I had an ever growing pile of kit in my garage but I was also aware that I had lost my main funding of the past three years. I needed that £1000 from another source. A Go Fund Me page and a sponsored cycle seemed a good idea. I wanted 200 individual sponsors of £5 each. I promoted the cycle as widely as possible. By December 2019 I had raised £300 through the funding page and £600 through the sponsored cycle. People have been very generous. Alnwick small businesses, friends and family have got me almost to the magic £1000. The cycle is planned for February and a few people have agreed to raise money and join me.

My sponsored cycle was getting lots of publicity and I got another story in the Gazette which led to more contacts from people wishing to donate kit. I set the date for the cycle. I would go over the weekend of the 8^th and 9^th of February. I also had George Cockayne, his dad John and Cameron Prentice doing the 100 miles in one day. I started to think about the cycle. I bought a Malawi and a Northumberland flag for the back of my bike. I even had a little practice through Longhoughton, Boulmer and Alnmouth. It was 12 miles and it took an hour and a half. I realised the 100 miles was going to be tough. I would have to take it pretty easy but hoped to get to Wooler at the end of day one. Aitch from Wooler CC offered me accommodation. On the Sunday after we get back I am giving a presentation about my project at the Horse Shoes and after we have a darts match. I am hoping to make a bit more money that night.

I was posting a lot on Facebook and it was paying dividends with offers of kit coming in. The ECB donated a signed cricket bat and I sold it for £100. The FA gave me a signed England shirt which looked like a bunch of 5 year olds had scribbled on it. By mid-January I reached my initial target of £1000 through the cycle. I had £330 from my fund raising page. I bought 30 footballs for £180 and got the Red Row shirts printed with the Chitipa Utd name and badge. I began to box the kit in the garage. I hoped to send the kit in April. My next big push was to collect 200 pairs of football boots. I also needed volleyballs and a few more cricket sets.

It was January and I was eagerly waiting on news from the Charity Commission about my application and from FOMA about the £1000 fund to upgrade the pitch at the CCAP in Chitipa. It was exciting times and I was very upbeat and positive.

In Chitipa, Wachisa managed to hold three festivals before the annual rains in December. The U12 girl’s football had developed fast with lots of interest and some keen coaches. His Nyabinghe U17 team won their league and his Chitipa U16 team were doing well. He commented on all my posts and was prolific on Facebook himself. He said I was becoming a ‘real Northerner’. Even though social media was not really my thing it was proving a great way to get the story out there.

Some great news came at the end of January with FOMA offering me £500 to support the continued development of sport in Chitipa. By the time of my sponsored cycle I had £1300 in the bank with more to come. Storm ‘Ciara’ was due to hit the UK on the evening of the 8^th and 80 mile an hour winds were due through the 9^th. I decided to leave on Friday 7^th and get as much done as possible.

I set off at 7.30 am and stopped off at Adam Ferry’s house for a cup of tea. It was cold and foggy as I made good progress up through Embleton and onto Seahouses. The sun broke through as I reached Bamburgh and turned inland past Budle Bay and onto Belford. I was still heading north as I followed a lovely country road to Fenwick and onto Lowick. This was where I turned south and it got a bit windy. My legs were sore as I battled the wind down to Wooler. I was struggling as I rested in the sun for half an hour. The next stage was on Cycle Route 68 down to Ingram and the Breamish River. In parts the track was rough, muddy and I had to cross several streams. I sat by one deep stream for about five minutes thinking I would need to get wet but then noticed a footbridge. I crossed fields full of sheep which ran as they saw me approach. At one junction two identical signs pointed in two directions so I had to make an educated guess.

I lost my flags as they got caught on a barbed wire fence as I crossed a muddy field. Officially I was having a second wind as I reached Ingram and crossed the river. There was about three hours more daylight so I headed for Alnham and Netherton. At a junction I decided not to go to Alwinton but take a short cut to Rothbury. By 5 pm I was sitting in the Turk’s Head pub with a pint of Sanctuary. My thighs were burning and I was a bit light headed. Cath and Joe came to pick me up. I had managed 70 miles today in about nine hours cycling. It had been beautiful but tough.

At 8 am the next morning I met George, John and Cameron near the Oaks pub. They were off and I would meet them near Rothbury. Cath dropped me back at the place where I had finished yesterday. It was a sunny morning and the road followed the Coquet River to Weldon Bridge.

I was going well as I passed the boys and we had a quick chat. They had made good progress and had been going two hours when we met and had covered 20 miles already. My hand drawn map wasn’t much good as I must have missed the correct turn and ended up in Longhorsley. I pushed the bike up a very long hill on the A697 with cars speeding passing me as I jumped onto the grass verge. When I reached the A1 I was a bit confused but was only about a mile from the junction to Amble that I wanted. It got a bit windy again but the hedges lining the road were tall enough to shield me from the worst of it. The road went through Acklington and I was soon in Amble. The wind died down and I made use of the cycle tracks all the way to Hipsburn and back to Alnwick. I had cycled 100 miles in amazing weather. George, John and Cameron were due back at 6 pm and I agreed to meet them at the Shoes. The last bit down from Seahouses they said had been very windy and they looked tired. John had fallen off earlier in the day but everyone was back safe. George had raised about £90.

On the Sunday evening after the weekend cycle we all met in the Horse Shoes. I spoke about the project and got a few more sponsors. The raffle was drawn with Joe throwing a dart. This is officially the end of the serious fundraising. At this point in February I have just over £1700 in the bank with a further £500 coming from FOMA. I had already bought 30 footballs and printed the Chitipa Utd shirts. It would be more than enough. It was another Cycle of Good.