McNabb's Mexican Challenge

Just over 3 weeks left until the Mexican Challenge begins….. and a mixture of excitement and
sheer terror is setting in!! 

Let’s hope its not………….

It’s been a very busy few months…. I had the ‘Golf of Mexico Challenge Cup’ last October at the Clandeboye Lodge. It turned into a cracking day out with ten teams (of varying abilities…..) hacking their way round this beautiful course!! Many thanks to all those who sponsored the holes, attended on the day or contributed in some way. I managed to raise well over £1,000 on the day, which put a serious dent in the fundraising. A selection of photos of the Golfing Day out can be found below……. 

In November, I foolishy accepted a bet with some work-’mates’……. One Friday night, I was challenged to try and grow a Ginger Beard for the month of November. Quite surprisingly, the beard did sprout and had a mind of its own for the next 4 weeks! I went through a full range of emotions with the beard and was certainly glad to see the back of it at the end of November! Please see the results below…… I may need to consider some beard / ‘tache growth during the Mexican Challenge to try and ‘blend-in’ with the Locals!! Although they probably haven’t seen too many Gingers before!

With all the Golfing and beard-growing aside…. I have had to settle down and try to focus the mind to the job in hand….. yep, CYCLING!! It certainly has been a challenging few months to try and squeeze in some training around the cold weather, dark nights and turkey consumption! But, I’ve managed to chalk up a good few miles to include the Atlantic Drive; Downings, Divis Mountain, The Mournes and all over the mighty Kingdom of County Down!! 

‘Discover Adventure’ who are organising the Challenge on behalf of Macmillan, held a Briefing Meeting in London in January. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make it over. But, the long and the short of it is as follows: 

- There’s about 50 people going, and so far i’m the only one from here
- Our Kit should include: Bullet-proof Vest, Gallons of Factor 40, a cycling helmet/sombrero combo, extra-padded shorts and an Iron-Belly!
- Apparently ‘Shower/toilet facilities are VERY basic (where available.) Where not, the Rivers are lovely’  …. Hope they are cleaner than the Lagan and will just need to watch for the crocs!
- DAY 3 of the itinerary involves a cycle climb from +250metres above sea level to +3000metres above sea level. (Thats about 3.5 times the height of Slieve Donard…….!!!) Please see elevation profile below. Note to self: Must remember to source a Mexican Donkey at the start of Day 3! 

Here are some of the presentation slides from the briefing meeting….. 

So, I’d like to take this opportunity to say a MUCHAS GRACIAS to all those who have donated so far, and to all the sponsors- please see the sponsors page on the right hand side. If anyone would still like to make a donation- please go to my justgiving page- please click on the ‘TO DONATE’ button at the top of the page. My fundraising now sits at £3,735 (my minimum target was £3,500) and im hoping to hit £5,000 and may have one last fundraising event after I get back. Thanks again and HASTA LA VISTA GRINGOS!!!! 

Might have to rope my work-mates into my next fundraiser!

I've been told to take some protection against Mexican Drivers...

.....must remember to travel lightly.......

At least we'll have a decent Support Vehicle!!

Aye Carumba!…… unfortunately that’s the end of the Summer… but what a cracker it was!!!

On Saturday 24th July- Debs, Sean, Anne and I managed to complete a 100 mile lap around Lough Neagh. We managed it in 9.5hrs, with about 1hr of breaks. Delighted to hit the 100 mile mark and big thanks to Debs, Sean and Anne. We followed a combination of the ‘Lap of the Lough’ route and some of the lough-shore trails. An eventful journey and scooped up a good bit of sponsorship for it too!!

I had the Mexican Pub Quiz on the 12th of August and it was a belter of a night. In the run up to the Quiz I had tortured and harassed several local businesses and restaurants (most of which are listed in the Sponsors Section) who very kindly handed over a great selection of prizes for the ballot. I ended up raising £650!! A great effort from everyone involved- with particular thanks to White Cat Entertainment, my family, Justin Beagon, Judes and everyone who turned up on the night. Couple of photos from the night are below-

After hitting the training hard in July, I’ve taken it relatively handy over the last few weeks to give my knee a bit of a rest. So, I’ve been going to the gym instead and just about to get stuck into a rigorous schedule of training between now and Christmas. Here’s what I’ve learnt from my cycle training so far…..

1) I need a new bike
2) I need to shave off another stone before Christmas…..
4) FACT: Lough Neagh is officially bigger than the Atlantic Ocean!!  
5) The upside to every hill is that there’s a downside!!

Macmillan have very kindly sent me out an update of how the organising etc is going for the Cycle Challenge. There’s 25 people signed up and so far, I’m the only one on it from Belfast. Everyone else is from Scotland/Wales/England. Apparently the overall team has chalked up £10,000 so far in fundraising for Macmillan- which is a great effort!

Well, I’m very happy to say that I have managed to raise just over £1,500 so far!!! Muchas gracias to everyone who has helped out or donated so far… very much appreciated. Still another 2k minimum to raise- so this is what I have planned so far-

- The Macmillan ‘Worlds Biggest Coffee Morning‘- We are taking part in this at work on Friday. The Senoritas in the office have very kindly agreed (after a certain amount of grumbling) to take part in the ‘Best Bun Competition.’ I’ll be supplying the coffee’s and the buns will be tasted and marked accordingly with a small prize for the winner.

http://coffee.macmillan.org.uk/Home.aspx

- Golf of Mexico Challenge Cup 2010. Clandeboye Golf Club have very kindly agreed to let us host this day out on their fantastic ‘Dufferin Course’ on Friday 15th October (shot-gun start at 1.30pm). Its an absolute belter of a course and I’m looking for any interested parties to get involved in the day out- either by submitting 4-ball teams (£40 a head) or if people want to sign up individually and I will organise into teams. Half of the entry fee will go towards the green fees and costs etc and half will go directly towards the Mexican Challenge.

IF YOU’RE NOT SIGNED UP FOR THIS ALREADY……….GET ONTO IT…….I’ve heard that Tiger Woods might be making an appearance!!!

If you’re interested…. get in touch on mcnabbsmexicanchallenge@gmail.com

Here’s a cracking overview of the Course- http://www.cgc-ni.com/12/Dufferin-Course/

There will be several competitions on the way round- i.e. Longest Drive and Nearest the Pin and there’ll be some complimentary drinks strategically places at some of the holes on the way round. Hopefully all the teams will make it back to the club house (in one piece) by 6.30ish and there will be a tasty dinner and prizes.

If anyone is interested in attending the Golf of Mexico Challenge Cup or if you are interested in sponsoring one of the holes- please get in touch.

- Other events- Im currently looking into a few options- Wine Tasting/Live Music Night…. looking into the details for this one and whether or not I can get it organised before or after Christmas. The Mexican Cup 5-a-side Comp will be going ahead in Feb 2011- details to follow.

Well…… I’ll finish by saying that I was totally gutted by Down losing by 1 point in the Final. Once the bike gets parked up in Acapulco next April 2011, I’ll be returning to dust off the boots and see if I can get a run out for Down!!

Hasta la vista and Up Down!!

Chris

“If you brake…. you don’t win!!” (Mario Cipollini)

Aye right….. I’m sure if this character Mario had done any cycling in the Mournes, he’d def be using the brakes!! I know that I certainly was!!!

The Mournes = Mountains of Pain

Well, my training has started in earnest- I was off work this week and I should have 200 miles chalked up by the end of tomorrow! I’ve done a series of different circuits- mainly around the Comber Greenway, Hills of Carryduff, Mountains of Mourne and the Lagan Towpath.

Warrenpoint

Thanks to Debs for lending me her hybrid bike this week (as below)- its made a big difference and I think i’m def gonna have to swap my mountain bike for one over the next couple months.

Biking has taken priority over cooking!

All the intensive training has been carried out because I realised that my Lap round Lough Neagh is actually next Saturday!!! Aggghhhhhh. There has been talk that the Lap might actually be 113miles!! This might be a slight case of biting off more than I can chew… but sure we’ll see how it goes!

I have been in touch with Macmillan recently to see if my fundraising can be channelled back into a local project. Thanks to Laura Johnston in the Belfast office, for sorting this out. The Fundraising will go towards a new Palliative Care Unit in Antrim Area Hospital. This is a new Antrim unit which will provide specialist care to people with terminal illnesses, particularly cancer. Work has already started on this £5m unit and my fundraising will be directed towards this appeal. For more information on this appeal, please go to: http://www.macmillan.org.uk/Fundraising/Inyourarea/Northern_Ireland/Latest_News/Workstartson5mAntrimpalliativecareunit.aspx

Also- My fundraising barometer has now hit £170 so far!

And finally….. the ‘Mexican Pub Quiz’has been arranged! (Click on Poster Link Below)

It will be held upstairs in Judes Bar (Ormeau Rd) at 8pm on Thurs 12th August. Hopefully this will really kick-start the fundraising. Thanks to Judes Bar and also thanks to the local Mexican DJ- Juan Beagonio who will be providing Party tunes and Mariachi music on the night. If anyone would like to donate something towards the Ballot/Auction- please get in touch through the ‘Contact Me’ Section.

Adios!

Chris

Buenos días Amigos y Amigas!

As some of you know already, I’ve decided to do the Macmillan Cancer Support ‘Mexico Coast to Coast’ Challenge (aka ‘El Grandisimo!’) from 26th March to 7th April 2011!

The challenge is 612km of cycling- starting on the east at the Gulf of Mexico, through dense jungle and tropical farmland, up over mountain ranges - including a 3,000m climb – and down to the ultimate goal, the beautiful beaches of Acapulco on the Pacific Coast!

Due to the colour of my hair/complexion, I think an XXXL Sombrero may need to be purchased before it! and probably a few barrels of Factor 40!!

When I hit Acapulco.. I will park the bike up and the image below is what I will be doing to celebrate/Cool-off!!

Cliff Diving in Acapulco!

There will be about 60 of us taking part in the challenge and we’ll be camping out in tents along the way. Between now and then I have to raise £3,500 in fundraising. At least 64% will be treated as a donation to Macmillan and the rest covers the cost of the flights, use of bikes, support crew etc for the challenge. 100% of anything over £3,500 will go straight to Macmillan.

To help raise these funds, I have a series of events in mind, but I would also welcome any donations http://www.justgiving.com/Chris-McNabb0 or any support that you can offer.

My first event will be a cycling lap of Lough Neagh- upto 100miles on Sat 24th July. There will be a few of us doing this and if you want to take part- please let me know.

The next event will be a Mexican Pub Quiz- upstairs in Judes Bar on the Ormeau Road on Thurs August 12th at 8pm.

If your interested in attending either of the above- please get in touch on the ‘Contact Me’ section.

More events will follow later this year and early next year!

If you’re interested in corporate sponsorship or buying one of my photos- please click on the relevant links on the right hand side.

Well, I better knuckle down to a bit of training- that’s the easy bit!!!!!!

Thanks very much for taking the time to visit the site and any donations or support will be greatly received!

Hasta la vista!

Chris

Arrrriiiibbbaaaa!