This is going to hurt....

[Michelle]

Some of you may know I am doing La Marmotte this Saturday (5th July).

Some of you may have even done this Alpine Cyclosportive, so you know what I am letting myself in for. Some of you haven’t done it though, but you may have heard that it is called ‘the Alpine route to hell’.

It is one of the toughest, if not THE toughest, European sportives in the calendar year.

And, to be quite frank, I am bricking it.

Every year I do a charity challenge for my local Reigate and Redhill YMCA. This year’s cause is a youth counselling scheme called Heads Together. This service offers support, help and advice in a non-judgemental environment; to assist young people make sense of their lives. Heads Together is often asked to help a young person by other agencies like schools, colleges, GP’s, mental health teams, Victim Support, Drug and Alcohol Service and Youth Justice Service.

This year the YMCA decided to do the Sea-to-Sea route – to raise sponsorship for Heads Together. This is 140 miles from Whitehaven in Cumbria to the mouth of the Tyne. I completed it in 2 days, last weekend.

I did think about asking for sponsorship for this, but I thought you lot wouldn’t be impressed with that as a challenge.

So instead I am asking for sponsorship for La Marmotte.

I know that the charity is not a headlining Cancer charity, and it doesn’t have much kudos in that way. But it’s local, and important to me in my work. And to be quite honest, anything that helps keeps the kids away from drugs, crime, drink and gangs has got to be a good thing.

If you can’t be ar$ed to sponsor me for the charity, then do for the high probability of PAIN. Cos there will be a lot of it. And there will be a full write up on the forum on my return. And lots of photos of PAIN!

There is potential for complete mechanical (bike and body) disaster; heatstroke and sunburn, getting soaked to the skin by torrential downpours, being struck by lightening, being attacked by dogs (again!), getting snowed on or hailed on, getting the bonk, getting cramps, throwing up…you name it, it could happen.

I don’t have much left to raise, so if you think you would like to part with some of your hard earned cash please go to http://www.justgiving.co.uk/michellelebrun

[img]http://i31.tinypic.com/n38ayt.jpg[/img]

Me in May after hours and hours in the saddle after the last French Sportive I did.
It's not a grin, it's a rictus of PAIN, I'm telling you.

[Jon H]

[quote="Michelle"]high probability of PAIN.

And lots of photos of PAIN!

, it's a rictus of PAIN,

[Marky Mark]

Good Luck Michelle. It's not gointg to be easy but I'm sure you'll crack it

[Michelle]

Cheers Mark, and Simon too, thanks for your support (and cash!)

Not long now ...gulp!

[Marky Mark]

It must help knowing people are backing you. Go for it girl, hope you do it in style

[adrian]

How much pain? This much:

[img]http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2320/1496758713_cb73048bfd.jpg[/img]

[adrian]

Not that we're in any way trying to hijack your thread, Michelle

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

[quote="Sean Hogan - 何祥"]

Come and do the Nove Colli next year

S.

[mrP(Boonen)VT]

Sean,
Please keep me posted re hotel/flights etc.
Cheers
Guru P

[Andrew G]

Blimey this is a hijack . Sean, Ernesto said he was going to try a Tri show this year as he’d been to the last couple of Cycle Shows.

BTW Easyjet were only flying to Rimini in July & August. Ryanair is loathsome anyway but you’d have to get to Stanstead and fork out £18 for the train to get there from Liverpool Street. I went BA from Gatwick to Bologna for £85 return. Need to get a cab from the airport to the station but that only cost EUR 12 (split between 2 anyway) and got to enjoy some Italian taxi driving through the city .

Sorry Michelle, enjoy the mountain goat bike riding. Hope you can enjoy the stunning scenery from behind the stars in front of your eyes. Look forward to the write up.

[carl f]

PAH! Nove colli pain?
Try the raid pyrenees matey
By the way,i might be tempted with the Nove Colli next year.....

Good luck with the marmotte

[Michelle]

Well I promised you pain, and you can read just how painful by following this link: [url]http://www.addiscombe.org/members/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7236#p61526[/url]