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.
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