Sian, you are really naughty !!! but caused a titter

What to Wear when Cycling

This is an important subject for us Pollicott Belles, especially now that Alex has her new helmet.

We plan to share a series of 'how to look good in cyclewear' hints and tips over the coming months. We start with some manly advice which is:

Black lycra not red:

Oooh, lots of great stuff seems to have happened since my very first blog entry. One very important thing (given I'm about to raise money by riding a bike) is that I've been out looking for a bike - probably a minimum requirement for the task in hand....but. This is serious stuff, a good time to remember why it's all happening and a good time to say a big thank you to our supporters to date.

Sian has already mentioned my lovely sons contribution from his 18th birthday party - Pollicott is particularly proud of its ability to take innuendo to a new level.

Imogen and Jessica for their fantastic fundraising effort - if Jessica ever decides to make a career in sales watch out - 'no' is not an option. Thanks Jessica - you were a star!

Kirsten and Steve have been great. Showing uncompromised confidence in my ability to conquer the challenge ahead they wasted no time in buying me a cycle helmet. Not sure the stabiliser wheels will work over the Ridgeway though!!

I'll leave it at that for now but there are some people along the way I really need to bring in, some close and valued family and friends whose lives have been affected by cancer. Our adventure next year will be great fun, shared with people I have come to love, but we'll never forget the reason we're doing it. This is for them. Alex xx

Alex learns to ride a bike!!!!

Hi all,

Wow!! first time on a bike, first time contribution on the Internet. Just feeling my way in here so back shortly.

This is the day we kicked off the fundraising for the Pollicott Belles Cycle Challenge.

The Pollicott Belles are Alex, Sian and Vicky and we are cycling The Ridgeway from June 4th to 6th 2010 to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Care.

We chose Macmillan because a lady in our village inspired us to do so at her World's Biggest Coffee Morning event. We hope over time to add a little more information about why we were inspired.

The Ridgeway is Britain's oldest road - the route is largely off-road but because some of it is footpath only we will have to do some distance on road and will not be able to complete the full 85 miles on bike (we will cycle approx. 65 miles).

This is a true Pollicott effort. Our wonderful menfolk and children are lined up as support crew, campsite security and catering. Helen Lund is chief in charge of fundraising and will be thinking up some new and innovative ways to extract cash from anyone willing to support us.

Alex is our star - until we decided to take on this challenge she had NEVER been on a bike. In true Pollicott style we set about dealing with this minor detail. She is now pedalling up and down the lane very competently so that's the off-road sorted - next comes turning round, straight lines, traffic and distance - we will keep this page updated with her progress.

Already we have had two fab fundraising efforts:

• Christopher Reeves - thanks so much for allowing us to enjoy the art (or sport) of innuendo at your 18th birthday - the pounds in the bucket reflect the shocking enormity of it all!
• Imogen and Jessica Holbrook - thank you for such a wonderful body shop party - Jessica your raffle ticket selling skills were truly impressive and made for a very enjoyable evening.

We will keep you updated here of our fundraising efforts, results, how Alex is getting along, the route planning and checking and other relevant news. So watch this space.