WP five get on their bikes for charity
Five determined female board directors have risen to the challenge of heat, mountains and mosquitoes to cycle across Cuba and raise over £17,000 to help improve the health of women and babies.
Team Warren - comprising Joëlle Warren, Judith Nicol, Karen Jones, Deb Cooper and Vicky Lawton - completed the women-only 340km charity bike ride in five days.
All the money raised will go to the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Trust’s 'Women for Women' fund. The charity trains women scientists and doctors to research and treat serious conditions affecting women and babies.
"Having completed a similar charity challenge down the Nile three years ago, our chairman Judith Nicol suggested the Cuba event," explains Joëlle. "We've done a lot over the years to help local organisations, from garden makeovers to painting a community hall, so it seemed a great idea to help a national charity.
"Eighty other women took part, and we formed some wonderful friendships with some very remarkable women who shared heart-warming stories about why they supported the 'Women for Women' fund.
Team Warren flew to Havana and followed in the footsteps of 'This Morning' presenter Fern Britton who had completed the bike ride the previous week. The riders covered between 60 and 100 km a day, across terrain ranging from steep coastal roads to rocky off-road tracks.
"After six months of intensive training across the Cheshire countryside and at the gym, we were physically and mentally fit for the challenge," says Joëlle. "However, nothing could have prepared us for the sheer beauty of the Cuban landscape, and the hard slog of cycling up hills in temperatures of 40°C!
"The route took in the Bay of Pigs, Trinidad and Santa Clara, including a 30km stretch along a 'motorway' where we were overtaking horse drawn carriages. Turkey vultures were circling overhead, so we were very keen not to end up as roadkill.
"One of the most memorable experiences was cycling into Trinidad with a police escort as the sun set into the sea and crowds lined the road to cheer us on. We certainly enjoyed the mojitos that night."
The team stayed at small hotels during the bike ride, and enjoyed the chance to see towns, villages and countryside from the saddle rather than a car. "Some parts of Cuba haven't changed much in fifty or even a hundred years. The buildings were very traditional, and there were lots of huge 1950s American cars pumping out diesel fumes as we cycled past.
Adds Joëlle: "We all felt a huge sense of achievement after the months of training and the gruelling ride. Winning the award for cycling prowess, presented by the organisers on the final night, was a fantastic way to round off the experience of a lifetime. We're also tremendously grateful to everyone who backed us in doing something practical to support a very worthwhile cause."
Winter 2008
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