The Route So Far - Google Maps


View X-America by Bicycle in a larger map

Why?

We are doing this ride to raise money for Research Autism. We are aiming to raise £20,000.
We are supporting Research Autism because my cousin Jamie is severely affected by the disease, and I have seen its effects not only on him but on the whole family." He is 13yrs old, but cannot yet talk.
Just take a moment to imagine not being able to talk.
Imagine understanding everything going on around you, but not being able to comment.
Imagine having to be dressed every morning in clothes you don't choose, and then hurting your parents as you try to tell them you wanted the blue shirt today.
Imagine being swamped by having to hear everything that everyone is saying around you, and not being able to listen to just one thing at once. Jamie loves being in a swimming pool, just floating, legs held motionless by the weight of the water, while he keeps his ears underwater to just relax, hearing nothing.
He understands everything - he appears to have a photographic memory - but can’t get his thoughts out.
Frustration leads to despair, and anger, which is just one of the many things that his family has to deal with.
He has extremely specific eating requirements and requires round the clock supervision. Jamie is at the severe end of the autistic spectrum, but given that one in 100 people suffer from the disease (with varying severity), and that everyone has some autistic traits, it is shocking that so little is known about it'.
Click here to support our cause and donate to Research Autism.
Read the "Meet Jamie" post - the only post in February, for more information about Jamie, and a poem - painstakingly slow for Jamie to type, but ultimately incredible.

Photo Video - New York to St Louis

March 30, 2010

Shopping!

Today was hectic. We started early, and spent four hours in the largest warehouse in Europe - part of Evans Cycles in Gatwick. We bought everything we needed (I hope) from Topeak Mini Morph pumps, to gloves and lycra shorts. We also bought some Ortlieb panniers, which having been designed by Germans, have a guarantee of 5 years and are all but bombproof. These waterproof bags will be our storage for the next 3 months. But as I write, these expensive little bits of cycling kit litter the floor of Alex's sitting room, and if I had bought a camera yet I would snap a quick picture of the "organised" mess.

Unfortunately, because of todays hectic day, we are not yet organised for tomorrow's ride to Oxford, and so have decided to postpone it to Wednesday. Our plan is to hop to Oxford, then pop down to Salisbury, then plod on to Bristol, before a short ride on Saturday to a school friends house in Gloucestershire. We will rest over Easter Sunday, before riding back to Alex's house, via Newbury.

Tomorrow Alex will learn how to use clip on pedals in a safer environment than the long road to Oxford, we will put all our new kit onto the bikes, and we will write a couple of articles about autism and the ride for the local press. I will also buy a camera so you can see what we have spent all our hard-earned cash on.

No comments:

Post a Comment