Just a gentle reminder about the importance of the sponsorship forms, and gift aid.

By including your sponsors' address AND POST CODE, the Hospice can claim back the tax for the monies pledged- something which makes a MASSIVE difference on the amount raised (last year it was worth over £4,000 to the ride and the Hospice!).

SO... don't forget- PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR SPONSORS NAME, ADDRESS AND POST CODE on the form when you send the form and money in!

THANK YOU!!

What a great day! 311 riders covering approx 28,800 miles across Devon, in aid of The North Devon Hospice.

Excellent!

But what next?

A couple things! Firstly, start collecting your money in! When it is collected (PLEASE AIM TO HAVE YOUR MONEY IN BY THE END OF JULY), send it- along with the all important Sponsorship form which enables us to claim the gift aid- to

Devon C2C Challenge 2010

C/o Emma Lowe

North Devon Hospice

Deer Park

Barnstaple

EX32 0HU

Any cheque's made payable to The North Devon Hospice.

Secondly- any pictures you have from the day- WE WANT THEM for our gallery! Our gallery of the event is becoming as bigger part of the ride as the event itself- and we want your pictures!

To get them to us, either email them to simon@coast-coast.co.uk (with your name so we can credit you), or burn them to a CD/ DVD and send it to/ drop it through my letterbox at

Simon Paddon

8 Cedar Grove

Roundswell

Barnstaple

EX31 3QT

Easy!

We would like to thank everyone who made the event possible- from the riders to our sponsors.

One last thing- keep your eyes peeled for details of next years ride- we have something AMAZING planned!

And remember - Once a cool thing is done, it can not be undone

Simon, Mark, Ian, Sean and Emma.

Well, the signs are going up again!

As before, BIG thank you to our supporters John Smale and co. Estate Agents, and John Taylor Fasteners. Without you folks supporting us, there would be a lot of lost riders on Sunday.

As always at the start, we will have a safety briefing. Here is a draft of the speech to give you the heads up!

Finally- remember, it is not a race- it is a rid- so ENJOY YOURSELF!!!! (and bring some sun cream!!!)

Look forwards to riding with you all on Sunday; if not, hope to see you at the finish.

Simon, Mark, Emma, Sean and Ian

As promised, the 2010 Rider Support Pack has been released, which is our document which will answer all your questions which you will be asking.

You can download it here.

Couple updates for you riders.

Firstly- a NEW start time. Because of the logistics of the lunch time stop, and the coach (see later in this news piece), there we are having to shift the start time to a 8.45 am start.

Also, the confirmations have gone out for the coach places. If you have applied, and not had an email, please email me (Sean is away on holiday), and I will be able to let you know if you have one of the places. Bad news is- the coach company insist it will take them 2.5hours to get to Plymouth- so they will be leaving Leisure Centre car park at 5.45 am (which explains why we have put the start time back a bit).

Finally, there is a tweak to the Z route- you can check it out on the Z route page.

Phew! That will do for now!!

The 3 coach's are now full up!

We will be emailing you shortly to confirm your place on the coach if you have already applied.

The venues for the stops have today been announced for the 2010 event.

Click here for more details

YOUR RIDE NEEDS YOU!

Are you- or someone close to you- interested in helping out on the day of the ride? Well- THIS IS YOUR CHANCE!

We require a volunteer to help us support the ride in the morning by driving a van to Plymouth. It is an early start, but you (could) be back to Barnstaple by approx 10.30am. This will make sure that you are back in enough time to be there at the finish to cheer the riders in!

The van will play a vital part for the ride- it will enable us to provide another coach for the riders down to the start .Therefore, the volunteer must be over 25, and have a full driving licence.

PLEASE- this is a key part of the ride- if you can donate a few hours on the day to a great cause- PLEASE EMAIL SEAN HERE with your details.

Thank you!

The eagle eyed riders among you will have spotted a new team name appearing in the list of riders who have already signed up for this year's event- Taw Velo Vixens.

This really is great news for North Devon- there is now a Ladies cycle club.

As previous Devon Coast-Coast Challenge's verifies, there is a strong- and growing- ladies cycling community based here in North Devon. And now there is a club for them to join and support each other.

Taw Velo is a club for junior riders- aged 10-16 years old of any ability. Well, now there is a new part- The Taw Velo Vixens-a club which is run for and by Ladies. And it is not just about racing- it is about social, supporting and fun as well! To find out more, you can visit their website here.

We look forwards to riding with the club in June!

It is so exciting how fast the places are being sold- we have already outsold last year in less than 6 weeks- and the pace will increase as we get to the magic 350 limit.

However- PLEASE could all people who register SEND THEIR DETAILS through. Simply put, without them, YOU ARE NOT REGISTERED and your place is at threat on the ride. At any one time, we are awaiting the details of average 15 riders to be sent through; this is organising time which can be used either making the event better, or spending time with my family!! (I suppose everything has a downside....!)

So, here is a reminder- although it is on both the registration page, and the ebay page- we need you to forward us (under the 'comments' part on the paypal page, or by separate email)-

- The riders name

- The riders address

- The riders contact number (mobile preferably)

- The riders email address

- The riders team (if applicable)

- Where you heard about the ride

Remember to do this for EVERY rider you sign up- so if you buy 2 places (as is the norm this year), you include the details for BOTH riders. Without it, the place will be filled by the person who's ebay account it is- which will lead to problems with sign-up on the day, and could delay the ride.

Thank you!!!

The lothario of the slide rule, Sean Ross, has bought together this year's route timings and mileages, so you can start planning.

Don't forget these timings are flexible- so if you ride greater than the average speeds (10mph for the D route, 14mph for the Z route) then you will have longer stops; conversely, you will have shorter stops if you ride slower.

Also, as before, you can swap routes at lunch time, for a bigger or smaller challenge- depending on how you feel on the day!

Our posters have a great following, and this year's is no different. Once again, those amazing people at Salad Designs have come up with a cracking poster- which you can down load now! (PDF file)

We are encouraging all riders to download it, print it off, and pop it up at your workplace or local coffee shop. This way we can spread the word about our great cycle ride!

As exclusively announced at the Launch Party on Sunday February 28th, at Buddys Bar, Barnstaple,we can reveal that last year we raised for the North Devon Hospice the amazing total of-

£26,435.65

Well done to all involved!

As exclusively announced at the Launch Party on Sunday February 28th, at Buddys Bar, Barnstaple, we are very proud to let you know that the 2010 route will be-

PLYMOUTH TO BARNSTAPLE.

For more details click here!

We are VERY excited to announce that the 2010 event is supported by another new sponsor- Western Truck Rental, who will be helping us with the transportation of the bikes down to the start of this year's event.

Events such as the Devon Coast to Coast Challenge can only survive because of support from company's and business's such as Western Truck Rental- so it really is on behalf of all of us we say 'welcome onboard!.

Just to keep your appetites whet for the ride, ahead of our Launch Party details being announced, here is a little film...

Thinking about a winter project- something to keep you active during the cold wet blowy evenings?

Here's an idea. Two of the ride organizers have started a winter project to convert old road bikes into fixed wheeled hack bikes. Both Ian and Simon are working on old end of life cycles- and upgrading them both on a budget.

You can follow Ian's progress here, and you can follow Simon's progress here.

If you feel inspired- then let us know so we can show off your work!

After much deliberation, our exclusive panel of judges have come back with a winner of the Jersey competition for this year- Natalie Bretell.

Well done to Natalie, and all those who took part.

Here she is, receiving her prize of a box of 24 cans of Fosters.

Just for nostalgia, here are the entries to the competition.

COMING SOON- A NEW COMPETITION!

One of the main features of The Devon Coast to Coast Challenge is not only the cycling aspect, but also the amount of money raised for local charities.

Next year, 10 local friends will be cycling from one end of the country to the other- all for the benefit of charity. Lead by squadron leader Andy Unstead (and including DC2CC organizer Mark 'Mad Dog' Henderson), the 10 riders will ride average of 110 miles a day, completing the John o'Groats to Lands End ride in just 10 days.

We here at the DC2CC are behind these guys 100%- please check out their website www.end2endin10.com .

What a great day! We are SO pleased that we never held the event on Saturday!

We do hope that you all enjoyed the event, and are looking forwards to next year's ride.

Just remains a couple things to do-

- Send Emma your funds raised ASAP- here is the address again-

Emma Lowe
Devon Coast to Coast Challenge 2009
North Devon Hospice
Deer Park
Newport, Barnstaple
Devon, EX32 0HU

Don't forget it is a minimum £50 raised per rider. Unfortunately, not all riders last year sent their money in; as these funds are vital for the running of the Hospice, we will be monitoring the situation for this year.

- Send your pictures and videos to simon@coast-coast.co.uk , so we can post them up at the 2009 Summary page (there are some there already- including a link to the event Photographer Rob Puig's page- can you see yourself there?)

We are very proud to announce that we have now on board supporting the ride those great people at Perrins Ltd, chartered accountants.

It is through supporters like this that the ride is able to take place, so please- if you get a chance- use their services. You can visit their website here.

It is also great to see that once again- for the 4th year- Edd's Fruit and Veg will be supporting the ride, through vans and bananas.

Not only that but they now have a website- why not take a look?

Southfork in Braunton now have 3 shirts in Medium, XL and 3XL and will soon have one of every size. S,M,L,XL, XXL and XXXL. These are not for sale but for sizing. If too big or small, then go for one size larger or smaller.

If you would like a jersey for the 2009 ride please pop in and try one on and then email Mark with the size required at markhenderson12@hotmail.com

Jerseys are now £32 due to the strong Euro but are still just as lovely and top quality with 3/4 length zip, 3 pockets, cycling cut and high wicking properties.

BE SEEN IN ONE NOW! (And don't forget- if you have one, you get to start at the front of this year's ride!)

Following our reckie ride yesterday along the last 15 miles of this years route, we have launched a directional video, which can be found here. It shows the route which both groups will take on the approach into Exeter, through the city, and onto the end- we hope it helps, and inspires you!

Today see's the launch of the Justgiving Page for the 2009 event.

You can use this page to donate or collect funds for the 2009 ride, or even pay any funds still owing for the 2008 ride- it all goes into the North Devon Hospice pot.

We have found that this is a fresh and easy way to get your funds in quickly- so why not tell you friends?

The page can be reached here, or by clicking the button along the top menu bar.

Your favorite Charity Cycle ride has now joined up with Facebook and Twitter.

You can join the Devon Coast to Coast Challenge Group on Face Book by clicking here or by clicking on the logo at the bottom of each page.

You can also start to follow the ride news feed on Twitter by clicking here,or adding 'devonc2cc' as a friend, or by clicking the logo the on the bottom of each page. .