Returning to the road on the amazing Seven Seater bike ride this dedicated group of friends aim to cover Seven counties in 10 days between 13th and 22nd September 2012. The brave cyclists ride from Barnstaple and cover the following towns and cities: Launceston – Buckfastleigh – Exeter – Beer – Yeovil – Blandford Forum – Bournemouth – Salisbury – Beckington and finally finishing in Old Sodbury!

Madness, I hear you cry! Not when you realise the work the Children’s Hospice does to provide respite care, not only to life limited children that use its facilities, but also to the parents and families of these children. Without public support and charity fundraising, the hospice would not be able to function and these children and their families would have nowhere else to go and very limited support and respite care.

CHSW provides the only hospice care in the South West for children with life limiting conditions which means that these children are not expected to survive into adulthood. The three hospices, Little Bridge House in Devon, Charlton Farm in Somerset and Little Harbour in Cornwall provide respite care and support for those children and their families who have to cope with the most difficult of situations, all of which costs nearly £9m a year.

CHSW currently provides care for in excess of 400 families. Of these some go to them for palliative care, some for emergency care and many for planned respite and a rare opportunity for a break. Others will also be supported through their bereavement team after the loss of their child. There is no mistaking the serious work they do, however the hospices are often filled with joy and laughter. They do all they can to help make the most of every moment a very sick child has with them and their families.

So to the bike.........it weighs nearly one tonne , has ONE gear and is REALLY hard work especially on the hills! The team are doing it again, continuing the theme of visiting seven counties........Devon to Gloucester via Cornwall, Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Somerset. The team are hoping to beat their target of £11,000 to refurbish the sensory room that is so important to the children who use the hospice.

There are many ways to show your support and if you are able to spare a few pennies then please follow the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/mag7rideagain

You can follow the teams’ progress by visiting their Facebook and Twitter pages. There are many prizes to look out for as well, including signed cricket bats and shirts from the Grand Slam winning Welsh Rugby team!

https://www.facebook.com/MagSevenRideAgain

https://twitter.com/MagSevenRide

Many thanks in advance for your support and generosity, wish us luck and we will let you know how the team gets on and more importantly if we hit our target!!!!