Gearing up 4 Gorillas

Andorra and on to France

Day 10
50 miles uphill to Andorra went well, beautiful mountain scenery. Scary ride from there, narrow roads, fast Sunday traffic and a long drop a foot away to my right. Higher up the roads better. 2408 m, then the descent cold with rain into France. Three more mountain passes at the end of the day. Hard day. Loss limitation. 40 miles down.

Day 11
Generally downhill to Carcassonne. A long grovelling climb with rain coming in. Lack of food catching up with me. Re-fuelled the hills returned to being scenic and the rain an inconvenience. By 9 o’clock I arrived at Albi on the Tarn. Quite a lot of rain. 45 miles down.

Day 12
Cold and wet start with a tailwind. By 12 on a very long climb the road carried on into low cloud and visibility dropped to a few yards, riding the edge of a very busy road felt very unsafe. Early lunch in the hope that the weather would improve, it didn’t so an alternative minor road route was found. Got horribly lost in Rodez, over an hour trying to find the road out. The afternoon on quiet roads, before a long drop to cross the River Lot. Punctured again. Heavy rain returned and a 10 mile climb. Ended the day early, would I ever be dry again. 75 miles down.

Dordogne and on past Paris

Day 13
Day dawned bright and cold. Undulating to Aurillac. More so to Mauriac and by the afternoon warm sunshine, bought more inner tubes. Left the main road behind me and set off on a very narrow, windy and undulating route. Hard work, beautiful scenery as I crossed the upper reaches of the Dordogne. The roads eased and I was making good progress arriving at Pontaumur at 8:45. In a few minutes I was sat in the restaurant, good food and wine in front of me. Hard hilly day. 70 miles down.

Day 14
Left at 8 back onto quiet (hilly) roads to Montlucon, seen as the end of the hilly section. Food and drink taken regularly, coffee and a sandwich was quick and filling food. Fairly straight fast main roads through Bourges, where the GPS wanted me to take a tour of the Michelin factory. Long roads through pleasant forests generally on quiet roads and I was making very good progress. Just before 21:00 I descended the last miles to Sully sur Loire, where I dined late on pizza. 160 miles, long day. 30 miles down.

Day 15
Quiet roads, generally bright day on high wide plains. Routine cake stop, followed later by coffee and sandwich, inexorably heading towards Paris. Headed in from SE generally following the river, slow going I eventually made the centre by 5:00. Out by way Places de la Bastille and Republique and then Porte de Champerret, before getting lost a couple of times. By 20:00 I had left the rush hour traffic behind me. Punctured again as I headed west using all the daylight and then carrying on into the darkness. I stopped at a Formule 1 hotel in Vernon arriving at 11:30. 13 miles down.

The home leg

Day 16a
Last day started early, alarm at 4 am, ate all the food in my bag washed down with only water and on the road by 5 am. Coffee and tarte aux fraise when I found an open cafe. Thoroughly enjoying the quiet roads leading towards the coast. By 11 o’clock I rolled into Dieppe ferry terminal (last ferry 13:30). Ticket bought, I then hit the cafeteria. More food on the boat and even a little sleep.

Day 16b
16:30 and I was riding away from Newhaven, in the direction of Lewes and Uckfield, from there on B-roads over the Ashdown Forest to Edenbridge. The hills seemed bigger and steeper than they used to be. Crossed the A25, under the M25 and over the last major hurdle of the North Downs. From the top, in fading light I could Croydon and London ahead of me. Got lost in outer London. Found the A23 and followed this easily to Waterloo Bridge and from there Trafalgar Square. The roads and pavements teeming with people at 23:30. DID IT!!! What shall I do now?

Hi everyone - just to say a BIG thank you to all who came along to the G4G Barn Dance on 21st June. It was a great evening with everyone asking when the next one would be! G4G made a handsome £580 that evening and together with a dog show at a local agricultural college and a local school fete, we’ve managed to put over £1,000 into the account. Fantastic!

 It is desperately needed however, as the shipment of the 2 trucks is costing quite a bit and we are determined to keep up the £500 per month to support ‘our’ 5 rangers on the ground. 50 people donating a regular £10 per month would keep this donation very safe, without cutting into funds intended for other things. If you’re interested please contact linda@g4g.co.uk. You’ll get a photo of the rangers, a certificate and the quarterly G-bulletin.

4 rangers were captured by Interahamwe rebels last week, but thankfully were released unharmed, if extremely frightened. The rangers were trying to track down illegal charcoal making in the forest and were ambushed by those responsible. It is quite something that they were released…..

News of the trucks leaving soon….

Thank you for your support & interest 

Linda

Ray Haswell returns from his incredible 2,000 mile cycle ride in 16 days…..! It was at times boiling hot, at times torrential downpours and Ray was behind schedule a few times  - but he returned triumphantly to The Bull, on time, at just after 2pm Sunday 22nd June. He no doubt has lots of stories still to tell of his journey but he was simply pleased to be back and downing a pint once more. His trusty steed was leant up against the wall of The Bull, in its usual position as if nothing had happened, but an amazing journey had just ended successfully. Well done Ray!! As soon as he’s caught his breath, we’ll have a look at the sponsorship final tally & let you know. Many, many thanks to all of you who have contributed - very much appreciated….

A fantastic journey and a challenge completed - Ray should be rightly proud of his achievement.

His stories will no doubt emerge over the next few weeks!….We can’t wait!

Day 7. Played Cat n Mouse with the Madrid rush hour traffic. Eventually stopped for Spanish style breakfast. Changed direction from North to East, unfortunately so did the wind! The wind strengthened and I found myself at my lowest ebb on the most difficult section. Ended the day in beautiful Siguenza. Now 60 miles behind schedule.

Parador above Siguenza

Day 8. Cold start, still sunshine, 10 mile climb to warm me up, going well. Strengthening headwind. Zaragoza, long hard ride into Zaragoza helped pull back important time. Did have 30 awful miles on bumpy minor roads climbing in the heat and headwind, slow going. In the big city hit Pizza Hut.

Zaragoza

Day 9. Took me through Wild West Country, with a TAIL-WIND!. Passed the half way mark and 1100 miles. Punctured for the fourth time. 27 miles down, however tomorrow the long run up to Andorra and the Pyrrinees continue. Expecting a hard day.

Day 4. Granada north, after the days of heat, dawned cold -18 and had been raining, head wind! Even a downpour. Day cut short by lack of hotels.

The Alhambra Palace

Day 5. Three mountain passes, still head windgood progress. Again stopped short by lack of hotels. Chance to catch up on chores.

Chore 1 - searching for Tanglefoot

Day 6. Head wind again - long run for Madrid. Went well but then spent over an hour trying to find the Atocha Station. Headed awayfrom the city only to return for a hotel.

Real Madrid really!
 

G4G drove Ray up to Gatwick Airport in the early hours of the morning, Thursday June 5th and he was off on his epic cycle ride. Here’s the first text we have got back from him.

Ray to Mission Control

Runway at Gibraltar

Ride to the start hot, hilly, headwind and on my part sleepy.

Cape Trafalgar Lighthouse

Day 1. Hot, hilly, sunburn, dehydration and cramp. Cut the day short by twenty miles.

Day 2. Hot, five mountain passes, four in the first 48 miles. Cut the day 20 miles short.

Rhonda

Day 3. Hot, hilly with a sting in the tail.

All told behind schedule, but I am adjusting to the demands of the ride. Hard work but beautiful scenery.

Ray

Ray Haswell will be starting his marathon cycle ride this week. He will cycle 2000 miles from Cape Trafalgar, Spain to Trafalgar Square, London in 16 days. Ray is raising money for G4G and you can sponsor him at his Just Giving web page http://www.justgiving.com/rayhaswell        On his return, Ray is welcoming any long distance cyclists to join him on Sunday 22nd June, from Trafalgar Square, Winchester (about 40mls) or perhaps from the New Forest back to The Bull, Wimborne St Giles, Dorset. None of us at G4G could even imagine cycling that far so if you fancy accompanying Ray on his final, triumphant leg (with a bit of a ‘do’ planned at The Bull) - then email linda@g4g.co.uk for times / locations.

It would certainly be a wonderful way to finish - in the company of fellow cyclists…..

Good luck Ray! Your sponsorship total is rising every day…… Take care and enjoy!

While we’re waiting to hear what is happening regards the rangers and gorillas of the rebel held Mikeno sector, my mind went back to the visit of June last year. Are these children OK I wondered? Are they still here in their village or been forced to move? I was travelling with the ICCN Advance Force from the north of Virunga National Park down to the southern Mikeno gorilla sector. We stopped at this village to get some breakfast. The women greet the trucks with trays of small bags containing fried potato (cold), strips of onion and a little piece of cooked meat. It costs a few English pencefor breakfast. The rangers pile the trucks high with leeks and other vegetables for later in the journey.
Some of the most amazing sights are the wooden ‘bikes’ being ridden around - totally wooden, including the wheels. I just hope this community is safe and still able to offer breakfast to those travelling through their village…..
Linda, Chair G4G

G4Gs 2 Hilux trucks are now in Dorset ready for shipping to DR Congo. Wildlife Direct have asked for the trucks as a matter of urgency, as the rangers make their move to retake one of the patrol stations.

Logos will soon go onto the trucks & G4G prepares to transport them to Felixstowe. More pics of the preparations soon….

Hi all,

Just to let you know www.g4g.co.uk now sits and works on new UK based servers.

This should provide more speed and resilience

I will update soon will new features and the possibility of a new system.

Cheers

David
G4G Webmaster