If you've been keeping up with our blog or some of our Twitter news, you'll know that this is the week of the big fundraising event - our very own Dave M, and friend Dave B, set off from London on Saturday on their cycle back to Edinburgh in aid of two fantastic charities: Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres and the Lothian Autistic Society.

Three days in and everything was going smoothly - They were making good time and not feeling too weary from their efforts...

But as they neared Sheffield, they hit a bump - or rather, a tram line - in the road, and disaster struck when Dave M caught his front wheel in the tram lines, causing him to go over the bars.

Now sporting a fractured elbow and various nasty cuts and bruises, poor Dave's left devastated at having to give up the remainder of the cycle. Determined to carry on and make it all the way home, Dave B will continue the cycle alone, with Dave M lending plenty of moral support from the safety of the backup van.  Let's hope the rest of the trip is a bit less eventful!

They're now over halfway through but still some long cycles ahead, so please send them your comments and words of support to spur them along!

Only a couple of weeks until the guys set off on their cycle, so time for a quick training update, but instead of writing too much about it this time, we though we'd let the pictures do the talking...

In a change to their normal training this weekend, the boys'll be cycling at the Gyle shopping centre, Edinburgh.  Come along on Sunday and show your support!

Or donate online for Maggie's Cancer Caring Centres and the Lothian Autistic Society.

For one of our team, this week has seen a short, impromptu and pretty much whirlwind trip to Adelaide, for family reasons. While there, he simply couldn't resist a visit to the local flower market, so we thought we'd share the experience - and a couple of pictures - with you.  Those of you who have been to Aalsmeer or Westland will see from the pictures that this visit to Adelaide Flower Market has certainly been different to our visits to these other markets in recent months.

What was probably most striking about this market was the personal service from knowledgeable wholesalers, and taking the opportunity to chat to them about the market.  In some ways, it was rather reminiscent of many of the visits to local markets in younger years, bringing back some amazing memories of the early morning starts and the general buzz and excitement of going, so a very worthwhile visit to have made!

Time for an update on how the training's going for the London to Edinburgh charity cycle. And, after much pestering, I've got my hands on some new photos to share with you all, so have a look for yourselves and see how the lads have been getting on...

Since training began in January, every Sunday has seen a training session with the distance steadily increasing, and they're always looking for new ways to challenge themselves by changing up the route and finding harder climbs. Additional training in the week has been harder to organise, trying to fit it in around other commitments of work, family, and so on. It certainly seems to be paying off though, as Dave M has been telling me today:

So what adventures have they had along the way? Early on, Dave M suffered a bit of an injury after coming off his bike on a sharp bend and his poor foot still hasn't quite recovered, but he didn't let that put him off and was back trainng again straight after. Just the other day, they tasked themselves with the steep climb at the side of Edinburgh Castle. As they reached the top, they got talking to a Londoner who thought they were mad for having cycled up that hill - and that was before they told him of the main event!

The weather's given them some interesting experiences as well. As usual, the Scottish weather has been a bit unpredictable, so they've been out training in all sorts of conditions. Were any of you out in the crazy winds we had a couple of weeks back? You'd think that would put the guys off their training, but dedicated as ever they were even out in that! As it turned out, the wind on their backs on the uphill sections gave them a massive push - at times they made it up to 8th gear! Downhill though, the wind was against them making it a struggle to get past 1st gear, and having to pedal hard to not be pushed back up the slope - crazy weather indeed!

So quite a mix of experiences so far, and I'm sure there'll be lots more stories to share so keep an eye out for more news soon! If you're feeling generous, head on over to the JustGiving pages to sponsor in aid of Maggie's Centres or the Lothian Autistic Society. They're still a long way away from their targets for both causes, so your donations and any tips on raising even more for these amazing charities would be gratefully received.

To raise £10,000 for Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres and Lothian Autistic Society, Dave Baxter is cycling from London to Edinburgh from 13^th to 20^th August.  We did a similar, though much shorter, Charity Cycle Ride last year, from Dunfermline to Edinburgh, so when one of our team was invited to join this challenge, Dave Marshall jumped at the chance.

For Baxter, both charities have provided much needed support in raising his Autistic sons and coping with his mother’s battle with cancer, which she sadly lost in December 2009.  Here at Clare Florist, we are also proud to support these causes.  The Lothian Autistic Society offers valuable assistance to children and young people on the autism spectrum and their families.  As it is a small,  local charity, it’s great to be able to do something to raise money and awareness of such a worthy  cause.  Maggie’s Centres provide a variety of help, support and information for living with cancer, and is a cause that is already close to our hearts and to which a donation from each sale of our Maggie’s Flowers bouquets is made.

The cycle itself begins at the Maggie’s Centre in London, and after 8 days and over 500 miles, it comes to an end back home in Edinburgh.  With an average journey of 60+ miles each day, the guys have been in training now since January to prepare themselves for the challenge ahead.  Possibly not the best time to begin the hard work of training, with the ground still dotted with pockets of snow and both men choked with the cold, but off they went, eager and determined.  They now train together every Sunday, cycling 50-75 miles each time, and fit additional training in on weekdays where possible, though generally for shorter routes.  For the longer routes, they tend to favour the Lanarkshire route followed by some city cycling, but don’t have a regular route so vary this from time to time, and plan to do the Forth route cycling out to the Forth bridge, Kincardine bridge and back.  

To increase their training as the main event draws near, the plan is to continue the Sunday sessions as they are, but up the ante during the midweek sessions, steadily increasing the mileage until all sessions are at the target average.  Measuring their progress along the way, both Daves have noticed an increase in their average speed and are finding some of the more challenging climbs on their routes less arduous – so some great progress already evident.  Another measure of their success to date has been the attention they’ve received from fellow cyclists.  Initially, the two were only really greeted by the more casual cyclists on route, however now the lycra-clad enthusiasts have acknowledged them as serious contenders, offering nods of recognition as they pass.

So that’s the story so far… we’ll keep you updated as the training continues!  In the meantime if you want to find out more about the Cycle, or donate to either of the charities, please visit the Just Giving pages for the Lothian Autistic Society and Maggie’s Centres.  Thanks!

Like many of us this year I decided to stay at home this year for our annual holiday.
I have to say what a really nice holiday we all had. For the first time in my adult life we went camping around Scotland.
Luckily we didn't have much rain and the scenery was amazing. It was really refreshing to go on holiday and spend so much time outdoors.
One thing we all agreed what great eating places we have everywhere and the ever changing weather meant lots of nice lush landscapes.
It was so nice to see so many different nationalities everywhere as well, we really don't make the most of our country when we are dashing off to find some sunshine. We did meet lots of Dutch people which I found very amusing considering we talk to Dutch people every day here to buy our flowers!
Here are snaps of our trip with some inspiring views.
Crannog Centre at Aberfeldy
 

Waterfalls at Killin

Loch Ness - can you see Nessie ?

A tall German Ship in Fort Augustus