Wrapping up #richard100

Looking back with thanks

Last night was the end of an era. After five months I closed my #richard100 fundraising page for the wonderful Princess Alice Hospice. When I first set up the page for my 100km nighttime ride through London, I tentatively set my fundraising target at £500. Within a few weeks I had raised it twice, to £1500. In the end, my generous sponsors drawn from family, business community, friends and church, allowed me to leave that target far behind.

Between signing up to do the ride on February 28th, and setting off from Crystal Palace shortly before midnight on June 8th, I had all kinds of help:

• Training advice
• Health support
• Logo design
• Jersey printing
• Cycle maintenance
• Local radio coverage
• An avalanche of  support  much of it on Twitter

Altogether it was a wonderful experience. The bike on which I rode Nightrider has gone back to its owner, but in the meantime I fear I may have become a MAMIL*. My old bike. bought with the proceeds from a holiday job when I was 16, has been dusted down, stripped back and oiled. I find myself squeezing in a few miles on it whenever I can, and I have no intention of stopping any time soon. I wonder what the next challenge will be?

*”Middle Aged Man In Lycra