Below is a summary written by Martin Robb at Christie + Co on the day following the cycle challenge in Scotland, before we found out about Jeremy's diagnosis and when the cycle challenge took on a much deeper meaning for everyone; from Jeremy himself, the colleagues that cycled with him and all the colleagues and friends that donated to Marie Curie Cancer Charity. The summary has been added here in its original form. We hope it make you smile. Bente - Jeremy's PA On the morning of 10 September 2014, the intrepid Christie + Co Care / Hotel sector team of: •Richard Lunn (dodgy back) •Martin Robb (iffy knee) •Dan Griffiths (more on him later) •Jeremy Hill (over 50) •Alex Campbell (recently married); and •Noemi Dulischewski (proper cyclist) joined 10 other teams in the Lloyds Banking Group Bank2Bank Cycling Challenge. Their two aims were simple – complete the cycling challenge and at the same time avoid collecting any of those soon-to-be-worthless Scottish £ notes. The course was 42 miles, starting at the Falkirk Wheel and ending on the bonny, bonny banks of Loch Lomond at the Cameron House Hotel. Thus the event even qualified as both an inspection and a client meeting. After a healthy breakfast of Porridge, bacon rolls and Mars Bars, washed down with Lucozade or Irn Bru, we met up with our two LBG chaperones, Lewis Anderson and Roger Mayor who were to act as guides, repair men and Health & Safety officers. “Team Daffodil” cycling jumpers were provided by Marie Curie, and as can be seen, the C + Co group required a wide range of sizes. After a safety briefing from one of the key organizers (our very own LBG team member, Lewis), we arrived at the Falkirk Wheel to collect our bicycles from Cycle Scotland and prepare for the challenge that lay ahead….. (For those of an engineering bent, the Falkirk Wheel is a creation that raises boats from the lower level “Union Canal” that leads from Falkirk to Edinburgh (suggestions for a new name for that should be sent to Mr A Salmond next week) and the “Forth & Clyde Canal” that goes the other way to Glasgow. It’s an impressive piece of work, if perhaps entirely redundant since road and rail travel is far quicker). The pre-start preparations were hampered by the obvious Health & Safety failing that nowhere in the otherwise impeccable briefing pack had the need for sun screen been highlighted. We were in Scotland after all. But Richard Lunn, surely a former boy scout, had come prepared….. At 10.55 am we were off, 5 minutes ahead of schedule. Lewis led the way and it was apparent on the un-made canal towpath that the narrow racing tyres on his bike were not a wise choice. But it was too late now. The first mechanical failure was Dan Griffiths’ chain, which fell off, but this was swiftly dealt with. More of a concern was the subsequent detachment of Richard Lunn’s pedal from his bike. Sympathetic team members suggested this was due to the extra strain his bike was under, but it turned out that it was merely the result of an insufficiently tight nut. In fact, tight nuts would be a recurrent theme for 7 of the 8 team members. Alex was the first to identify concerns at the prospect of 5 hours in the saddle, whilst Roger confirmed that his recently purchased, bargain basement padded cycling shorts were performing to a standard commensurate with their price. Alex in particular appeared to be suffering the most from chafing of “The Gooch”, a medical term borrowed for the day from Jackass TV. But none were immune, and during the course of the ride, Dan Griffiths in particular showed off some impressive moves that became known as the “Beyonce Shuffle” to relieve pressure in the relevant area. The scenery generally was remarkable, if a little varied, from the rolling countryside through to the Glasgow suburb of Maryhill. Lewis encouraged us to pedal a little faster in that section of the ride on account of the towpath having been the scene of two serious crimes in recent days, including one fatal stabbing. It was at this point that our Health & Safety officer took a tumble. One sharp corner with loose gravel took him out (although fortunately he avoided the fate of one member of another team who managed to cycle into the canal). A flesh wound resulted, which would require ambulance treatment at the next pit stop. Mostly the natives were friendly, with one lady donating £20 on the spot to Marie Curie when she heard of our cause during a schedule break. Alternative Scottish hospitality was only encountered once, when a near miss on the towpath led to an apology, delivered in a posh south-of-England accent, receiving the reply of “F… off”! Well, if such language is good enough for David Cameron…. Generally the only other danger was the perennial cycling hazard of swallowing flies / midges or other airborne hostiles. Richard Lunn appeared to be particularly affected when he found himself tucked in behind Dan Griffiths, who had, rather selfishly, indulged in some spicy dinner the night before. It has to be stressed that this was not a race. There was no need to bunch the team peloton from about 5 miles out, or jostle for position. And indeed, as we closed in on Cameron House Hotel, Lewis was quick to point out that we were not to speed through the hotel grounds on account of there being a variety of other road users in the area. And so, the last minute dash to the finishing line, involving the entirely uncompetitive sector heads of Care and Hotels (and others) must surely be a figment of my imagination. And so would be the scramble to make the sneaky hairpin left hand turn 25 yards from the finish line, where one sector head overshot and another managed, simultaneously, to brake, raise the left pedal, effect a perfect handbrake turn and then accelerate over the line. And so it was done. 42 miles of mostly glorious scenery, good company and possibly irreparably damaged Goochies. Roger’s calorie counter recorded a total of 2,810 calories burned during the ride, which just about made up for all the sugar they use in Irn Bru. All entrants remain immensely grateful to all the organization that went into the event, the volunteers that helped along the way and indeed to the amount of taxpayer funding used to provide us with chocolate, refreshment, the evening BBQ and even a limited amount of anaesthetic by way of a celebratory beer. This could be our last trip to Scotland without our passports and we will have fond memories of the weather and the scenery in particular. For the record, the event raised in excess of £60,000 for the Marie Curie Hospice in Edinburgh, with LBG confirming that matched funding would take this to in excess of £120,000. With sincerest thanks to all those involved, contributors, sponsors, or those who helped in other ways…..