My personal blog on the training and preparation for the 145 miles of cycling from London to Amsterdam. Representing AFC Bournemouth and raising money for Prostate Cancer UK. This Football to Amsterdam bike ride is endorsed and supported by both The Football League and the LMA. The ride will be led and supported by football legends Terry Butcher and Viv Anderson. Over 400 riders will depart London on Friday 3rd June 2016
So it's been nearly two weeks since I completed the epic adventure that was Football to Amsterdam 2016 for Prostate Cancer UK. The sponsorship and donations have been simply amazing. A massive thank you to everyone who has so kindly and so generously sponsored and supported me with donations. My original target was £1,000. As of today, I have amassed 175% of this target and my total stands at £1,753 Thank you, thank you, thank you!
You can still read the messages and donate via my Just Giving page here...
A massive HUGE thank you to the brilliant team at KitBrix for supporting and sponsoring me on this epic charity bike ride, by providing me with a whole range of brilliant KitBrix products!
The KitBrix brand is a new and innovative company that makes a great range of products for cyclists (road & off road), runners, swimmers, triathletes and OCR (obstacle course races) participants.
KitBrix also sponsor's and supply's products to two professional cycling teams. Team Raleigh GAC and Neon Velo
Team Raleigh GAC owner Cherie Pridham said: “Time management and organisation of kit is of the essence when we are training and competing. The unique design of Kitbrix will therefore be invaluable in our operations next season. We are delighted to have this innovative company on board for the 2016 season.”
The story behind the creation of the brand and its aims and core values from founder and inventor Robert is brilliantly told on the KitBrix website. You can read his story here.
Or you can watch the brilliant KitBrix promotional video below...
So let me tell you about the brilliant and amazing KitBrix products I'll be using for my training and throughout the London to Amsterdam bike ride....
KitBrix Cycle Bag
I have two of these great kit bags. Both resplendent in black with a small amount of red detailing and some strong KitBrix branding.
One of these bags will be 'cycling day bag' which will be in the support vehicle following the ride. Within it will be my spare cycling gear, rain clothing, gels/ bars/ snacks, and a small selection of tools and spares.
The beauty and major benefit of this KitBrix will be how simple and easy it will be to access and find organised kit fast. With a great design of pockets, compartments and areas within the bag that are designed for the cyclist.
The second KitBrix bag will be my overnight bag and will contain my clothing and personal items for the two overnight stops and the travel back to the UK on the Sunday. Each will be easily identifiable using the great end panel signs. Additionally, my journey from the hotel to the start line and ride briefing will be simplified even further as my 2 x KitBrix's will be attached together for easy transport to the start line along with my bike. As the 'connecting zipping' feature is yet another innovative element of these great kit bags, allowing me to join the bags together as a single bag when required.
DobiPak
A really great and useful product that really works well. Let me use the KitBrix product description of what a DobiPak is and why it is named as such!! (see below)
A 12 Litre double lined Dry Bag with waterproof inner lining and honeycomb outer in Gun Metal Grey. Double lining is a key differentiator from other Dry Bags that can be reversed for easy cleaning. Suitable for wetsuit or muddy kit and shoes, the DobiPak can hold a wetsuit (XXL) or muddy trainers plus dirty kit.
Why DobiPak?
Dobie is a naval term for ‘wash’ or ‘laundry’. It is generally used with other words such as ‘Dobie dust’ or ‘Dobie powder’ meaning washing powder. ‘Instant dobie’ is slang for deodorant or antiperspirant as the act of putting deodorant on is joked to be a quick wash for ‘stinky sailors’ instead of them taking a shower
MicroDry
A microfibre towel that is big in size and massive in features.
Or see for yourself on this great short video....
Described on the KitBrix website as follows...
You told us that normal microfibre towels are not big enough, so we made a huge one! Big enough to wrap around the whole body post-ride or swim but packs down to hand size for easy and quick storage. Quick wicking and washes as new every time. When space is a premium for serious athletes, this is a must have as part of any support pack
TakeCover - All Season Snood
A super soft muti-use snood. Ideal for the cyclist to be used as a neck warmer (snood) or head cover under your helmet. Really soft material in a great colour with some really nice design branding.
Described on the KitBrix website as...
Our all-season snood, manufactured in the UK, is soft, lightweight and insulating polyester microfibre. This tube-shaped snood is made with a lightweight and insulating yarn with a seamless construction and can therefore be worn in many ways. The Snood, a British term initially meaning ‘headgear’, is the perfect winter accessory for runners and walkers require lightweight and quick drying items for training and racing in cool to cold conditions. These need to be easy to pack and versatile for maximum benefit of use.
WashPak
A simple but really effective and useful product. This well-designed wash bag is ideal for post race shower and clean up!
Described on the KitBrix website as....
An all season wash bag which can accompany any of the KitBrix range plus can be taken for sporting events, weekend trips and also business trips thanks to its aesthetics. We improved upon many wash bags by integrating a large end-to-end transparent pocket to allow full visibility of smaller items and keeping the inner white and highly visible.
The KitBrix Washpak gives you the inner durability and wipe clean use of a water resistant wash bag with the smart, functional and sporty honeycomb outer that repels water and other liquids. An essential item for travel and for sporting events where being mobile and self sufficient is paramount.
To find out more about KitBrix and to see their innovative and brilliant product range please click here or visit their website by clicking the link below...
The support and sponsorship I've had for the Prostate Cancer UK Football to Amsterdam 2016 charity bike event has been simply amazing. A massive thank you to the brilliant team at Mezzanine International who have so generously sponsored and supported me. From regular social media updates to news stories on their website and a very generous donation, Mezzanine International have been brilliant in promoting and supporting my participation in this charity bike ride. So a big thank you from me personally to Scott, Tanya and the team at Mezzanine International. Your support and encouragement has been invaluable.
The support and sponsorship I've had for this charity bike ride has been simply amazing. A massive thank you to the brilliant team at (and my employer) Spaceway who have so generously sponsored and supported me for the Prostate Cancer UK London to Amsterdam Charity bike ride event Their support and very generous donation has been brilliant. So a big thank you from me personally to Dominic, Charlie and the team at Spaceway.
To find out more about Spaceway and see their brilliant range of industrial space solution products and services, please visit their website... www.spaceway.co.uk
The support and sponsorship I've had for this charity bike ride has been simply amazing. A massive thank you to the brilliant team at Web-Feet who have so generously sponsored and supported me for the Prostate Cancer UK London to Amsterdam Charity bike ride event Their social media updates and support has been brilliant. So a big thank you from me personally to Gillian and the team at Web Feet.
To find out more about Web Feet and see their brilliant range of digital marketing services, please visit their website... www.web-feet.co.uk
I thought I'd share an update on my fund-raising target and amount raised so far! Currently, my sponsorship total stands at an amazing £1,663
A huge thank you to everyone who has so kindly and generously sponsored me or donated to my Just Giving page so far. With 19 days before departure, training and fitness are all on target! You can still donate via the Just Giving page... https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Gary-Trudgett
I thought I'd share an update on how my fund-raising is going. To say that I'm more than a little overwhelmed by the amazing generosity and kindness from friends, family, and colleagues would be understatement! Since creating the JustGiving page in early January 2016, the donations and sponsorship amounts have regularly increased my total fund raising monies. Exceeding my initial target of £1,000 by £553, as it stands today (28th April 2016).
Total = £1,553 (155% of fund raising target!)
A massive thank you again to everyone who has donated or supported me in raising awareness of this amazing event and brilliant charity.
The great team at Mezzanine International continue to provide amazing support and encouragement to me personally. Not only by their kind and generous donation but with their ongoing support on social media, offering encouragement and creating awareness of the challenge. With regular tweets on Twitter and updates on LinkedIn, the support from Scott, Tanya and all at Mezzanine International has been amazing. Thank you!
Every single penny donated so far has been amazing. A huge thank you to everyone who has so kindly and generously donated via my JustGiving page.
I've also created a JustTextGiving number, where you can text LNAM47£3 to 70070 to donate £3.
Thank you in advance for any donation, no matter how big or small. It is for a great charity Prostate Cancer UK. My JustGiving page is... https://www.justgiving.com/Gary-Trudgett
So its been three months since I created and set up the Just Giving page for Prostate Cancer UK. The support and donations I received has been simply amazing. Far exceeding my expectations and surpassing my initial £1,000 target. A huge thank you to everyone who has so kindly and generously donated or sponsored me. Currently my Just Giving page stands at a brilliant £1,520.
All donations, no matter how large or small are hugely appreciated and valued. You can donate at my Just Giving page by clicking here or the URL below... https://www.justgiving.com/Gary-Trudgett Thank you so much in advance for every single donation or sponsor.
Totally amazed and slightly overwhelmed as I've smashed my fund raising target of £1,000 for Prostate Cancer UK.
The kindness and generosity from friends, family and work colleagues has been absolutely amazing.
In just 6 weeks of setting up my Just Giving page and starting this blog, whilst making a "noise" on social media, I've passed the £1,000 target and still have four and half months before I depart on the 3rd June 2016.
So I wonder how much I can raise by then?
A massive thank you to everyone who have so kindly and generously supported me so far. There are too many people to name individually on this blog post but I have and will continue to thank you personally for your support and generosity.
A massive thank you to the wonderful team at Mezzanine International who have very generously donated and are also supporting me by promoting the ride on their social media channels. I have the pleasure of working with Scott Chambers and his team at Mezzanine International as they are a key partner and supplier to my employers Spaceway South Ltd. A huge thank you to Scott, Tanya and the team at Mezzanine International for their unbelievable and generous support. To find more about this great company please visit their website.... https://www.mezzanine.co.uk/
They also feature on my Sponsors & Supports Page which you read more about on the menu to the left or by clicking here
Great news as I've now reached 26% of my sponsorship target! A big thank you to the anonymous person who very kindly donated £20 yesterday. I will endeavour to find out who you are and thank you personally!
Every donation helps to motivate me during the training rides and runs. So thank you to everyone who has sponsored me. If you wanted to sponsor me, please see my JustGiving page...thank you in advance... Just click the JustGiving image below or click here
A big thank you to Dean, Lynda, Martin and the 4Com foundation for their very kind and generous donations to my Just Giving page yesterday. My £1,000 target has started well with these initial donations. Thanks again
A huge thank you to Scott, Tanya and the team at Mezzanine International for their unbelievable and generous support.
