Victory!

Team Joyce

Smiles from the very proud support team of Dave's sister in law Pat, daughter Andrea and wife Babs

Is that a smile or a grimace. Another big hill is scaled by Amanda!

RNLi bear wearing a photo of Dave - we did it for him!

Setting off on day 2

Tea stop - much needed as they approach the 100 mile marker

Setting off again after a break

The riders reach the finish line!

After a total of 10 and a half hours in the saddle to complete the 125 mile Coast to Coast challenge, the three riders who had a combined age of 140, rode to victory beside Tynemouth Castle. The whole weekend was a triumph, no issues with bikes, no injuries (apart from a minor scrape and some mild saddle sore) and no incidents at all - unless you count having to endure some snoring in the shared bunkrooms! Amanda, Jason and John did amazingly well and definitely appeared to enjoy themselves for a large part of the ride. The weather was incredible and the team even more so. Their achievement is huge and we are so proud of them. We have smashed our £500 target and appreciate all of the generous donations. There is still time to donate if you haven't had chance yet. Thanks for watching over us Pappy, Daddy-O, Grotbags, Dave. Team Joyce xxx

So the final preparations are being made before the team set off up North to begin their Coast to Coast challenge. Amanda did a 26 mile training ride on Monday before minor surgery that we hope won't cause her any problems during the ride. It is forcing her to rest up before the main event which can only be a good thing. Baking of flapjacks, making of butties and preparation of care kits are all being done as we speak by Amanda and Barbara (support team captain). The route is also having to be adjusted slightly to avoid the busier roads so the final distance will be nearer to 140 miles. We are all completely overwhelmed by the generosity shown so far and there is still plenty of time to sponsor Amanda, John and Jason. Thank you Team Joyce xxx

Yesterday Amanda completed a pretty mammoth training ride with her friend Jim. They did a 40 mile ride in 3 and a half hours! This is an incredible achievement and indicates that all of the amazing hard work Amanda is putting into her training is definitely paying off. "We headed out via wolverton, haversham and hanslope but once we reached Hartwell we started heading towards roade, once we reached towcester I had guessed the tea break Jim promised me wasn't going to happen, we then came back via whittlebury and deanshanger. And I didn't get any tea break!!! The last hill slog into whaddon was hard work but I still managed a walk less than an hour after getting back and no sore muscles today which is a result!! My average cycle time was quicker too which may have been helped by the leg wax I had just before the ride, thanks to Emily!!!!!!" (AMANDA) Thanks to Jim, and Emily for their help with this awesome training ride. With exactly 2 weeks till push off we are still looking for any sponsorship people feel able to donate. Thank you all so much for supporting the team!

In an attempt to take the training to a new level Amanda has joined a gym and is working out with a friend, who is giving her lots of support and encouragement. She is so keen that she has been thrown out of the gym at closing time three times already! We are really proud of the efforts she is making to ensure the successful completion of her Coast to Coast challenge. Amanda's team mate Jason has just completed his second triathlon in Buckingham recently so his training is also going well. Sponsorship is still being gathered and we are all so grateful for your continued support. It's never too late to support Amanda and her Coast to Coast team. Thank you. Team Joyce.

Huge congratulations to Amanda on riding over 100 miles in the last nine days as part of the final training push! We're all so proud of her already, as Dave would be. She had a bit of a fall as coming out of cleats on a bike really takes some getting used to, plus the uneven road surfaces on milton Keynes' redways didn't help. Keep on riding Manda!!!

Today Amanda completed a 35 mile training ride around Buckinghamshire and Stowe, with a stop at the Boycott Farm Tea Shop. She made good progress by managing the first 16.8 miles in 1 hour and 3/4. She increased her time on the return journey as it only took an hour and 15 minutes and it was an extra 1.5 miles on the way back. Only 6 weeks to go till the Coast to Coast weekend!!!