The following people made Pedal2Poland a reality. Thank you very much.

HENRY SIMKIN: Without the website our message would have been so much harder to put out. We all agreed that the only reason we had so many donations was by the fact people took us seriously when they saw our website. Thank you very much Henry.

EVERYONE who came out to see us on the Monday morning. Thank you all so much. KEVIN TYSON, MARK OGDEN, CAMPBELL GRANT, PHIL WOODALL, SUS LAZ, VONNIE, GODFREE, JB, JAMES RAINER, MIMI, TIM, DAN’S GODPARENTS, BENEDICT, CHARLOTTE, TOM, BEN JARVIS, EDMUND, CLARE, KATHERINE, JOE’S HOUSE…. gosh just so many more that I cannot remember

The GILBERT FAMILY deserve a massive thanks for all the donations to the charity. Without their fundraising we would not have reached our target of £5000.

The only real reason we all managed to get to Poland was because of JOE STONHAM. Without him, us three novices would have struggled. Any mechanical problems and he was the first to fix them.

OLLIE HOOPER took up this idea with me back in Freshers week of second year. Without him declaring his interest I doubt this project would ever have evolved.

The COCKER Family on our second night kindly allowed us to camp in their back garden. Without this generosity I shudder to think what we would have done that night.

Our Couch surfing couple who opened up their house to us in RUDDERVOORDE. Lusienne and Chris if I remember correctly were so wonderful to us. Unbelievable kindness in keeping us for two nights and gently introducing us to the continent.

PAN MAREK who was our guide through Poland on our first two days. He was superb in taking us on the quickest routes and around the diversions that otherwise would have added hours to our journey.

PAN EUGENUISZ and PAN STANISLAW were our guides in Wroclaw. Their help was indispensable especially when Ollie was ill and they managed to secure another nights accommodation for us in the seminary.

MR ZENON HANDZEL deserves a massive thank you. My father paid for our hotels and B&B’s in Saffron Waldon, Goch and Potsdam,buying us several meals and being in Krakow at the completion, securing us accommodations through Poland. Without Dad’s support the whole trip would have been so much harder. Thank you very much to him and AKCJA KATOLICKA.

And to EVERYONE ELSE who helped us so dearly. I am going to carry on thanking people as more crop up in my memory.

The trip was the best experience so far of my life. Everyone who came into contact with us helped us massively. A big thanks also to KATIE POWER from Breast Cancer Campaign who secured us some media coverage which also spread our message.

THANK YOU EVERYONE!

Day 1:

We started outside St. Johns College. I remember distinctly there being around 50 or so friends to see us off on that early Monday morning, 21^st June. The night before I couldn’t really sleep properly and my mind was spinning. I was overwhelmed that the time had finally come. After giving a little farewell speech and saying our goodbyes we cycled down the Bailey avoiding potholes like the plague and desperately trying to get out of Durham as quickly as possible without any mishaps. We stopped at a roundabout 4 miles from the city and had a small breather. The adrenaline had worn off. I felt faint and disorientated. Not enough preparation, not enough training. Doubts started flooding through me and they were amplified when 40 miles in to our journey and just south of Northallerton my knee started to play up and the worst hay fever in years started to attack. During lunch, Joe gave me a little bandage, which I rapped around my left kneecap as tight as possible and we continued on. Psychologically I was shattered and that evening whilst listening to Spain demolish Chile 3-1 on a crackly radio set with our tents pitched up in a back garden of a friend of Ollie’s dad, I honestly thought my dream was coming to premature end.

Day 2:

Hay fever was a bugger. My contacts wouldn’t go in that morning and my eyes were so red I thought I could cry tears of blood. The night had been pleasant but goodness me did I miss my bed! After saying goodbye to our very generous hosts we headed for the nearest Co-op to stock up on lucozades, fruit and water. Weaving down towards Grantham on country roads was a real pleasure but a moment’s stop and hay fever was back with a vengeance. The knee hurt and all I could concentrate about was the next stop. No longer could I even keep up with the team I was in so much agony. All I though of was Wednesday-get to my brother and rest. This was most definitely my lowest point on the whole journey.

As we cycled into the early evening we came to our campsite. However, it was no longer open to the public as a group of travellers had overtaken it. We were stuck! Several options lay ahead. Risk cycling on for another 20 miles to a campsite we had no idea was open or available. Cycle back into Grantham and look for something there? Cycle on to Cambridge all night? That would have been mad! The sun was setting and we were desperate. As we sat on a little patch of grass by a fork in a country road a road cycling club time trial was taking place. As we admired their speed and finesse on their £3000+ super bicycles a chap going passed shouted to us “Tea and biscuits at the Cricket Club.” That’s how we met Mr and Mrs Cocker who so kindly allowed us to camp in the safety of their garden. Their generosity I shall never forget. We had our mess tin meal of pasta and sausage and then quickly got ourselves ready for a 5 hour sleep before the largest and most daunting day of our short cycling careers. A 100 mile slog to Saffron Waldon.

Day 3:

The Team outside the Bonavia’s home in Saffron Waldon

We departed from the Cockers at 6am as our intention was to get to Saffron Waldon by around 3pm so that we could watch the England vs Slovenia world cup match. Our progress was lightening and everything seemed to flowing nicely. My knee problem had slightly cleared although blisters were forming behind the knee where the bandage was rubbing against the skin. At around 11am perhaps 40 miles from Cambridge we had our first accident. Cycling along slow-moving traffic I was out at the front of the group. We were probably speeding along at about 18mph when all of a sudden a small Peugeot 106 started to drift in front of us. I was blocked. I panicked and came to a sudden halt just behind the car but made to shout to the rest of the group. Behind me, I heard an almighty crack and saw Dan on the ground with Joe behind him. Dan had cut his small finger down to the bone. If it wasn’t for a nurse driving past that bandaged up Dan and directed us to a local GP I have no idea what we would have done. She looked at Joe’s medical kit in a lunch box consisting of a bandage, plaster, some nurofen and scissors and asked where we were heading – ‘Poland.’ ‘ You gotta be joking,’ she replied. Our arrival in Saffron Waldon was thus delayed by several hours and at 7pm we stumbled into the Bonavia’s house. There, Mrs Bonavia kindly had a massive dinner prepared for us and we were whisked off to out little bed and breakfast where I had the best night sleep in a long time. Our first three days had been blistering! 275 miles completed averaging just over 90 miles a day! As Ollie so eloquently dubbed our state – we were shagged!

Day 4:

On waking up from a restless night with Joe snoring violently to my right I gave my brother a text. He had organised mass to be celebrated for us but I woke up too late. After waking the other three we went down for a lavish breakfast in the B&B’s living room. I think we were the only guests there and the most delightful couple ran it. That day spent in Saffron Waldon honestly felt like a lifetime. My brother had booked me into see a GP about my knee and the diagnosis was not good. He effectively told me that no longer was I ride to cycle. Of course this was slightly over the top and we continued on our journey to Brentwood and Joe’s uncle for a barbeque that evening. My father had also come to see us in Saffron Waldon and he very kindly passed on information to me for where we had potential accommodation stops in Poland. At the point in time Poland did not even remotely feel attainable! We watched some Wimbledon in the B&B that day and I thought to myself how comfortable it would be just call it a day and stay sat in front of a TV for the next couple of weeks watching the World Cup and Wimbledon. The cycle in the evening through the Essex countryside was pleasant and calm. We took it at a much easier pace and set ourselves nicely for the last leg in England down to Dover.

Day 5:

For me this was the most enjoyable day of them all. I shall never forget the wonderfully kind women in Canterbury who piled on us mars bars and scones, the beautiful winding road down towards our campsite in Dover with the sun setting on our backs, the escorted ride over the Dartford crossing, Ollie’s fall into thick thorns near Canterbury. Oh the list could go on ever more! We knew it was our last day in England and my goodness the adrenaline was pumping! The sheer thrill of bypassing London was amazing. The chap who drove us over the crossing filled us in on the engineering ingenuity of the bridge much to the other three’s delight. I remember getting south of the Thames and looking out towards the traffic passing the toll barriers. The volume of noise was just stunning and I remember finding it difficult to talk to the other three. We reposed there perhaps stunned at our remarkably quick morning progress all the way down from Brentford. Joe’s uncle was wonderful. He really piled on the food in the BBQ the night before and we discovered much to our surprise that Dan didn’t eat fish! Breakfast was also superb and that gave us the energy to push all day to Dover. Canterbury cathedral was beautiful. A willing student took our photo for us and we explained what we were trying to achieve. The incredulity etched on his unbelieving face put a smile on mine. I ran to the Catholic Church round the corner to see if it was open but alas it was not. The funny looks I received from onlookers as I ran up and down the high street only served to broaden my smile. We were almost on the Continent!

Day 6:

The campsite was situated right next to a railway line but that seemed to have little effect on our exhausted bodies as we woke up at 6 30am the next morning. The bikes as usual were tied up around a tree and locked four times which basically made them an impossibility to steel. We cycled the several miles into Dover and Joe got his sixth puncture of the trip. Dan and myself grabbed breakfast in Dover and agreed that the city had died a slow death. Never had I seen such a bleak dull place before in my life. As we cycled along with the traffic through the security barriers and into the docking lanes the excitement was growing. I just couldn’t believe how we had clocked around 410 miles to get down to Dover from Durham. University, home, friends and family felt like a million miles away. The ferry journey was a mixed feeling of pure excitement but uncontrollable trembling and anxiety. On switching off my mobile phone I thought that was contact over unless an emergency arose. We were all so exhausted too that we simply nodded off and awoke with the port of Dunkirk sprawled in front of us. It was surprisingly easy to adapt to cycling on the right hand side of the road. We emerged from the ferry and regrouped at the first roundabout we reached. I almost had tears in my eyes and we gave each other a hug in recognition of our achievement. Immediately Joe and myself got the team lost heading for Paris rather then Belgium. Our objective was to reach Ruddervoorde by that evening around 20km south of Brugge where Dan had organised couch surfing accommodation. Passing into Belgium was superb. I do remember feeling quiet tired cycling the 70 miles or so that evening and we finally arrived at our destination just before midnight. Lussienne and Chris were so wonderful and hosted us like Kings. We celebrated with half a pint of beer each and then crashed out to the most blissful sleep I have ever had. The first week had felt like a lifetime but now we were truly living our dream!

Today at 3pm this afternoon Pedal2Poland has come to an end here in Krakow main square, having been received by three lovely attractive girls from our university. Kate Mega Jokes Godders, Froggie Frog-frog Smithy and Charlotte Vonnie-Von-Von were there outside the clocktower with their arms outstretched to gather our failing bodies. Thank you for all your donations and support. Without it we would not have made it, or even thought it possible. Thank you.

It was for all four of us the hardest and most difficult challenge we have ever embarked on. From the very first day knee pains, hay-fever, back aches and foot cramps plagued our entire journey. Yet with each passing day we seem to strengthen until finally on Day 24 we were racing up the hills to Krakow after 1500 miles of continuous riding in ridiculously high temperatures (our hottest being 37 degrees in Belgium).

A more detailed account will come up soon, but for now just a MASSIVE THANK YOU. We have raised over £5500! This is amazing. Please do not stop the donations there.

As the title would suggest, the team is now tantilisingly close to the finish line! We are currently situated in the city of Wroclaw (pronounced rots-laf apparently?!) and have encountered our first road sign pointing to Krakow!

As we left Berlin the team continued with the same tried and tested method of slogging it out over the european A roads. Every 20Km we would rest for 15mins and then plough on! This, as we knew it would, proved very succesful and within 2 days we we’re at the Polish border town of Gorlitz! That night the team stayed in what can only be described as a manor house turned youth hostel and witnessed the germans defeat to the Spanish in the world cup at a local open air big screen.

The next day we awoke early, ready to take on the final leg of the journey, POLAND! We knew the from intel reports that the Polish leg was going to be a completely different kettle of fish! Crazy roads, crazy drivers and insane heat but so far we have survived (touch wood). There was a narrow escape from death when a black BMW decided he see just how close he could get next to us as he shot past at 95mph!

About 40km into the boarder we met up with Marek who escorted us through some back roads as the main roads were under maintance! Marek safely led us to the city of Legnica were we stayed in a local boarding school for the night. We started the next day with a radio interview (as you do) and then Marek and his family led us to Wroclaw!

So thats it for now, i apologise for my spelling errors but the polish spell check is about as much use as a chocolate teapot to me! see you soon!

Greetings from Berlin!

After a manic 2 weeks, we’ve finally hit one of the big milestones of this trip. It felt fantastic to start seeing roadsigns to Berlin and it was a huge relief to actually arrive. I’m proud to be able to say that we hit the 1000 mile mark a few days ago. We now consider ourselves true international cyclists!

We’ve got accomodation in Potsdam at the moment and we’re having a day off for sightseeing in Berlin – a very welcome break.Went to see the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag and Checkpoint Charlie earlier today.

Since crossing the English Channel, we’ve been through France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

Particular thanks must go to Lucienne and Chris Callewaert who very kindly hosted us in Brugge for two nights. Aside from the disasterous England game, we had a great time on our day off in Brugge and it set us in good stead to get through the rest of Belgium and the Netherlands.

A few days later we hit the German border. Our progress seemed very slow through Germany at first. We had a day or two where we covered significantly less than what we had hoped for. We could really feel fatigue setting in too – I had knee aches and huge lactic acid buildup in my quads.

We had our first night of wild camping as well, which we found tough. Once we’d decided we needed to camp (at around 10pm) we took a small side track away from the main road into a field and found a suitably remote spot, where we pitched up in someone’s field.

However, Germany soon improved. We realised that a big flaw in our travel plans was our use of the cycle paths. Like the Netherlands, Germany is very good at laying out separate lanes on roads for cyclists – something between a road and a pavement – which all cyclists are expected to use. We incurred the wrath of German motorists on a few occasions, when we strayed onto the road. While cycle lanes sound great at first, they became increasingly tedious. They are slow to cycle on as they arn’t as well tarmacced, and they are much less direct than roads.

As we moved further East though, our recovery rates improved dramatically and we were able to comfortably cruise over 100 miles in a day. This carried us to Berlin, where we find ourselves now. We’ve got enough time to complete the final 600 miles or so towards Krakow, which will apparently be on the worst roads we have ever seen!

Hi everyone!

We’re writing from Brugge at the moment, from the home of a very generous couple who have offered to host us here for two nights. Firstly, a massive thanks to everyone who has both donated and supported us. We’re VERY pleased that we’ve reached our target of five thousand pounds,  all of which will go towards the Breast Cancer Campaign. We are also very thankful towards everyone who supported us on our journey.

We had a fantastic departure from Durham, which gave us the adrenaline and motivation needed to fight through the tough first few days. We were kindly hosted by the Brigham family in Selby on our first night, on a specacularly green lawn. The grass wasn’t greener on the other side.

Our second day took us from Selby down towards Grantham. After a day of 100 miles under a hot sun and intense headwind, we reached Grantham to find that our campsite was no longer welcoming tents! Tired, hungry and confused, we sat down on a patch of grass up in the hills. By complete chance, a group of time trialist cyclists were cycling along the same road. One of them yelled “TEA AND COFFEE IN THE CLUBHOUSE” to us, which sounded like a jolly good offer. Once there, we received a very kind offer of accomodation on the other side of town. A massive thanks to Simon and Gillian Cocker of the Witham Wheelers for their generous hospitality, on what could have been a disasterous evening! There was talk of cycling throughout the entire night…

We hit Saffron Walden on our third day. This presented a new challenge to us, as it was the first time we had ever attempted to complete three consecutive full days of cycling! The team prevailed though, and despite accumulating some minor knee discomfort, we reached the town in a good state.  Fraz’s family kindly provided a wholesome meal and beds in a local B&B for the night.  We decided that it was in our interest to take a day off the next day, but we decided to treat ourself to a 30 mile stretch later in the day, to take us to Brentwood, in the heartland of Essex. Joe’s uncle cooked up a mean BBQ that night and we were very appreciative of  some space in his lounge at such short notice!

One of our big milestones was crossing the Thames. We hit the Dartford Crossing at around 11am on Friday – we whacked the bikes on the back of a Highways Agency truck and were given a lift over the bridge. We’ve deducted the mileage in the car as necessary, of course. After Dartford we continued along the coast towards Canterbury, cutting through the delightful sights of Gravesend and Rochester. In a spur of the moment burst of cycling determination, we decided that it would be best to crack on southwards in the cool evening heat, to arrive in our Dover campsite at around 10pm. Bring on the continent!!!!

So this is my first blog update from my phone, after the first day of
Pedal to Poland. Firstly a massive thanks to everyone who came to see
us off this morning – it was the best departure we could have asked for.

We’ve had a really good first day – the

Our final preparations are complete and we are all so excited about the big day tomorrow. We are leaving at 0900 hours from St. John’s College Durham. Our anticipated arrival date in Krakow is the 15th July. Please come out to see us off tomorrow if possible or even make the short flight to Krakow to see us arrive!

As it stands we are on £4581.00! We are so close to the initial target of £5000 and please help us achieve this. This evening we are having a leg waxing session in our college bar to try and get a little closer to our goal as well as improving our aero-dynamism in the process.

Thank you all so much again!

A massive thank you goes to Cestria Cycles for supplying us with essentials for this journey such as electrolytes, inner tubes and puncture repair kits. This has been a massive contribution for kit that would have dented our pockets even more. A massive thanks to Roy and Steve, two corking chaps who could not be more enthusiastic about biking.

If you’re interested in cycling and need some gear or help we recommend them strongly. Just have a look at their website which is cited below.

www.cestriacycles.co.uk