Virginia Fizz

Day 73

Charlottesville

Distance: zero miles (non-cycling day)

Glasses of bubbles: one… enough for now

A fantastic day in Charlottesville with my friend, Julia, who drove down from Washington DC to be with me for the day. Woohooooo!

It’s almost two years since we last saw each other, and we had a wonderful time catching up on news and views. And, talking of views, Julia whisked me out of the city to a fantastic hotel with beautiful gardens and lovely food.

Although I still have two long cycling days, and then a short hop to the coast, we indulged in a glass of champers to celebrate seeing each other again, and to toast the progress I have made so far on the trip.

Making our way back into the city, we parked up and strolled along the downtown mall, taking in the small shops and stores. We treated ourselves to a pedi (me) and a mani (Julia) and then had a quick drink sitting outside before Julia had to head back.

A quiet night for me tonight trying to get over my tiredness and be fresh for the last push. The TV tonight looks fantastic… new Criminal Minds for one.

Today, I’d also like to make another plea for support with my campaign to try to increase awareness of the issues arising from domestic abuse, and to raise money to support those affected by it.

Two prompts.

First a huge thank you to my anonymous donor, who split their donation between my three UK charities:

Refuge – who provide support and education at every stage of domestic abuse, but particularly a safe haven for those escaping domestic violence.

Samaritans – who offer support much more widely than simply in domestic abuse situation, but who are contacted by victims of domestic abuse, particularly when they are in denial about the fact that what they are suffering is abuse, which is what I did in my own situation.

White Ribbon Campaign – which tries to tackle the issue at grass roots, with men telling other men that abuse of any kind is not OK, cool, or in any way acceptable, at any age or in any circumstance.

For US donors, I am also supporting NBC presenter Tamron Hall’s Shine a Light campaign, which focuses on saving the lives of those who might otherwise be killed by their abusers, seeking to educate boys and girls from an early age, and to educate others, friends, families, colleagues of victims as to how they can help when they suspect or become aware of abuse.  

If any readers of the blog feel that they want to support these causes, please please donate whatever you can spare.

Second, as Julia and I walked through the mall, we were taken with the chalk board, allowing people to exercise their first amendment rights of free speech and being used this month to raise awareness of domestic violence. It made us catch out breath, and want to support the initiative.

Tonight I have posted another two supplemental posts sharing my experiences to seek to educate and raise awareness of how these things actually happen – to explain the complexities and the mindset of the victim, and to put some context and meat on the bones of the stories that we hear in the press.

Thank you to all of you for your support.

Back on the road for another long day tomorrow.

Me x