TWTD Message Boarder Stickymockwell, real name Tom Watkins, spent Friday and Saturday cycling from Portman Road to the game at Leicester to raise funds for the Text Ellis campaign. He told us why he did it, how it went and how the bruises are settling down.

First and foremost the reason why I and fellow TWTD poster Throbbe, who joined me on Saturday, did this is that there is a lad that really needs help. I love a challenge but what it's really about is helping Richard Page's amazing effort to raise the cash to find a cure for his son, Ellis.

I love that fact that I'm a part of TWTD that has shown such generosity to a fellow football fan who needs help. If every Championship team had raised the same amount of money we did then they would reach their target without any other donations needed.

To be honest, the experience of cycling to Leicester all feels a bit surreal at the moment. I wasn't prepared for how hard it was going to be or how many hills there are in Suffolk. Whoever claims Suffolk is flat has never biked through the villages between Hadleigh and Cambridge.

I was seriously held up by having to read a map, failing to read a map and eventually going the wrong way. I had hilarious tweets in my head thinking I was going to ride through Six Mile Bottom and Stow-Cum-Quy but alas I ended up going into Cambridge the wrong way.

It was quite disheartening biking in the dark not really knowing how far I had left which really was the most unpleasant experience of the whole thing. My total mileage on the first day was 97 miles, which I did in 12 hours.

I couldn’t hold the pen when I got to reception at the hotel. My hand wouldn’t clasp it! The receptionist had to fill in my address for me. And I had two massive bruises on my bum.

The next day I had the pleasure of riding with Throbbe who is an absolute gem. He helped me through the pain barrier and although the first 30 miles was all blooming uphill, we did it in a very respectable time of four hours. I'm not ashamed to admit that I had to walk a hill or two.

The bruises have turned to swollen lumps and my bum has changed shape. It used to be round and now it’s flat!

Strangely, the most painful things are my wrists and hands as everything else is recovering. I'm unable to still clasp a pen or even butter my toast in the morning. I think I must have been gripping the handle bars harder than needed.

The reaction we've had has been amazing and I'm very proud of our efforts. The ride has so far added around £1,500 to the £2,800 raised when Leicester played here earlier in the season.

If you still want to sponsor me can you please go to https://www.justgiving.com/textellis and put either ITFC, Stickymockwell or Tom in the comments box just so we know how much we've raised.

Photo: Action Images

Smithy added 13:34 - Feb 25 top man, well done Sir!
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vestanpance added 13:40 - Feb 25 Good work, excellent effort, that's a decent stash of cash. The hand/wrist thing is not uncommon, I had the same thing last summer afer cycling from south London to Norwich. The tendons in my little finger are still screwed.
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Strikes added 13:50 - Feb 25 Chapeau! Come pay day I will add a few quid to the coffers. Good effort, and having done a few charity bike rides in my time I can certainly feel your pain. Throbbe's also towed me along for a few miles in his time too!
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Strikes added 13:52 - Feb 25 And Suffolk isn't as flat as people think. It's mostly a plateau at about 50-100 feet above sea level. Cycling from Halesworth to Beccles is another surprisingly hilly experience.
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Reuser_is_God added 13:54 - Feb 25 Hero
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Steve_M added 14:01 - Feb 25 It wasn't bloody flat when I used to do my paper round all around the Christchurch Park area either! Well done again Sticky, that is a seriously impressive effort.
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FCTI added 15:33 - Feb 25 I couldn't have done that sort of distance. Nice one.
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TractorCam added 16:11 - Feb 25 Excellent, well done Tom!
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Ipswich24 added 16:49 - Feb 25 Amazing achievement fellas well done
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Warkystache added 19:37 - Feb 25 Well done Stickers. And it's helped your masturbation problem as well!
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runaround added 19:42 - Feb 25 Excellent stuff, well done
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JCBLUE added 20:49 - Feb 25 Fabulous Sticky, proud to be blue!
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GenericIpswichMan added 13:20 - Feb 26 Great achievement - well done
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Hegansheroes added 14:07 - Feb 26 Well done Sticky, yep, doing long distance rides do tend to hurt your wrists more than anything. Rode from Aldeburgh to Bristol a few years ago to raise money for EACH & it took a couple of weeks for my wrists to recover. Wish some of the players had the same commitment.
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