XLVets Charity Bike 2009This summer saw XLVet member practices raising money for two charities by getting on their bikes and cycling to this year’s Dairy Event & Livestock Show, at Stoneleigh Park.
The money raised has now been sent to the charities concerned. £10,000 was presented to RABI at the Dairy Event at Stoneleigh Park in September.
Susequently, we have also sent a cheque for £500 to the Scottish charity (RSABI) as requested by our Scottish members and we also raised a total of £870.77 for FARM-Africa.
The two XLVets calves also made the journey; one started at XLVets Northvet practice in Orkney and the other at XLVets Rosevean practice in Penzance.
 The northen XLVets calf, starting its journey from Northvet, Orkney
Along the way, the bike ride raised money for two farming charities. The Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution (RABI), is a charity that supports members of the farming community facing need, hardship or distress. The second charity, Farm Africa, is an international charity that provides training and support for poor rural communities to identify their needs and implement appropriate solutions to the key problems they face.
The 2009 Dairy Event and Livestock show saw the climax of the XLVet Charity Bike Ride. Cyclists from Glenthorne Veterinary Group and 608 Vet Group completed the final leg of the ride and delivered the calves safely to the Judging ring at Stoneleigh Park. Following the arrival of the calves RABI President Lord Plumb was on hand to welcome them and receive a cheque for £10,000 from XLVets' managing director David Black. Lord Plumb said: "This is a great effort by XLVets staff across the country which has raised considerable awareness, as well as much needed funds, for two worthy charities. They are to be congratulated on the originality of the ride and thanked for giving their time and effort to support those in need in the farming industry."
XLVets would like to thank everybody who got involved in the bike ride for their tremendous efforts. Sponsorship can be forwarded to the XLVet office at Dalston. Southern Calf Update:
12th August 2009
From Matthew Berriman, Rosevean Veterinary Practice:
The XLVets calf has left Penzance and is now heading north. Below are some photos from it's journey so far......
    Friars Moor Veterinary Clinic – Cycle ride to Endell
We set off from Shaftesbury at 11am, our team leader Rowland as always had the route planned out. A beautiful sunny day, with a gentle breeze. Ideal for a cycle ride.
First disappointment came when our first stop for a little beverage had to be postponed due to a non opening day. However it wasn’t too far to travel before our next stop “The Queens Head” at Broad Chalke, a very pleasant pub and a most welcome drink.
We then cycled on through Bishopstone to Coombe Bissett. Our support vehicle accompanied us along the journey with supplies of water, cereal bars and bananas.
Through Odstock past the hospital, thankfully the roads weren’t too busy in Salisbury. We arrived at Endells Equine practice ahead of schedule and enjoyed a delicious picnic. (Can’t believe we managed to get through a large pot of clotted cream!), our thanks go to Steve and his wife for such a lovely spread. We also enjoyed our tour of the equine hospital.
Hope the rest of you enjoy great weather for your journey of the cycle ride and your reception party as hospitable as ours.
Sarah Eckett FMVC
   Calweton Cycle Ride
Report on recent arrival/departure of southern calf.
On 14th August the calf was aided on its journey from the pointy end of Cornwall by hitching a lift with Centaur services- many thanks. On 16th Aug it progressed along the Camel trail with the cyclists from Calweton Vets. There has been much concerned raised within Calweton Vets regarding the apparent frivolity and lack of regard for legislation regarding movement of livestock around the country. As such we felt it important to carry out a Pre movement T.B test. Who’s got the passport?! Stuart Gough, Calweton Veterinary Group
Endell Veterinary Group On Sunday 23 August, it was Endell’s turn to carry the baton, from Endless Street to Shepton Mallet! In the week prior to the ride, there was little preparation but plenty of panic! By the time we set off from the practice on Sunday, there were five eager cyclists who had managed to beg, borrow (but not steal!) a bike - Steve, Jo, Will, Louise and James - and Ron and Lily in the EVG van (cyclist support vehicle). Cycling through Wilton and along the Wylye Valley was peaceful and picturesque. We stopped in on a few clients along the way and all was uneventful until a quite explosive puncture!! The puncture was fixed and we were back on the road within minutes, before coming to a halt at the Dove Inn at Corton. At the pub, we were met by Kristina and Stu who were on call for the day (fortunately to avoid the ride!), so we stayed for a while. It was soon time to hit the road, so on we went. A small navigational error led us into Warminster, which has a lot of hills when you’re on your bike! However, we struggled on and got to our next target - Longleat Safari Park. Ron and Lily stretched their legs whilst the rest of us just hung around! We headed on towards Shepton Mallet. Jo, on a donkey of a mountain bike, had not realised why the Mendip Hills were so called - until now! However, she valiantly made it up each of the hills, to the applause of us all! Now we were on the home straight, heading for Shepton Mallet on some pretty country lanes. Disaster struck when we started following road signs rather than our route map. The first sign said 5¼ miles, ¼ of a mile later the next sign said 6¼! Following these signs, we ended up back on the main roads, having cycled three miles and advanced just one - Will wonders if the signs are left from the war! With grim determination, we pedalled our way into Shepton Mallet and on to Shepton Veterinary group where we were given plenty of refreshments, having cycled 44 miles! The bikes were then loaded into our support vehicle and petrol power brought us home.
Belmont Veterinary Centre, Farm First Veterinary Services and Tyndale Farm Veterinary Practice 3rd September After a last minute change of route our team of 6 cyclists decided to cycle from our nearest practice Farm First Veterinary Services in Abergavenny back to our main practice, Belmont Veterinary Centre, in Hereford (a mere 28 miles!). The southern calf had gone walkabouts farther down south so we had to sub from the bench and ‘Colin the calf’ stepped in as replacement for the day. Petrol power got us to Farm First Vets and it was not until we were almost there that we realised the whole cycle back would be uphill! Having resigned ourselves to our fate we gamely set off, after posing for ‘before’ photos (Rob Smith from Farm First getting into the spirit dressing as a cow!), six staff from Belmont Vets and one lone chap ,Salvo, from Tyndale Vets.
The going was slightly easier than we expected, much aided along route by our support vehicle, manned by Sybil and Sue from our branch practice Belmont @ Bromyard, who kept our energy levels up with a constant supply of energy drinks, Kitkats and bananas. We stopped for lunch at a local pub just a few miles short of our destination for refuelling before the final leg of our journey, little realising how painful it would be to try and sit on our bikes after an extended break off them!
We finally arrived back at the surgery to full fanfare out in the main road just three and a half hours after we set off from Farm First Vets, not too bad as most of us did not do any training beforehand, and then off home for a long soak in a hot bath!
Meanwhile at the surgery in the week leading up to the bike ride, and since, we have been collecting donations and all our clients that donated were entered into a free prize draw to win a host of goodies. Also our two local newspapers put articles in to plug our cycling efforts, we also produced leaflets and posters to advertise at our offices and in the farm vets cars when they were out and about. Also a couple of us spent a good few hours ironing at the surgery so our cyclists and support staff on reception had t-shirts to wear promoting our cycle. We are pleased to report that we have raised £250 towards the charity fund.
Our team of cyclists - Matthew Pugh, Michelle, Harris, Carole Burke, Sarah Caldicutt, Laura Jeans & Rebecca Pye
Michelle & Kirsty, Belmont Veterinary Centre.
Chapelfield Veterinary Centre 6th September 2009 On a pleasant Sunday morning Dave, Steve, Shona and Mary set off from the Following the route along National Cycle Route 1 and along the Having been suitably fuelled a gruelling pace was set, that even Lance would have struggled with, however not having a team car following, our journey has hampered by a persistent puncture. We eventually arrived at Wensum Valley Vets to be greeted by Dave and Jane Feneley. David’s wife Julie was also there with her horse box and so we had a much quicker return journey to Steve Trickey
Southfield Veterinary Group A Day in the life of the XLVet Calf - Visiting the Dorest County Show with Synergy Farm Health After a fun time in Devon I got to meet the vets from Southfield and Kingfisher at the Dorset County Show. They are planning a bike ride next weekend but I will be northwards by then, so instead they thought it would be a wheeze to go and see some of the impressive entry’s at the Dorchester show ground and try and raise some money for Farm Africa and the RABF. After winning my first prize my handler thought I needed some new clothes cause little did I know what in store for me that night? Having been introduced to the some local ‘Cider’ I was very relieved to find that there was not a pole to dance around at the disco.(apparently one the partners has a bit of a talent in that respect?)
I can’t tell you more of the stories of that night but fun was had, and apparently I have a trip to another show next weekend which should be very exciting.
     Cliffe Veterinary Group
The day we had chosen for our ride turned out to be exceptionally busy, all the nurses were flat out in the clinic so we managed to complete our cycle quota, between 9am and 5pm, with one of our vets and our three office staff. Imogen started off the cycle and as you can see it proved a good chance to catch her to do some paperwork ! I then had some time on the bike which gave me chance to read the xlvets equine magazine ! Natalie and Wendy from the office then completed the afternoon cycling – Wendy is the one clutching the bucket ! With such a busy day we were able to grab everyone that came into reception to give us their loose change! Good fun was had by all – even though we had slightly sore bottoms the next day !! Claire Ashdown, Cliffe Veterinary Group    Northern Calf Update:
10th August 2009 From Andy Cant, Northvet Veterinary Group:
"Magnus the calf set sail on the Hascosay tonight which appropriatley enough transports all the livestock out of Orkney. He had a nice few days here enjoyed seeing our newly refurbished premises in Kirkwall and had a few refreshments with the Kirkwall City Pipe Band before heading out to the Hascosay to be transported FOC by our friends at Northlink Ferries to Aberdeen. He inspected his livestock cassette trailer which are all nice and new and shiny, he watched the loading of the boat but unfortunately took fright had to be sedated with bubble wrap and was eventually man handled on to the boat by the Captain himself - thats him in the Hi-Viz jacket - I agree looks far too young to drive a boat! Linda at Ardene is now expecting her delivery in the morning!"
18th August 2009 From Linda Forsyth, Ardene House Veterinary Group
"Magnus took a wee while to get over his trip on the ferry but once he’d settled down we put him to work supervising the builders working on our extension. As a reward for his good behaviour he had an outing to the seaside and got fairly frisky at feeling the sand between his cleats. No trip to Aberdeen beach is complete without a visit to the Inversnecky but unfortunately the sign on the door said ‘No animals’ so Magnus had to settle for a 99 outside.We loaded Magnus into the back of my Fiesta on Saturday for the trip south. Against veterinary advice, I decided to forego the bubble wrap sedation technique. All was going well until he had a wee peek at the speedometer near Laurencekirk and got agitated resulting is a nasty injury to his ear. Fortunately Graeme & Chris at Thrums were able to reattach the missing organ using the latest surgical techniques and he was safely delivered to Neil at Clyde Vets later that afternoon."       Paragon Veterinary Group, Millcroft Veterinary Group, Westmorland Veterinary Group & Scott Mitchell Associates:
Sunday 23rd August 2009
Magnus is a well travelled bovine. He has descended from the Isles, Glens and moors into the Lakes, hills and yes you’ve guessed it torrential monsoons of Cumbria! Paragon and Millcroft practices braved the horrendous rains to cycle from Cockermouth to Newbiggin, Penrith covering 37 miles in total. Magnus accompanied the pack on his customised trolly-trailer. Everyone wanted to be in on the act in taking turns in providing haulage for Magnus. But alas due to a major design fault by Mr D. Black and the poor driving skills of Mr R. Welford, Magnus sustained near-fatal head injuries. Thankfully with the aid of so many highly trained staff Magnus made a remarkable recovery following major reconstructive surgery including fibre glass grafts and internal fixation. The expedition eventually arrived at their destination of the Paragon Newbiggin practice for much needed sustenance in the form of a BBQ. We were joined by two other teams from Scott Mitchell’s of Hexham and the Westmorland Group from Kendal as well as many of Magnus’s bovine associates from the beef herds of Cumbria know as the Rare (to medium rare) Burgersteins! Hail Magnus! Some pictures from the day:
         Minster Veterinary Practice We took Magnus on a trip through the Yorkshire countryside, rounding it off with refreshments at a local hostelry. The youngsters in the group were well trained by their father to stop all cars at the entrance to a National Trust House. A thoroughly enjoyable day out, and top marks to Tracey for her cake.      Ardene House Veterinary Practice & Thrums Veterinary Group
Ardene House and Thrums have a relay really great cycle!
It’s over 60 miles from us to the next XL practice so, in the interests of avoiding a near death experience, the intrepid cyclists of Ardene House Vets opted for a relay between Aberdeen and Kirriemuir. Magnus had headed south several week previously so we were unencumbered by bovine passengers. Ann took the first leg, handing over to Audrey who passed the baton to Allison to take us to our next stop in Stonehaven. It was then that the cyclists realised that Linda had told each of them that they had the shortest, flattest leg and that she had actually lied to all of them. What else would you expect a Practice Manager to do? Allison arrived at the next rendezvous point to find that the support crew were missing from their post but she soon located them in the local garden centre café having a second breakfast. Supporting is very hard work needing constant calorie replenishment. Alice pedalled next, handing over to Nickie who arrived in Auchenblae. Linda took the team as far as Fettercain – which just happened to be a short flat section – before setting Jennifer off to Edzell where we had a picnic ready for her arrival. In Edzell we were joined by Kate & Sandy from Thrums who, along with Allison & David cycled the next 13 miles to The Drovers in Memus where the support crew had met up with the other Thrums cyclists and partook of some more refreshments. Most of the Ardene cyclists did the last section and we managed to lure Mervyn out of the support truck to join us on a bike. Colin, Ashley & Nadine from Thrums guided the group, which was now reaching Tour de France peloton size and speed, back to Kiriemuir. Thank you to Graeme & Kate for the great BBQ which was waiting for us. Some of the vets from Clyde also managed to join us but they seemed to have forgotten to bring any bikes or do any cycling ….. There is no truth in the rumour that the support truck came home without its rear window. I can assure everyone that the window was with us, it was just in a lot of very small pieces in the back of the truck. There is apparently a knack to loading bikes onto a rack. Maybe XLVets could run a course on it before the next cycle run!     608 Veterinary Group At 7pm on Tuesday 15th September, two beady eyes came wheeling out of the darkness. Magnus was a sight for sore eyes; with two out of two ears hanging on for dear life and clear repair work to one leg – he’d clearly been through the wars! So we gently bedded him down for the night and awaited the 3 brave cyclists from Glenthorne vets who had cycled all the way down from Uttoxeter. We showed Alex, John and Tracey the sights and sounds of a local pub before leaving them to get some well earned rest as Alex and John had kindly offered to cycle with us on the final stretch of the relay. We all congregated bright and early at the surgery for photographs and wave Magnus off on his transport to the Dairy Event! Due to the large amount of hills, narrow country lanes and time restriction, we’d made the decision to cycle without Magnus and just meet up with him at the event! With a supportive applause from clients and colleagues – we were off! The mere 17 miles ahead of us didn’t seem too daunting considering the 50 miles or so John and Alex had ridden the previous day. But it soon became clear that Alex and John were super-pros at this cycling lark, and us unfit amateurs were trailing behind from the word go! The hills never seemed too bad that weekend before when we drove the route in the car – but obviously the car did not give us the real sense of incline! We experienced angry motorists, nauseating road kill, flat tyres and broken gears; but with the expertise and support from Alex and John we completed our leg within 1 hour and 40 minutes. We were welcomed at the gates by the XL Vets team where we were led to the XL Vets stand and reunited with Magnus! He looked a lot healthier than we did at that moment in time! After a rest and a bite to eat with posed for the presentation of the cheque to Lord Plum where we still had enough energy for a bit of cheeky banter! Congratulations to our amazing team, we moaned and suffered but completed it in a respectable time and made new friends along the way! The 608 Veterinary Team; Leigh Fisher RVN, Alyson Brown RVN, Jenny Hughes RVN, Claire Addington MRCVS, Jess Crawley ANA and Sarah Williams WBR (World’s Best Receptionist).
XLVets would like to thank the following companies for their generous support and assistance with the bike ride:
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