get us through the following tough miles.
Thus went the exchange:
Sam " Look, a lizard"
Andy " I saw a fox earlier"
Sam " I saw a red squirrel"
Al " I saw a horse with a massive erection, and a woman stroking it"
We assume he meant stroking the horse but were laughing too hard to ask.
Cruise into Belfort after 10.5 hours on the road & 200k's & load up on pasta at a very friendly Italian restaurant to tripling up in the rooms & Al snoring like a hippo after a bottle too many of red wine.
Friday, 28 May 2010
Day one
Hello everybody, Al Murray here, reporting on day two of the Tour De Gripple international cycling extravaganza blog. To start off, I would like to ask: Have you ever been to France? (To which David Chong replies: "No, but I've been to Paris.")
As our geographical knowledge of Europe expands, and the becomes more established, David then proceeds to ask us where the London 2012 Olympics are being held. Work needed here - answers on a postcard.
The day began for us in Obernai with an unnecessarily early start at 5.45am (after the clock was pre-adjusted an extra hour forward without my knowing!) which really helped with the lack of sleep induced by our 18 hour journey the day before (not!).
However, every cloud has a silver lining, and this gave us a chance to get some serious eating of local produce in over breakfast which really helped us prepare for the road ahead, as well as taking a short walk round Obernai to take in the weird and wonderful buildings and scenery.
After a quick tour around the awesome Gripple Europe building, the Tour de Gripple officially started with 19 of Gripple's finest cyclists leaving the pearly gates of the French office, en route to costa del Rhine and the Federal Republic of Germany. One bloody but not life-threatening injury later, and several near misses with rather large heavy goods vehicles and we had reached the first German settlement of Nonnenweier, where we stopped for lunch outside a church where bells were rung for us upon our arrival. Following a great photo op, and several farewells to some friendly-but-tired Gripple faces, 20 kilometres later, we stopped again for a textbook, Tour de France style break next to a Mirabel Orchard in the middle of nowhere, which was great for the first big (if not slightly staged) photoshoot.
From this point onwards, our luck decided to take the long route round, when a massive, torrential rainstorm arrived upon us and nearly washed the bikes from under the cyclists feet. We encountered our first "act of God" as technology went on the blink and communications became crackly, and we eventually found a very wet and very cold Denis - clinging to the side of a bridge over the very fast-flowing Leopoldskanal. Denis was overjoyed to see the Tour de Gripple van and proceeded to get into the cab and put the heating on to the highest setting to try and thaw out from the sudden plummet in temperature outside. Denis and I continued on into the storm in the now 30 degrees Celsius plus van, closely followed by Tony, and we started to think about having a beer to help soothe us from the leadened skies of Baden-Wuttenberg. A short while later, we found a watering hole in Denzlingen / Denslington / Bridlington / Darlington / however Tony thought it was pronounced, and we proceeded to order a nice demi-biere to help numb the pain. Technology was still not 100% on our side as not only could we now not get in contact with any of the riders whatsoever, but furthermore, the coach company due to take the Obernai team back to Gripple of dreams, announced that they had broken down on a motorway somewhere in the Rhine valley, leaving us potentially stranded in a foreign country, with no means of apparent salvation.
Luckily, we reconveined down the road in Gundelfingen, at a pleasant looking Italian restaurant next to a church with a massive stork's nest on top (complete with stork!!) and ordered our meals. Now I must say that I have met some bizarre characters in my life, and the owner of this place was definitely up there with them. He seemed to find it funny to pretend to keep getting our food order wrong - although in the end he confused himself, nobody laughed, and we had to order the food with a show of hands for who wanted what. Several painful attempts later and grub was up. Amusingly, Loic quipped: "the food is fantastic, but that guy is an idiot!" which tickled the group.
Cue the now repaired coach arriving outside the restaurant for the Obernai lot to head home and this stage of the tour de Gripple drew to a close.
A short drive for Tony and I, and a potentially indigestion-inducing jaunt up the valley, and after a few too many kilometres of strange and occasionally uncooperative weather, we arrived to a very friendly reception at the Scheffelhoff Hotel in Waldkirch.
As I write this blog, I can assure you that we are now consuming copious amounts of recovery agents in order to soothe our aches, pains and woes of the day. By recovery agents, I of course mean beer and wine!
I shall leave you now as we talk logistics for the Freiburg to Belfort stage of the Tour de Gripple...
Stay tuned to us everybody, and thanks for all your support and contribution. Keep up the great work!
Over and out!!
As our geographical knowledge of Europe expands, and the becomes more established, David then proceeds to ask us where the London 2012 Olympics are being held. Work needed here - answers on a postcard.
The day began for us in Obernai with an unnecessarily early start at 5.45am (after the clock was pre-adjusted an extra hour forward without my knowing!) which really helped with the lack of sleep induced by our 18 hour journey the day before (not!).
However, every cloud has a silver lining, and this gave us a chance to get some serious eating of local produce in over breakfast which really helped us prepare for the road ahead, as well as taking a short walk round Obernai to take in the weird and wonderful buildings and scenery.
After a quick tour around the awesome Gripple Europe building, the Tour de Gripple officially started with 19 of Gripple's finest cyclists leaving the pearly gates of the French office, en route to costa del Rhine and the Federal Republic of Germany. One bloody but not life-threatening injury later, and several near misses with rather large heavy goods vehicles and we had reached the first German settlement of Nonnenweier, where we stopped for lunch outside a church where bells were rung for us upon our arrival. Following a great photo op, and several farewells to some friendly-but-tired Gripple faces, 20 kilometres later, we stopped again for a textbook, Tour de France style break next to a Mirabel Orchard in the middle of nowhere, which was great for the first big (if not slightly staged) photoshoot.
From this point onwards, our luck decided to take the long route round, when a massive, torrential rainstorm arrived upon us and nearly washed the bikes from under the cyclists feet. We encountered our first "act of God" as technology went on the blink and communications became crackly, and we eventually found a very wet and very cold Denis - clinging to the side of a bridge over the very fast-flowing Leopoldskanal. Denis was overjoyed to see the Tour de Gripple van and proceeded to get into the cab and put the heating on to the highest setting to try and thaw out from the sudden plummet in temperature outside. Denis and I continued on into the storm in the now 30 degrees Celsius plus van, closely followed by Tony, and we started to think about having a beer to help soothe us from the leadened skies of Baden-Wuttenberg. A short while later, we found a watering hole in Denzlingen / Denslington / Bridlington / Darlington / however Tony thought it was pronounced, and we proceeded to order a nice demi-biere to help numb the pain. Technology was still not 100% on our side as not only could we now not get in contact with any of the riders whatsoever, but furthermore, the coach company due to take the Obernai team back to Gripple of dreams, announced that they had broken down on a motorway somewhere in the Rhine valley, leaving us potentially stranded in a foreign country, with no means of apparent salvation.
Luckily, we reconveined down the road in Gundelfingen, at a pleasant looking Italian restaurant next to a church with a massive stork's nest on top (complete with stork!!) and ordered our meals. Now I must say that I have met some bizarre characters in my life, and the owner of this place was definitely up there with them. He seemed to find it funny to pretend to keep getting our food order wrong - although in the end he confused himself, nobody laughed, and we had to order the food with a show of hands for who wanted what. Several painful attempts later and grub was up. Amusingly, Loic quipped: "the food is fantastic, but that guy is an idiot!" which tickled the group.
Cue the now repaired coach arriving outside the restaurant for the Obernai lot to head home and this stage of the tour de Gripple drew to a close.
A short drive for Tony and I, and a potentially indigestion-inducing jaunt up the valley, and after a few too many kilometres of strange and occasionally uncooperative weather, we arrived to a very friendly reception at the Scheffelhoff Hotel in Waldkirch.
As I write this blog, I can assure you that we are now consuming copious amounts of recovery agents in order to soothe our aches, pains and woes of the day. By recovery agents, I of course mean beer and wine!
I shall leave you now as we talk logistics for the Freiburg to Belfort stage of the Tour de Gripple...
Stay tuned to us everybody, and thanks for all your support and contribution. Keep up the great work!
Over and out!!
Wednesday, 26 May 2010
The journey
Five Intrepid velo gripplers set off from Sheffield at five in the morning;
We made great time down to Dover on Sea renamed Rotherham on Sea by Tony who also discovered that the cliffs are not white!
Despite Chongy not having good sea legs we made it the right way around the first roundabout and did the 600 kms to Obernai in record time.
Al clearly is a trainee French drive with Gallic flair and gestures
We are now at Gripple Europe and are plotting to win todays stage against the French to Freiburg:
A big thank you to Brock and our UK industrial customers who donated 750 yesterday. Keep it coming
Yours from the saddle
The Tour team
We made great time down to Dover on Sea renamed Rotherham on Sea by Tony who also discovered that the cliffs are not white!
Despite Chongy not having good sea legs we made it the right way around the first roundabout and did the 600 kms to Obernai in record time.
Al clearly is a trainee French drive with Gallic flair and gestures
We are now at Gripple Europe and are plotting to win todays stage against the French to Freiburg:
A big thank you to Brock and our UK industrial customers who donated 750 yesterday. Keep it coming
Yours from the saddle
The Tour team
Friday, 21 May 2010
Sams bike has arrived
How do you do the Tour without a bicycle.Problem solved. Sams frame arrived today. Now he needs some wheels and brakes.
Any suggestions. He fancies himself as a runner
Gordon
Dear Friends
I hope you don’t mind me contacting you directly, but I just wanted to let you know about a special fund raising event. We have a team of four very special Gripple staff who, next week will embark upon a 680 mile / 1,100 km cycle ride from Gripple Obernai, France to Gripple Sheffield to help raise as much as we can for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, Sheffield (as part of the Sheffield Master Cutler’s Challenge) and Medecins Sans Frontieres. Gordon Macrae,
In addition, we have various Anglo / French teams who will be riding at least one of the nine stages, including our MD and three other directors who will be completing the final 120km from
Bluebell Woods Children's Hospice is a local endeavour which receives no state funding but which provides a comfortable and friendly environment for children with cancer and other life limiting illnesses. And Medicins Sans Frontieres does great work all over the world, particularly in areas of conflict. It too relies entirely on donations from the public.
If you would be happy making a donation, however small, please click on the JustGiving link of your choice (below).
Many thanks indeed for your support.
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