Dear all
In December last year I lost my sister, Tracey, to lung cancer.
Following her diagnosis, we were lucky enough to be able to head back to New Zealand in July 2013 to spend some time with her and her family. During that time we witnessed the outstanding care and support that she was receiving from the Te Omanga hospice, which also supported my mother during her final days.
We also talked about my cycling ventures and what the plans were for this year and having already spoken with my fellow riders, I was able to make a pledge to her that we would ride in her honour this year, and seek to raise money for Te Omanga. At the time, I little suspected that the ride would be a memorial to her, but such are the ravages of the illness.
So forgive me for reaching out cap in hand, but I'm sure you'll appreciate that this is a very worthy cause which relies heavily on the funding it receives from donors such as you.
Our challenge this year is a big one, and I have to question my sanity when agreeing to sign up for it, but I'm on that path...
The Raid Alpine challenge
Eight MAMILs (middle aged men in lycra), supported by two very forgiving and patient ladies, will cross the Alps from Thonon (Geneva) to Antibes (Nice) in 5 days; a challenge normally undertaken over a full week or longer. Ahead of us lie 721 kilometres of road that wend with 16,000+ metres of climbing across 23 cols (mountain passes). It's akin to getting to the top of Mt Everest, nipping back down to base camp and starting again! As you can no doubt appreciate, we may have bitten off more than we can chew. But as I say, it's for a very worthy cause...
Te Omanga Hospice
Although the Hospice is half a world away from us here in the UK, I am especially passionate about raising money for them given the support they've provide and their heavy dependence on charitable donations. In short, they are not as awash with money as other (I'm sure equally worthy) causes, so it will be great to really make a difference if we can.
Given that it's a charitable cause based in New Zealand*, the website that hosts the donation service operates in New Zealand dollars, but will naturally take UK based credit cards. The exchange rate at the moment is around £1 = $1.98, so please remember to double the figure you would normally pay in sterling!
In order to make a donation, please visit:
Thank you all for lending your support to Te Omanga. Please know that they will be providing comfort and respite to a great number of people who might otherwise be lost without them.
All the very best
Craig
* With apologies to my friends in New Zealand, the exchange rate you should use is NZ$1 = NZ$1 :-)
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