I'm famous!

Well done the Ivybridge and South Brent Gazette! Today's issue sees me on the front cover and a full feature on page 3 - did they know something I didn't? The article was almost word for word my press release with photos of me in the sponsors shirt and in the Dartmoor Classic. Please see below:

Ivybridge man to cycle 970miles in 12 days for Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity


When at secondary school aged 13 Martin Templar of Ivybridge marvelled at the achievement of two 16 year old fellow pupils who cycled from Land’s End to John O’Groats, the length of Britain. Ever since it has been his dream to emulate their achievement.

For the past 2 years Martin has been training hard cycling in excess of 2,000 miles since February this year alone as well as giving up alcohol in an effort to lose a little weight. He can often be seen each weekend cycling solo across Dartmoor or around the South Hams as well as commuting into Wrigley’s at Estover where he works in the Marketing team.

Martin says “In fulfilling a personal dream I want to do some good for others”. He has raised thousands of pounds before notably for The Cystic Fibrosis Trust, Phab and CHICKS charities but on this occasion chose the Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity.

Rays of Sunshine grants wishes to children with serious and life limiting illnesses aged 3 – 18 across the UK. “At the end of last year I was inspired by the story of Alice Halstead whom I heard on the radio. She has a rare form of diabetes that requires hourly monitoring of her blood meaning that she has had to live in a Leeds hospital for over 2 years. Rays of Sunshine made it possible for Alice and her family to visit London to see the Lion King giving both Alice and her family a well deserved break”. “Alice is now an inspirational ambassador for the charity and has raised tens of thousands of pounds herself”.

Martin has been fundraising all summer and has amassed over £5,000 for Rays of Sunshine with a significant contribution being made by local and national businesses that have sponsored his T-shirt for the trip. “I would like to thank all my supporters. In these tough times I have found their generosity quite overwhelming”.

The cycle ride leaves Land’s End at the end of August with Martin passing through Devon on September 1st. If you would like to support his effort then please visit www.justgiving.com/Martin-Sunshine-Ride where you can read more of his story and sponsor him online.

A pain in the a$$!

Nightmare. Had a slightly tight hamstring the last few weeks so decided to see a phsio this Wednesday. It had niggled at me when I rode on Sunday so decided to try and do something about it before it was too late. Saw Vicky Llewellyn at Plymouth Physio who detected tightness in my left hamstring near the top that continued up into my glute. Massage and ultrasound and a new stretch shown I left Vicky feeling great. Tightness returned in the evening though. It's not too bad on the bike but hurts going upstairs and I'm desperate not to pull the muscle further.

Went on the trainer in the morning for 30mins on Thursday for the third morning this week just to spin the legs. Doesn't hurt with no load but we'll see when the hills rise upwards.

Weird week as beacause of the leg I'm almost keen to avoid the bike. For goodness sake don't lose your momentum at this 11th hour Mr Templar!

Friday morning and the trainer's had it following my fall from the machine a few weeks back therefore had to miss training today. Saw Vicky again who worked hard with massage on the leg and then ultrasound. Shown how to massage whilst away plus Ibuleve gel recommended and then frozen peas and a hot water bottle. Am now certain the 'niggle' will be with me for the whole trip. I've been injury free all these months except for my foot. Why now?

Inspirational Alice!

Had a message from Alice today. It appears her health has not been great which is hugely disappointing as she was soon hoping to go home. She has given me fresh motivation as she's posted this on ther blog...

Martin’s Sunshine Ride for @RaysofSunshine August 23rd, 2010 | Author: Alice Halstead

As some of you may remember in November 2009, I was interviewed on Radio Five Live about my condition and also Rays of Sunshine!! That afternoon, Martin Templar was listening and was inspired by my story…he wanted to fullfill one of his dreams – to cycle from Land’s End to John O’ Groats – whilst also fulfilling the dreams of children living with serious and life limiting illnesses.

In August/September Martin will cycle 970 miles in 12 days. He said “I’m trying to fulfill a dream whilst at the same time raising loads of cash for serious and terminally ill children so that they might fulfill theirs.” In an email i received from him today, he said “You’ll see that I have a Rays of Sunshine teddy bear strapped to my bike. I’ve named him ‘Hal’ after you as you are the inspiration for this fundraising effort. I wanted a tangible reminder as to why I’ll be putting my body through the pain. Hal had his first ride yesterday and he enjoyed the views though got a little wet as the heavens opened with 10 miles to go.”

Martin is number two now of Rays of Sunshine’s top fundraisers on JustGiving!! Yikes, he is catching up with me!! Please give him some encouragement and donate here

Thank you Martin and Good Luck!!

Can it really be so?

Well yes it can. Today was my last 'big' ride before the off. An 'easy' 66 miles across the moor with 6,700' of climbing. Weather great first thing (7.10am start) as I looped Burrator, crossed to Moorshop and then climbed to Two Bridges. The next time I do this stretch I'll be accompanied. On through Postbridge and then down to Ponsworthy Bridge, Dartmeet and the 25% at Hexworthy. Descended to Buckfastleigh where the heavens opened so jacket on for the last 10 miles home. Is this a taste of what's to come I wonder as 50mm of rain is forecast for tonight!

At home the bike has had a good clean and then its a tyre change and into Certini for a final check over. Exercise plans for the week ahead are a couple of commutes if the weather holds and maybe a swim. Nothing too serious. The foot is ok but I have a niggle at the top of my left hamstring. Feel it occasionally on the bike though hurts more walking uphill. Good incentive to ride! Let's hope it doesn't stiffen up on the ride!

Bag is now packed as yesterday's wet weather gave me time to fill it. Problem is the bag's missing 20% of my kit. Bigger bag or more thrifty? Tough choices will need to be made. I didn't realise how much space my energy gels and powders would take so I'd imagine the bag will be a lot lighter come the end.

Wore my Oakley Radars for the first time today which were fantastic. My other glasses are quite small so I normally 'cry' downhill. No such issues now. Just waiting for my leg warmers and the kitty will be exhausted.

Hal enjoyed his ride, staying in place admirably. Not sure he liked the rain though. He may need a wash en route if he begins to pong!

Welcome to 'Hal'

Say hello to 'Hal'. Wrote to Olivia at ROS earlier in the week as I thought that if times get tough on the ride I might need reminding why I'm putting myself through the pain. She sent down some goodies and 'Hal' has made it onto the bike. Why 'Hal'? Well because of the inspirational Alice Halstead of course without whom this fundraising effort would not have occurred. Hopefully Hal will make LEJOG on the bike and if the ride is too rough I'll put him in my pocket so he can enjoy the views!

Have felt a little 'heady' the last couple of days as the August weather is in it's element. Fog, rain and very low visibility. Lets hope this weather exhausts itself before the off. Hoping the headiness doesn't develop as I've been so well for so long it would be a disaster to get a bug right now.

Managed an hour on the trainer this morning and then hope to be out agin for a 50-60mile run tomorrow. One last trek across the moors if body and weather allows. Now for writing a press release!

Oh what a 'phoney' week!

Well here it is. The sponsored shirt that all my lovely sponsors 'paid' to have their logos on. Having lost some weight it now looks a little like a night shirt though Sportworx of Ivybridge did a great job of the printing. Thankyou. This little gem of an idea raised about £2.5k so it's responsible for nearly half my fundraissing! Thankyou to all who gave so generously.

The original idea was to print on my cycling jersey however Gore wanted me to send the jersey to Scotland to be done as it's specialist print. Needless to say the complexity meant I turned to the cotton contingency.

So why a phoney week? Well we're on that cusp now. 12 days to go as I write so shouldn't over-do the exercise yet I'm still eating like a horse. The thing is I WANT to exercise. I think my body is in a routine. After another 86 miles last Sunday I had a couple of days off before a half hour spin on the trainer yesterday and a good swim tonight. One more longish ride this w/e and then just a couple of commutes and maybe a swim next week. I pray for an injury/illness free run in as any problems now could spell disaster.

I figure the miles are in the legs as the Garmin has recorded 1800+ miles since January with a good number of 20 mile commutes on top. It's now or never!

Once again massive thanks to the support with the fundraising. I'm up to £5.2k-ish and there's still more coming in so fingers crossed for the big six. Olivia at Rays of Sunshine is delighted.

Items are now making it into my kit bag and there have been a few last minute panic buys including leg warmers as the days are getting cooler and new glasses so I have 'spares'. Wiggle, Evans & Ribble sales will soon be in decline as the event starts so 'sell, sell, sell' those shares now! Bike's going in for a 'check-up' next week though all running smoothly at the mo so should be routine.

I just can't wait to get going. I want to relish the challenge and the fun as trips like this don't come around too often in life. Gill and the kids have been a HUGE support throughout. I owe them a lot of love and will be giving them more 'Dad time' on my return. Gill's getting the paint and brushes primed as I sense an Autumn of decorating ahead. I wonder if I can paint whilst sitting on the trainer?

How GOOD does that feel?

What a tremendous day. My sponsorship came through from Wrigley which sent me crashing through my revised target. I now have sponsorship in excess of £5,200 which is absolutely fantastic.

I want to sincerely thank all my supporters for your fantastic generosity. Every donation counts and will make a difference to children and families that are in need of a lift.

I started with a target of £4k which was then revised to £5k and now who knows where I may end up? I set off in 2 weeks time with the full knowledge that I have amazingly generous supporters. What better way to start the trip of a lifetime. I won't disappoint you.

To everyone, I thank you.