Addicks in Europe

68/9er

I am a life-long Charlton fan and avid Charlton Life reader, and have been supporting Charlton since the 68/9 season. This is my first post, but wanted to raise awareness that my two sons are representing Charlton in the upcoming Football League London to Amsterdam Challenge…

Andy and Nick Chipperfield are representing Charlton and participating in The Football League London to Amsterdam Challenge and (Sir) Chris Powell is among those backing them this summer in support of Prostate Cancer UK.
The ride sees fans pedal from capital to capital, raising money for prostate cancer. Kicking off on Friday, June 14th, the route will pass through the picturesque countryside of rural England, before crossing The Channel at Harwich and onto the flat landscape of Dutch Zeeland.

Former England, Watford and AC Milan striker Luther Blissett has already signed up, and other football legends are expected to follow.

If you would like to donate, or for more information, please visit the JustGiving page at http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Chipperfield

Thanks for all your support, COYR!

The_President

Thats cheating ! - going the short cut, instead of Dover-Calais like everyone else would !

Good luck to Andy and Nick.

sralan

Best of luck. What route are they taking from Zeeland to Amsterdam? I would like to cheer them on as I live in that area.

68/9er

sralan said:

Best of luck. What route are they taking from Zeeland to Amsterdam? I would like to cheer them on as I live in that area.

Thanks CL members for your interest. Details of the route provided are as follows:

Arriving at the Hook of Holland early on Saturday 15th and head towards Amsterdam. The route will take them through the towns of Ter Heijde and Scheveningen on the outskirts of The Hague, and then they head north through Katwijk aan Zee.

They then leave the coast at Zandvoort’s long sandy beach and head east and inland, passing through Haarlem and on to Amsterdam.

Let me know if you need any further clarification and I will contact the organisers. Andy & Nick will be on the look out for fellow Addicks.

sralan

Cheers 68/9er. What time does the ferry dock? I can then work out times when they will be passing through. Willing to throw a few euros at the lads as they pass :-)

68/9er

Hi sralan. Andy has contacted the organisers for the ferry times and details of the route and I'll pass them on on receipt. Thanks for your support )

sralan

You're welcome and thanks in advance for the info.

68/9er

Hi sralan. In case you, or anyone else, is waiting for details of the route the organisers wont release final details until after a meeting scheduled for Monday 20 May. I'll pass them on as soon as they are received.

The latest on the fund raising front is:
Sir Chris Powell has now personally sponsored them see just giving page http://www.justgiving.com/Andrew-Chipperfield and on the official site here http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/20130426-prostateride-793312.aspx and here http://www.cafc.co.uk/news/article/20130510-charlton-london-amsterdam-cycle-charity-816935.aspx and Matt Holland has supported then via a tweet Matt Holland@mattholland8 .
Thanks for your interest )

sralan

Ok 68/9er. Just pass them on when you have them.

68/9er

Hi sralan,
As requested I attach a copy of the full route as provided by the organisers. Hopefully you shouldn't have too much trouble spotting them as they will be wearing custom team Charlton jerseys! I have attached a copy of the mock-up and hope you approve. You're support will be greatly appreciated.

LoOkOuT

Just catching up with this. Great stuff @68/9er, best of luck to them.

JohnBoyUK

If it helps, they're quite possibly taking the same route I took last weekend...which is the usual standard route that most charity rides take to the 'Dam.



We rode Blackheath Tea Hut to Harwich, overnight ferry then Hook of Holland to 'Dam as above, then went on to Turnhout in Belgium and ended up in Brussels.

The Hook of Holland to Amsterdam leg was pretty good. The bikes lanes are great but just pray there's not a headwind blowing in from the North Sea for the first 22 miles like we had to endure. It makes it feel like double the distance and I consider myself an experienced long-distance cyclist.

68/9er

Thanks JohnBoyuk but the route seems to differ from Katwijk to just past Hillegom (and from what you say is likely to be more exposed to headwinds from the coast!). Andy & Nick are new to this and any advice is gratefully accepted.

The timings for anyone interested are as follows:
14 June 2013 - 07:00 meet at Olympic Way Wembley for registration - Stena Line Ferry at Harwich departs at 23:15.
15 June 2013 - 07:45 arrive in the Hook of Holland finishing at the flower market in the centre of Amsterdam.

JohnBoyUK

Apologies 68/9er, just seen the route, yeah it does appear their route hugs the coast more. The good news is that whatever way they go, the route is flat. The wind will be their only issue. If it is windy, they need to stick as close to the rider in front as they can, take shelter and grab a tow, otherwise if they get isolated together, they can work together taking their turns on the front while giving the other a rest, making sure they alternate every couple of minutes.

Other than that, its all about enjoying it

iainment

I'd love a Charlton bike shirt. But can't commit to anything like this at the moment. Any chance they might see if there's enough interest to make a profit for the charity out of selling them?

68/9er

iainment said:

I'd love a Charlton bike shirt. But can't commit to anything like this at the moment. Any chance they might see if there's enough interest to make a profit for the charity out of selling them?

I am not sure on the protocol here but I have put the same comment to an enquiry on the "General Charlton New Kit 2013" thread:

At the time of ordering we did think about this but it depends on numbers. If under 10 we were quoted £50 each and we thought that may make them a bit pricey (especially if a donation to the charity were to be added) but if I could get an idea of the numbers I could always go back for a quote. I have already had an enquiry from the "announcement section" and a couple of others.

As things stand there is a limited production run of four and we did think about an auction or lottery for one in aid of Prostate Cancer UK after the event?