A possible addition to the franchise

Just when I think this Hadrian’s Walk thing can’t possibly get any more exciting, it does.

We’re branching out.

Not only will I be dragging an international crew of thirty five people across the width of England from Newcastle to Carlisle. Not only will my brother be leading a slightly younger and fitter bunch of about twenty five in the opposite direction, crossing over in the middle. But now we’ve got the potential for a third arm. A much more mobile and speedy arm. The cavalry to our foot-soldiers if you like.

After his triumphant conquering of the Coast to Coast cycle route a couple of weeks ago Gary, from Jerry Chicken, has decided that he needs another challenge. And after a bit of tactical bullying from myself he’s agreed to have a think about doing the Hadrian’s Cycleway at the same time as we’ll be walking the path.

The details are a bit sketchy at the moment. However the ride would probably take 3 days, possibly setting off on Tuesday 6th July 2010 and meeting up with both team Ocelot and team Bandicoot at the crossover point on Wednesday night (where we will all eat, drink, and be merry)

And Gary’s looking for people to join him.

If you’re kicking yourself for missing the boat on signing up for the walk, or if hiking isn’t your thing but bike riding is, then this is your ideal opportunity. If you’re coming from overseas then bikes can be hired at either end, or we could even see if we can get someone to lend you one. As I say, it’s all up in the air at the minute; but what we really need is to see how much interest there is.

We’re not looking for any concrete definites here, just a few “hmmm, that sounds pretty good actually. I’ll think about it”. You can either leave a comment here, or even better over on Gary’s post.

All the things I said about the sense of satisfaction and achievement in doing a long distance walk apply to long distance cycling too. But with cycling you get to sit down while you do it.

Don’t worry too much about fitness either. You’ve got an entire year to prepare for it. And anyway Gary is about as old as they come, so if he can do it anyone can.

I’ve amassed a couple of new readers recently who may be a little baffled about what’s going on here. Most of the answers to any questions can be found on the Hadrian’s Walk Blog. But ultimately this is what it’s all about.

In July of next year we’ll be walking the 85 mile long Hadrian’s Wall Footpath in aid of The Joseph Salmon Trust, a charity set up by my close friends Neil and Rachel in memorial of their son Joseph.

In April of 2005 three year old Joseph died suddenly in his sleep. Here is Rachel talking about it in the comments section of this blog (discussing my previous walk for the charity):

Hi, this is Joseph’s mummy here. First Dan, I’d like to say a big thank you for what you’re planning on doing. When Neil sent me the link yesterday I was in tears. The bit about coming home to Joseph’s toys as we left them; well, I can’t describe the pain. And it’s still with us. We miss Joseph every day. He was our first child, he was a little smasher, and he turned Neil and I into – hopefully – better people because of who he was. We will always be proud to be his parents.

In answer to your question Whit, Joseph died from streptococcal pneumonia. It’s very rare and it took him, although suddenly, very peacefully. When I went in to him in the morning it was obvious from his posture that he’d just gone into a deeper and deeper sleep and never knew anything about it. This too is what all the medical personnel associated with him told us. There are not many (if any) consolations when you lose a child, but at least he didn’t suffer. And as a parent, it’s one of the things you want most for your child isn’t it?

So Dan, and everyone who’s going to join you – good luck and thank you.
_{From the comments section of A Prelude to an Announcement. October 22, 2007}

The Joseph Salmon Trust supports parents who have lost a child by providing financial assistance to those who need it most. This may be to help with funeral costs or to allow the self employed a break from work while they come to terms with their loss. Grieving families have enough to deal with without worries about where they will find the money to say goodbye to their child or pay the next electricity bill. Nothing we can do can make their situation better, but we can do something to stop it getting worse.

Here is an interview Neil and I did on BBC Radio Leeds about the charity. In it I expose myself as a “very sweaty man”; so you can see how much the Trust means to me that I am willing to expose myself to ridicule by airing it again.

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Have a think about coming. The addition of the bike ride would make an already pretty incredible event absolutely fantastic. And if we can get some bloggers to saddle up too it would do wonders for the publicity we’ll be able to generate, as well as being a wonderful experience for all involved. And at the end of the day, we’ll all be doing a very good thing to help people undergoing the worst pain it is possible to feel.

_{Memorial to Joseph at Chester Zoo}

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