TARGET ACHIEVED!

This is undoubtably one of the most proudest posts I'll write on this blog, and for good reason too. After what seems like years of pledging, begging, promising freddos and other gifts and raiding, I've reached my almighty £750 fundraising target for my London 2 Paris bike ride that starts this Saturday!

Three of us went to a "raid"* on Saturday in Salisbury (*I'm assuming it's called this because you're raiding wallets, but no-one actually seems to know), and we managed to raise around £200 EACH from the day. After counting the coins, I appeared to be £5.05 under my target. Only seconds later, that remaining cash was soon donated thanks to two close friends, and the big seven-five-oh was reached. What makes it even better is the fact that my total didn't even stop there - at last count today, I've now raised £770 for Hope for Children, meaning a project helping to restore a school suffering from flood damage in Sri Lanka is now £770 better off and counting, which I personally think is fantastic!


Over the past three days, I wanted to stretch my legs and build on a bit of last-minute stamina before I cycle off Paris-bound on Saturday. After amassing 110 miles in the past three days, I can honestly say I'm in the fittest shape yet, and cannot wait to tear down the Champs Elysees in under a week's time, hands aloft in celebration, having cycled the full 203 miles from London just days before.

As for now, a few days R+R is exactly what the doctor ordered. My overly-accommodating bed has never looked so appealing right now, and the less movement I do the more I will enjoy revelling in the fact I can do nothing - for good reason too - for the next few days.

Once again though, another huge thank you to anyone and everyone who's donated on my justgiving page and in person, helping to collect almost £800 for Hope for Children. I couldn't have done it without any of you!

Queen's

Sitting on a train en route to Bournemouth simply to dress as a chilli wearing a sombrero to my university’s Summerball this evening only to return back to London come tomorrow morning, looking extremely worse for wear and no doubt with the feeling of nausea never too far away, I still know that I won’t have any regrets at all about the amount of travelling I have, and will, be doing this fortnight. 

Usually I only come home from university about once a month, perhaps longer if I’m tied down in Bournemouth for whatever reason, but this fortnight will see me come to London three times, travel to Ascot five times, and sleep in Bournemouth – my home from home – even less. 

The first day of a busy week was yesterday. After grabbing tickets to Queens – or as I put it to friends, ‘pre-Wimbledon’ – I spent the whole day yesterday watching a small yellow ball be hit as hard and low as possible around a patch of grass. And I loved it.

Rain delays apart (typical London weather), I managed to see an unknown French chap by the name of Mannerino despatch of a far higher-ranked opponent in Juan Del Potro, saw a tightly fought contest unfold between world-class tennis players David Nalbandian and Fernando Verdasco – with the Spaniard winning in comfortable straight-sets fashion, before cheekily nipping into centre court (the one court I didn’t actually have a ticket for) to catch a glimpse of World No.1 Rafael Nadal against Radek Stepanek. 

Queen’s Club itself is remarkable. The whole place oozes class, and has much the upper hand on my rather feeble-looking Chingford School of Tennis I’m a member of. The toilets even had marble in.

The only down-side, from a student’s point-of-view, were the prices – sipping a £5 bottle of corona and chewing every bite of a £8 baguette has never taken so long and been so well-received. 

After attending Wimbledon and the ATP World Tour Finals in the past two years, Queens sure does rank up there with the two. Sure, there are less crowds and slightly less world-class players in the likes of Federer and Djokovic, who didn’t attend the Queens tournament this year, there is still so much quality tennis on show that it still makes you realise two vital things: 1) You’re witnessing the best players in a sport in the world just metres away from yourself, essentially witnessing history. 2) No matter how well you think you play, compared to these highly-skilled chaps, you’re about as good at tennis as a paraplegic in a coma. 

Oh, and Roddick – at time of blogging – is through to a tasty semi-final match up against Murray, with Brit No.2 James Ward in the second bout. Dare I say it, but I really, really hope the American shines through...

Display of Musical Brilliance

Surf the Internet whilst it's raining cats and dogs, and you're sure to find a gem - just like this.

Andre Chocron has created this genius video using just time-lapse photography. By capturing a collection of buildings at night-time in Oslo, Norway, when different lights were on and off, he was able to create this masterpiece.

Take a look!

(Oh, and the songs called Time Is Of The Essence, by Cold Mailman.)

London to Paris - Belated Update - July 2011

Really after posting on my JustGiving page (www.JustGiving.com/James-Hartnett) that I would blog regular updates as one way of letting people know how I'm getting on with my fundraising, I should really be blogging regular updates - but I'm not. Slap on the wrist for that right there.

Since I last blogged, I've been upping the tempo considerably. A good few trips to Studland, Swanage, and Worth Matravers (each between 25 and 35 miles round trips from Bournemouth) and my fitness is building pretty effectively. After every cycle I do now, which is now no less than 25 miles at a time, my legs feel much more like concrete than jelly, and the day after a cycle is never that painful a time anymore - great news for both my legs and buttocks.

I've travelled back to London for a few days, and this is the first time I have left my bike in Bournemouth for the trip. I kid you not, I have done nothing but feel like I've made a mistake, knowing full well that tomorrow I've got a pretty free day besides a tennis match to really get out in the saddle and stretch my legs, but I can't. Amateur error.

On the plus, since these cycle rides do take a good few hours (I'm never in the saddle for less than 2 hours or so) then I have lately been substituting time-restricted days to an exercise schedule of gym work or, preferably, running. My fitness is not quite as good as it was when I was training for a half marathon two years ago, but I don't think it's that far behind by any means either.

The fundraising is slowly a touch - through, shamefully, a lack of effort which is now being resolved. I had been planning on some corporate sponsorship, but that has all but fallen through, so am now relying on a fleet of extremely generous and charitable people to build towards my £750 target. For those that have already donated to the cause, or those that are planning to, a huge thank you to you all - every penny donated will go towards making a huge difference for my cause, and this is one thing that is really driving my whole project forward. Without you guys, my journey would be almost meaningless, and for that I have nothing but gratitude.