21 days in July – the 2005 Douglas Bader Foundation E2E ride re-blogged

Today we turned left out of Taunton and took the “scenic opportunity” over the Quantock Hills. Great scenery and one hell of a hill! When asking directions to Enmore one local said, “see that ‘gert’ 1 in 4 o’er there? On the other side.” Once over that we had a teastop in Bridgwater where we learnt more about the terrorist attack in London. Many members of the team work in London and/or live in London… Next stop Cheddar Gorge. We turned many heads. Very picturesque but not nearly as tough as the ‘gert’ 1 in 4 this morning. We entered Bristol over the Clifton Suspension Bridge. Below are Kiera the organiser, Yours Truly with the cheesiest grin seen to date, and Rob, an upper limb amputee from Norfolk who usually looks a lot happier but it’s his beer we’re drinking! We also came across a mascot in Ashton Park on today’s ride – a three legged dog! Tonight’s accommodation is courtesy of Bristol University and here we said goodbye to lawyers Sally, Sue and Debs who joined us for the ride today but were now setting off back to London.  Tomorrow, a visit to the Bristol Disablement Centre and then onto Hereford via Symonds Yat…

The 7/7 bombings created discussion as well as concern. Bombs beget amputees amongst the horror of people dying, and so it transpired. Thankfully that type of traumatic injury isn’t the main cause of amputation. Anecdotally, from conversations along the route, it’s diseases like sarcoma (cancer) and complications from diabetes which seem to be the more common causes. Of the team’s loved ones living or working in London, all were accounted for and the ride schedule kept us all peddling.

The Cheddar Gorge was far from the only climb on the day but it is picturesque and there were some celebrations when it was conquered. And here are the riders from Leigh Day & Co, some of many who joined us along the E2E route to do sections of the ride. And Dave, still smiling. I think we stayed  in and sent out for food when we arrived at Durdham Hall and imagine we slept like logs. The Route: click on the map to enlarge, alternatively an interactive map with option to download gpx track available here.