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Post by sallycat on Aug 16, 2010 20:18:27 GMT
...but still a bit mad. This coming season, I have made the possibly insane decision to cycle to all of Sutton's away league matches, starting with Concord Rangers on Saturday. This is mainly for a bit of a laugh (hmm, some of the time) and a challenge (most of the time), but it would also be nice to raise a bit of money for the club along the way. So far though, I haven't quite pinpointed what to raise money for! Any suggestions would be gratefully received, especially as we are now only a few days away from my first trip. I would have put this up earlier but simply haven't had the time Just to be clear, I'm not including cup games because it's not possible to plan for them in terms of when/where/how many, and also because it would be nice to have an away-day booze up at some stage this season ;D but I will probably still do the local-ish ones by bike. And some of the bigger league trips (Lowestoft, Bury, Maidstone) will necessitate a journey home by train or it will just get too expensive in terms of overnight stays and time off work. I'm saying this in case anyone thinks I'm cheating if they spot me at a station after an away match Just in case anyone is interested, Lowestoft, the longest journey, is 130 miles. The shortest from my house is Kingstonian (3.3 miles), but as it's midweek it will actually be a 15.8 mile trek from work!
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Post by markn on Aug 17, 2010 12:13:50 GMT
That looks like some commtment there. I think the Kingstonian game would be about my level (that's if I had a bike!)
Good luck with it and if you are going to raise money for the club in someway, I will try and dig into my pockets a bit when you put up the details.
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Post by sallycat on Aug 17, 2010 12:41:25 GMT
Thanks, I'm a bit stuck with the fundraising side of it TBH but (on the more selfish side) it's something I've always wanted to do anyway. Technically, I've got all season to sort something out, especially as the bits people won't expect me to be able to do will be in the winter I've literally just now popped out and bought myself the bike I've been lusting after. She is a lovely bit of kit.
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foxtrot
Youth Team Player
Red Oxide rules
Posts: 193
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Post by foxtrot on Aug 17, 2010 18:40:35 GMT
You make me feel quite ashamed. Each season I vow to go to more games by bike and apart from a few half hearted attempts to the likes of Tonbridge, Ashford and the local ones I've failed miserably. Somehow looking at the fixture list in July makes Margate seem like a great ride but come November, I will have changed my mind. Fair weather cyclist that I am. Perhaps there should be a Sutton United Bikathon from The environmental fair at Carshalt*n Park to Tooting on bank holiday Monday? On second thoughts, I don't think there would be too many takers for that ! Good luck with all your rides (especially Lowestoft). I'd be very interested in hearing how you've got on. One word of warning, don't cycle to any games that we lose. The trip back is a nightmare.
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Post by sallycat on Aug 18, 2010 12:44:27 GMT
Excellent advice foxtrot - fortunately I have developed a solution to that particular problem, which is for Sutton to win all their away games this season Glad to hear you've been on yer bike too. Margate is not one I'm looking forward to TBH...
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medibot
1st team Player
Posts: 1,341
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Post by medibot on Aug 18, 2010 13:25:40 GMT
Margate is not one I'm looking forward to TBH... I imagine by the time we play Margate away you'll be so used to cycling (particularly with Maidstone away the week before) and so in tune with your new bike that it won't seem that bad at all. There's a coastal cycle trail across the top of Kent that looks very nice too
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Post by Stewart on Aug 18, 2010 14:01:46 GMT
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Post by Amber Aleman on Aug 18, 2010 14:02:24 GMT
Hastings on 7 Sept will be evil. ;D
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Post by sallycat on Aug 18, 2010 21:08:26 GMT
I imagine by the time we play Margate away you'll be so used to cycling (particularly with Maidstone away the week before) and so in tune with your new bike that it won't seem that bad at all. That's not what I mean at all. I'm very used to cycling long distances already! Wait and see...I'll tell you all about each one after it's done. The mileage chart isn't strictly accurate for what I'm doing. Mine's actually quite a bit less as those are calculated for driving. I'm not exactly going to be going halfway round the M25 ;D The total return mileage is somewhere in the region of 1660 -I have it all saved in a chart somewhere- but they won't all be return trips. While I'm cycling all the way to every ground, some journeys back home will involve a train part of the way because otherwise they'd require an overnight stay that I can't afford. Hastings is a beast, yes. Very hilly route!
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Post by Andy K on Aug 19, 2010 11:12:54 GMT
Thank god you are not a Lowestoft supporter. You'd probably be dead
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frakey
1st team Player
Posts: 1,757
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Post by frakey on Aug 19, 2010 19:28:05 GMT
You are mad Sal. Not so much for the amount of miles but dealing with the traffic these days. I know there are cycling routes but surely not that many!
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Post by Nick the Greek/The Speshul One on Aug 20, 2010 12:07:16 GMT
Okay who read this thread then when out last night in a Sutton shirt on their bike? I saw someone about 6pm in the old striped shirt near Golders Green Lane.
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Post by sallycat on Aug 20, 2010 12:57:08 GMT
I'm definitely mad. I've never looked forward to a trip to Canvey Island before But, Frakey, my other half cycled the entire Tour de France route earlier this year just for the hell of it...that is clearly a lot more mad than me.
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Post by Andy K on Aug 20, 2010 13:28:53 GMT
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the potential publicity element of this for the club. Knowing Sal as I do, she is doing it for the club and not the publicity, but there's a story in here! I've already sent this thread via twitter to the Non League Show. As this story is one that will run for the whole season (with any luck), do we think its a good idea that we have this as a sticky. No offence, but this is a much more valuable story to be stuck at the top of post that SUST Member on Board (IMO - thats an item of news thats happened now and doesn't need constant referral) Maybe Sal could also be persuaded to write a few lines about her journeys in a sort of unofficial blog which can appear as part of the messageboard? I think she needs a bit more recognition for her efforts. I know we all do our bit for the club in various ways, but I think anyone would be hard pushed to say they are doing more for the club than Sal in a physical sense, and however determined she is, there will be times (especially in the winter months) where she will need support from us as a group of people to keep the encouragement up! You never know, it may even attract more interest (and possibly more money for the club) if we just go that little bit further. Oh for the record, I think what she is doing is AMAZING
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Post by sallycat on Aug 21, 2010 18:47:12 GMT
Andy, you are a top bloke and I'm not sure I deserve all that! I will think about that stuff when I get a chance (probably on the train to Chester tomorrow...) but I am definitely keeping a diary, which I will write up and let everyone see. Today was half disastrous, half brilliant. Got to the ground OK having cycled all the way apart from the Dartford crossing, but didn't arrive until half time because I got stuck in Grays for nearly an hour. I will explain this in due course One down, 20 to go ;D
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