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| Jayne, Ines, Meg & Ed on the final stretch |
On 17 June, Team Tandemonium took to spin bikes to raise funds for our tandem biking community group for the visually impaired of Cheltenham. The five-person team planned to cycle the equivalent of four lengths of the penultimate leg of this year's Tour of Britain -- which will arrive in Cheltenham this September -- that is, four lots of 92 miles.
Equipment problems began in the first hour, and, by the fourth, it was clear that we couldn't reliably calculate the distance we were covering on the bikes. The
team made the difficult decision to cycle for the five hours (plus any break times) that it had taken them to cycle their
planned distance in training; they felt that this was a reasonable compromise in trying circumstances. Spurred on by family, friends, and the curious folk of Cheltenham, the team called time on their challenge at just under six hours.
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| A very determined Ines, with Meg & Ed, in the early going |
We are overjoyed -- overwhelmed, really -- to announce that, thanks to your very generous donations, the team beat their fundraising goal for Tandemonium! (
The Just Giving page is still up, for anyone who intended to donate, but hasn't had the chance yet.) And we really do want to thank you all, whether you donated off- or on-line, or dropped a bit in our buckets on the day: your generosity will bring a lot of joy to the visually impaired of Cheltenham, who'll soon be able to feel the wind in their hair on the back of a tandem bike!
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| Ed, workin' through the pain |
We'd also like to thank our partner, The
Cheltenham Trust, for the use of their
Leisure @ Cheltenham facility and the support of their staff. We look forward to doing more good works, as
the Cheltenham Festival of Cycling ramps up, and beyond. We'd also like to thank everyone who came out to see us on the day; together with the unfailing good humour of our MC, Gav Higgins, you all made for a great atmosphere that really helped us push through. Finally, we'd like to thank Angela Gilbert, of
the GRCC, and Chris Chapman, of
the Tewkesbury VIPs, for their advice and support in the early days of this project -- we wouldn't be here without you!
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| Ines & Meg, pushing through |
If you'd like to get involved in our community group, either as a sighted cyclist, a visually-impaired 'stoker' (on the back), or in some other capacity, please do get in touch! Our email address is
tandemonium.bikes@gmail.com, or check out
our Contact Us page for social media links.
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