Parkinson UK charity ride inspired by Fergus Henderson – last few days to donate

 Group shot with Fergus @St Johns

Inspired by Fergus Henderson (chef and co-owner of St John restaurant, London) we cycled from Pauillac to La Livinière, Minervois in June (12th-16th) to raise money for Parkinson's UK. Famous for Nose to Tail Eating Fergus has had Parkinson's since 1998. As well as the St John's business he and Trevor Gulliver have a vineyard in the Minervois. 

To date we have raised £6423.44 including Gift Aid. We are absolutely delighted. However, you can still donate! Thank you – every bit helps!

Please donate: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/ParkinsonsPedalers

We will be closing the Virgin Giving page very shortly, so this is a last call for donations. Perhaps you intended to make a contribution and, for some reason, it didn't get done.   

Jim and CRM at Carcassonne 

@start of last stage

 

Journey's end @Homps, Minervois

Parkinson's grand cru fundraising ride: we crossed the finishing line

Riders and our helper with Fergus Henderson:

Jim, Lynda, Fergus, Carole and Max

Soon after 11am this morning we completed our fundraising ride for Parkinson's UK when we arrived at Ostal Cazes in La Livinière, Minervois. Although we actually started at Lafite, we rode past the entrance to Lynch Bages as well as the Hotel Cordeillan-Bages on our way out of Pauillac on Monday, so we essentially rode from Cazes to Cazes.

We set off a little after 9am from La Cité of Carcassonne. After a short ride on the busy main road from Carcassonne to Thébes, we enjoyed quiet roads through the Minervois passing by Laure-Minervois.

The fundraising total continues to rise – we are close to £5000 with gift and have crossed the £4K mark without the aid. Current total is £4075.00 and £4843.75 if you include gift aid. We are very grateful to our 98 donors! We are still aiming to reach £6000.

To donate please click here. Many thanks – together we make a difference.   

 Jim and Carole outsi Carcassonne  

 Lynda and Carole @La Cité

Grand Cru Ride for Parkinson's UK – Pauillac to La Livinière: 4eme Étape: Villaudric to Carcassonne

 The peaceful Canal du Midi

The Cité de Carcassonne – one of France's iconic views 

Sometimes best constructed plans don't quite work out – take today's stage from Villaudric (AC Fronton) to Castelnaudary. I thought we were booked into the Villa Fleuri for tonight. However, on arrival, it turned out that our reservation was for last night. Perhaps it was my mistake or possibly theirs but impossible to know as I made the reservation over the phone. Naturally they were full tonight as is every other hotel in Castelaudary as this weekend there is a big boules competition. 

It turned out that the nearest town to Castelnaudary where we could be certain of getting rooms was Carcassonne – some 35 to 40 kilometres further east. It had to be done and fortunately there was a good following wind.....      

The good news is that our ride to Cru La Livinière is now considerably shorter than we had planed, so we look forward to our final stage to Ostal Cazes at the foot of La Livinière.  

Our fundraising total continues to climb – now at £4,513.75 with gift aid. You can donate here. Many thanks – every donation from £1 upwards can play its part towards big improvements in the treatment of Parkinson's. 

Parkinson's Fundraising Ride: Pauillac to La Livinière – 1er Etape: Pauillac to Langon

Parkinson's team: Carole supported by 

Lynda and Derek on either side

Lafite in background

 Jim and Carole – the pedallers before the start

Derek and Lynda: support team 

Well we are now on our way. After a short photo opportunity on the D2 road in front of Château Lafite we set off just before 8.45am. Originally we had planned to leave a little later but with the heat of Saturday and Sunday we decided it would be best to start as early as we reasonably could, so to avoid the hottest part of the day.

However, this morning turned out to be considerably cooler than the previous days as well as being overcast, so we enjoyed a very pleasant ride from Pauillac to Langon, the market town of Sauternes.

From Lafite we headed down the D2 – Route des châteaux – past many of the Médoc's famous domaines until we reached the turning to Macau, which we opted for as this road is quieter than the lower part of the D2. 

Getting through Bordeaux proved to be pretty straightforward, especially once we reached the new Pont Chaban-Delmas, which includes a cycle lane that connects to a cycle track that runs for miles along the eastern bank until it joins the D10 to the south of the bridge that carries the Bordeaux by-pass to the eastern side of the. London is making some progress with its cycle super-highways but, from our experience today, lags behind Bordeaux.

It was an interesting ride down the D10 with the vineyards of the Côtes de Bordeaux followed by the lesser known sweet wine appellations like Cadillac, Loupiac and Saint Croix de Mont. 

After a brief stop in the centre of the old town of Cadillac we reached today's finish at the Hotel Claude Darroze just before 2pm.

Words from Parkinson's UK that underlines why we are riding: 

'People with Parkinson's need a new treatment, the science is ready and we have the expertise.

Current Parkinson's drugs aren't good enough. They don't stop, slow down or reverse the condition - they just mask it for a time. And they can have distressing side effects.
 

While there are a range of therapies, the main drug people rely on hasn't changed for over 50 years. There has been lots of work to understand Parkinson's, but not enough investment or leadership to join up the best ideas and deliver new treatments.

We're now at the tipping point. With decades of research we've unlocked key discoveries that could transform lives. Parkinson's UK is ready to drive forward the research community in a radical new approach to develop better treatments, faster as part of their 'We Won't Wait' Campaign, which is raising vital funds for Parkinson's research.'

We are delighted that our total now stands at £3,185.00 (£3,818.75 including gift aid). We are very grateful to our 70 generous donors. If you haven't donated please do consider doing so and help us hit our ambitious target of £6000. 

All donations make a difference! Our fundraising page is here. 

    

Manicured Lafite 

 Lafite and the Giant Defy

The market building in Cadillac

Derek finds that support can be tough....