MGF YouTube Videos

The Mark Gorry Foundation (MGF) Team have uploaded some great videos of their Cycle Taiwan experience on to YouTube. You can view them here or by checking out the MGF Team channel.

MGF Cycle Taiwan

MGF 12km Downhill

Cycle Taiwan Video

Have just put together all of the highlights from the video clips and photos that Sam brought back. Enjoy!

The next big event is Cycle the Nile of which you can find information on our website or by following the link.

Now that Sam and the rest of the Cycle Taiwan team are back in the UK safely we’ve had an opportunity to look through all of the amazing pictures and videos that were taken out in the Far East – as if we weren’t envious enough already!

We’re working on putting together currently but well that’s a work in progress here is a video teaser from some of the clips.

Congratulations Team Taiwan

The Cycle Taiwan team arrived safely back on UK soil on Sunday and are hopefully now enjoying a well deserved rest! Their last two days in the Far East took in the spectacular Toroko Gorge before finishing with a day to relax in cosmopolitan Taipei.

After the exertions of the previous day the final 55km proved little challenge and the team rolled over the finish line together. Writing on the MGF blog, Paula describes the feelings of the whole team as they completed their challenge:

Reaching that finish line was the most amazing feeling ever! I must say this challenge has been the hardest thing I have ever had to do but I have loved every minute of it! Although to be honest I would have loved there to have been a day 6!!

The MGF blog gives a great account of the highs and lows of the challenge so if you haven’t read it yet it’s certainly worth checking out.

On the last evening the team had one final meal before their flight home. Sam held an impromptu award ceremony with prizes given out for everything from most caring hands to dirtiest legs.

From everyone here at Clatterbridge Cancer Research we want to say a big thank you and well done to the Cycle Taiwan team! By taking up this challenge they’ve enabled us to continue investing in pioneering research, helping us to understand cancer by developing new and more effective treatments, improving diagnosis and getting to the causes of cancer earlier.

So thank you once again from us all!

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We will add a few more posts to this blog over the next week with some videos, photos and experiences from the Cycle Taiwan team so continue to watch this space! Photos from the trip can already by found on our Facebook page.

In 2011 we will be running Cycle the Nile. To find out more, check out our website www.clatterbridge.org or drop Sam an email at samantha.archibald@clatterbridge.org.

Latests News and Photos from the Far East

Day 4 of cycling is the big one. The team will be taking on 110km through the course of the day including a 7km uphill stretch, or as Sam would say 7ks of “undulations”.

We received an update from Sam last night with the latest news and a few more pictures – to see these photos just visit our Facebook page.

Everyone is having a wonderful experience and Sam says the entire team are doing really well. Even though they’re pretty exhausted, every single member is showing unbelievable grit and determination.  The whole team has really come together, offering support to ensure they all make it to the finish line each day.

We’re really proud of them all for taking up the challenge and raising sponsorship to support Clatterbridge Cancer Research. The funds they have raised will ensure we remain at the forefront of the regional fight for cancer by developing new and more effective treatments, improving diagnosis and getting to the causes of cancer earlier.

Sam also said the support team following the cyclists have been amazing – it must be reassuring to know there is a car following to help out if there are any issues.

Back in the office, we’re all following Sam’s progress closely and everyone is really impressed with the photos that are being sent to us – we’re all wishing we could be there to support Sam and the team. It’s certainly made many of us interested in Cycle the Nile, a similar event which will take place next November. One person from the office has already signed up and is starting to look at a fundraising plan which is a great start.

We’ve had lots of enquiries about Cycle the Nile, which already looks set to be another successful fundraiser, so if you’re interested please get in touch as we only have a limited number of spaces.  Just visit www.clatterbridge.org or call 0151 343 4300.

We wish the Cycle Taiwan team luck for their remaining cycling days and look forward to receiving more updates from Sam!

Updates from Sam

Hi everyone, this is Sam. I’m the Events Fundraiser at Clatterbridge Cancer Research and the organiser of Cycle Taiwan.

So after 26 hours of travelling we finally made it to Taiwan!

Taiwan is a beautiful country and the people have been so friendly towards us. We even have a paparazzi group following us – we’ve been in 3 newspapers to date, which is great as it gives us the opportunity to share with a wider audience why we’re out here fundraising and to spread the word about Clatterbridge Cancer Research.

We had our bike fitting in the afternoon and then had a chance to hit the beach. After the evening meal we decided to party into the small hours which didn’t last long as we were all shattered and knew we had a week’s worth of cycling ahead of us!

First day of cycling was awesome – we eventually bonded with our trusty steeds and visited a lighthouse and magnificent temple along the way. The weather made for a great day’s cycling and the team is having a great time. The evening was spent enjoying the hot springs, soothing our tired muscles.

Unwilling to let my past history of contracting strange tropical illnesses be forgotten, yet again I have been bitten by a creature of unknown origin that resulted in my left ankle swelling up to a great size.  Fear not, despite a major struggle to get my shoe on I’m still cycling! Even though we have a support vehicle we’re all determined to cycle as much of the journey as possible – doing a sponsored cycle to raise money for charity is meant to be a challenge!

Second day was a toughy, we climbed mountains, fought vicious headwinds and just managed to make the finish line before dark which was a great achievement.  We had a special treat at lunchtime, the chief and mayor of the town we were passing through invited us to attend lunch at the government building – we were completely spoilt and each presented with a gift for our achievement. We all await to see what tomorrow will bring.

Day three. After being well and truly put to an endurance test yesterday, everyone got up this morning with a positive attitude.  Today’s ride was awesome, the team were fantastic and helped each other out and the scenery was amazing. We cycled 83km and visited a monkey spot along the way – one monkey even jumped onto Freda’s back, what an experience! Morale is very high and the team are fab, despite the very daunting task of tomorrow ahead. We all know that despite the trials and tribulations, we’re raising money to support Clatterbridge Cancer Research, and in the end that’s the reason we’re all out here.

Everyone says hello to their family and friends!

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Cycle Taiwan is a sponsored challenge organised by Clatterbridge Cancer Research to help support cancer research in the Liverpool and Merseyside region of the UK.

More photos of the Cycle Taiwan challenge can be found on our Facebook page.

If you are interested in taking part in a similar event, we will be running Cycle the Nile in November 2011. To learn more about this challenge, check out www.clatterbridge.org or email samantha.archibald@clatterbridge.org for more information.

First Update from Taiwan

The Cycle Taiwan team flew out of the UK in the early hours of Saturday morning and arrived safely in the Far East after a 12 hour flight.

The first day in Taiwan (Sunday/Day 2 on the itinerary) was an opportunity to acclimatize, get fitted for their bikes and to learn more about the challenge that lay ahead. The team stayed in a hotel that was situated in the tropical Kenting National Park, an idyllic beauty spot in the south of the country.

Day 3 was the first full day of cycling as the team travelled 65km from Eluanbi to Sichongxi. Along the way they passed the impressive Checheng Temple which proved a great opportunity for a short break and a chance to do some sight seeing before cycling the final 11km to their hotel.

Today, day 4, is down as one of the longest days in the saddle with the group expecting to cycle over 100km before the day is done. Everyone looks healthy and happy in the photos we’ve seen so far so lets hope they’re all looking as cheerful when we get the next update!

More photos of Team Taiwan’s travels can be found on the Clatterbridge Cancer Research Facebook page. Further information on what is planned over the next week can be found by checking out the planned itinerary. Sam will be sending us more updates over the next few days so we look forward to sharing the latest adventures of Cycle Taiwan.

Send off lunch

The Cycle Taiwan team will be setting off in the early hours tomorrow so we hosted a good luck/send off lunch at our office in Bromborough. It was the first time some of the staff at Clatterbridge Cancer Research got to personally meet the enthusiasts who have taken up the Cycle Taiwan challenge. It was also the first time for some of the team to meet each other.

We all shared an authentic (ish) Taiwanese meal, whisked all the way from our authentic local Chinese, and it was an opportunity for Sam to give a little bit of briefing on how the team would overcome any of the challenges along the way.

Good luck everyone!

Two Days to Taiwan!

There are now just two sleeps left before Sam and her team travel to Taiwan and there is a definite buzz from the participants and the staff at Clatterbridge Cancer Research – with most of us wishing we were going too! Sam’s taking more gadgets than James Bond out to the Far East and we’re hoping that all the cameras and gizmos she’ll be travelling with will enable us to document the whole trip.

We’ve got a send off lunch planned for tomorrow with many of Team Taiwan joining us in the office, so it will be a great opportunity to meet them and get this blog started in earnest. Although we’ll be updating regularly, this blog is very much for the Cycle Taiwan team and we’ll be faithfully uploading photos, video clips and other entries that record their 470km cycle odyssey.