You may have noticed that there were no entries for the couple of weeks before the ride. This is due to a) Me trying to get everything done in time both on the home front and at work b) me being so nervous about the ride.
Now the ride is over. It was a truly amazing week and one I will look back on with fond memories.
My memories of it are:
The weather was wonderful, with the wind coming from the south most of the time and the sun shining most days (even 1 day in Scotland!!)
Day 1 the tractor we followed for 5 miles slipstreaming along and the great pace which we were setting. Plus Tim coming off his bike as a result of running into the back of e.
Day 2 going through Warrington and wondering when the town would end.
Day 3 Shap is a big hill and a great way to celebrate getting half way through the ride.
Day 4 was the day I had my biggest low, my legs just did not have any energy in them from the 30 mile to 40 mile stretch.
Day 5 the last 26 miles when I really relaxed and enjoyed a wonderful bike ride on a fantastic evening in Northern Scotland with my mates!
As for the riders:
e; was upbeat as always, overcoming a broken spoke by changing back wheels a couple of time with minimum impact to our progress
Tim; keeping going no matter what. Day 4 he rode the whole day without getting out of the saddle due to problem with his Achilles tendons, in fact I believe he rode for 20 miles using just 1 leg!!
Ciaran; directing us through the entire event. I only remember us taking one wrong turn and that was a result of a complete change of road layout since he was last there.
Simon; flying down the hills and battling back up them again. He had problems early on but got through them with no complaints.
Henry; showing us old boys how to do it. Although he had to leave the ride after day 1 due to his knee problems we do need to put his efforts into context. He was balancing his riding with training with his rowing 8 plus revising for his GCSEs. In the week before the ride (whilst everyone else was taking it easy) Henry was helping his school to qualify for Henley for the first time in 7 year (note Henry’s 8 were mainly 16 year olds rowing against 8s made up of predominately 18 year olds!!!).
John, taking photos, videos clips etc whilst riding and simultaneously updating the blog!!! Amazing! He was also carrying a knee injury which never slowed him down. I will always remember our marathon game of eye spy on day 5 to help get through the long slog (we kept going for a long time without ever repeating an answer – not easy I can tell you~)
Rich; for his boundless energy. He never stopped (except when he was talking on the phone!). He was always going back to help a rider who had to stop due to bike problems or a “pee” break.
Of the support team:
Overall, in my opinion there is no way I could have got through the ride without the support team, they really took care of all the riders.
Jules; was always worrying that everything was alright. She had put in a lot of effort to get the all the place booked up (for meals during the day and accommodation at night). She needn’t have worried it all ran like clockwork.
Gilly; always upbeat. Truly amazing every day she had a new costume for brighten up our days. No thing is ever a problem for Gilly, she just solves it and keeps going. For example Jules’ bag got left behind in Guildford, this could have been a big problem but not for Gilly, she contacted her partner Keith who drove from Guildford to Bristol to drop off the bag before helping the team to unload and then drove back (Thanks Keith you are a star!!).
Val; for her excellent massages. Without Val the team would have been in a lot of trouble. Every stop John had work done on his knee, most days I needed work on my shoulder and I know all the other guys got the attention they needed. She worked tirelessly.
Andrew, for his smooth driving and knowledge of everything. I remember Rich and Andrew discussing the state of English rugby for the best part of an hour on the long drive home.
Dave aka Mr Motivator. Every time we passed the van (which happened at least once an hour) Dave was out clapping his hands and cheering us on. This may sound daft but that encouragement made a huge difference. Dave clearly lives by the philosophy of “Failing to plan is planning to fail”. He had details of all the bike shops on route and maps of how to get to them. Consequently when e had his wheel problem and I had my chain problem we overcame it with minimal hassle.
Marg for her excellent sandwiches and reassurance at every stop. She and Dave make a great team.
Richard; for his truly amazing photography and his ability to just get things done with minimum fuss. Nothing was ever a problem for Richard. I remember at Bristol he had to park the van 30 minutes walk away. The following morning there was no fuss; he got up missed breakfast and went to get the van so that the riders could set off without any delay.
Claire; who flew up to meet the team in John O’Grouts to help drive the mini-bus back. It was great of her to do this as Gilly and Val had to leave and so it allowed Andrew and Jules to get a well earned break from the 650 mile drive back.
Overall I have happy memories. In 6 months I had managed to progress fro someone who had not ridden a bike in over 10 years to being able to ride nearly 900 miles in 5 days. This I could not have achieved it weren’t for the love and support of my family. It is to them that I give my biggest thanks.
Thanks also to all of you have sponsored us. If you have not sponsored yet then please do so as soon as possible. The work carried out by CHASE is truly wonderful and every penny counts.
Monday 7 July 2008
Thoughts on the event
Monday 16 June 2008
Rest of week 22
I set off for Kent at 5.30 on Saturday morning. The weather was fantastic and I had a really nice route down the A25 then on to the A20. It was as I got onto the A20 that i got a bit lost - the road goes two ways you see and I went the wrong way. It was when I saw singposts for Brands Hatch that I suspected the error of my way. This probably added 6 miles or so. But I was in Kent and enjying the views. I crossed the South Downs between Lenham and Faversham. Possibly the scariest bit of the ride was on the A299. As I was brought up knowing this road to be dangerous I had a bit of a psychological barrier. But the adrenalin was pumping and I was certainly travelling at a good speed.
In the end I travelled the 102 miles at an average speed of 16.5 miles an hour which I was really pleased with as the majority of the roads were pretty undulating.
When I got to my Dad's my shoulder was aching, still the kids were pleased to see me and after applying a lot of ice to the shoulder it felt a bit better. As this was the last chance to get a long ride in before the event I think it was worth the pain.
In the end I travelled the 102 miles at an average speed of 16.5 miles an hour which I was really pleased with as the majority of the roads were pretty undulating.
When I got to my Dad's my shoulder was aching, still the kids were pleased to see me and after applying a lot of ice to the shoulder it felt a bit better. As this was the last chance to get a long ride in before the event I think it was worth the pain.
Friday 13 June 2008
Diary update weeks 21 and first part of week 22
Week 21 started pretty well after the team rides. On the Tuesday I dropped off Rich's bike at Evans for its service. The person I spoke to at the shop clearly considered customers to be an inconvenience. However I managed to drop the bike off after answering 20 questions about when it was due to be serviced had I got permission to drop it off a couple of days early etc. I decided to ride to work on the Wednesday making pretty good time both to and from work. That evening I went to the gym with the wife and I have to say that my quads were struggling a bit. Friday I picked up Rich's bike. Everything seemed to be ok so I let Rich know he could collect it anytime.
Saturday was a 5am start with me getting to e's at 6am to join e, Ciaran and Simon for a 100 mile ride. Simon was cycling to a friends who lived 90 miles away in Oxfordshire so we tagged along for the first 50 odd miles before turning round and coming back. The weather was excellent, not too hot but with glorious sunshine. The countryside was absolutely wonderful, and I really enjoyed the ride. I think that e was struggling a bit but he seemed to get stronger throughout the ride. We ended up doing just over 12o miles and got back a bit later than I had hoped.
When I got home the eldest kid was very keen to try cycling with her stabilisers, after a couple of goes she was getting the hang of it so I ask the second eldest if he would like to have a go without stabilisers on his bike. Of course he would and pretty soon we had two kids cycling without stabilisers. A real red letter day. They were so pleased with themselves and I was extremely proud.
Sunday we take the kids swimming so I could not go out until 11 o'clock. But I managed to get 55 miles in before getting home and having a relaxing time with the kids (who ofcourse wanted to go out on their bikes ;-))
Week 22 I decided to ride into work on the Tuesday morning. Rich came round at 7am to pick up his bike and after a cup off tea he drove off and I cycled to work. The ride was going well right up until the last road before work. It is a dual carriageway with a cycle lane. I was happily going along the cycle lane with the traffic stopping coming up to a roundabout so I started to slow down when a driver made a snap decision to turn off the road. This cut me up and I went smashing into the side of her car. I am not sure who was more shaken me or the driver. It was the witness who told me that the dent in the side of the car was where my head hit it!! The driver quite rightly accepted all responsibility and liability and was extremely apologetic. (In the words of the witness the driver was lucky that it was me she hit and not one of the children who use the cycle lane and path as with all my training I am probably in the best shape of my life. The impact on a child could have been fatal. )
The obvious damage to me was my arm was bleeding, a lot of damage to my bike and my cycling shorts.
After getting all the details of the driver and the witness I walk the last couple of hundred yards to work. Where I got my arm bandaged up and rang CTC to register the accident. All day I was feeling a bit light headed so I got the wife to collect me from work at lunch time. I spoke to my doctor and he was confident that I did not need to go to A&E . Wednesday my shoulder and back began to hurt so I saw the nurse on site at work and she instructed my to have Physio the next day and put ice on the injuries. This I did. When I saw the Physio on Thursday she felt that I took the brunt of the fall on my right arm and shoulder so she spent the session working on these injuries. Her conclusion was that riding this weekend will not impact on my ability to do the event at the end of the week. But I should expect to feel some pain. So I will be seeing her again on Monday and Thursday next to continue the treatment.
Saturday was a 5am start with me getting to e's at 6am to join e, Ciaran and Simon for a 100 mile ride. Simon was cycling to a friends who lived 90 miles away in Oxfordshire so we tagged along for the first 50 odd miles before turning round and coming back. The weather was excellent, not too hot but with glorious sunshine. The countryside was absolutely wonderful, and I really enjoyed the ride. I think that e was struggling a bit but he seemed to get stronger throughout the ride. We ended up doing just over 12o miles and got back a bit later than I had hoped.
When I got home the eldest kid was very keen to try cycling with her stabilisers, after a couple of goes she was getting the hang of it so I ask the second eldest if he would like to have a go without stabilisers on his bike. Of course he would and pretty soon we had two kids cycling without stabilisers. A real red letter day. They were so pleased with themselves and I was extremely proud.
Sunday we take the kids swimming so I could not go out until 11 o'clock. But I managed to get 55 miles in before getting home and having a relaxing time with the kids (who ofcourse wanted to go out on their bikes ;-))
Week 22 I decided to ride into work on the Tuesday morning. Rich came round at 7am to pick up his bike and after a cup off tea he drove off and I cycled to work. The ride was going well right up until the last road before work. It is a dual carriageway with a cycle lane. I was happily going along the cycle lane with the traffic stopping coming up to a roundabout so I started to slow down when a driver made a snap decision to turn off the road. This cut me up and I went smashing into the side of her car. I am not sure who was more shaken me or the driver. It was the witness who told me that the dent in the side of the car was where my head hit it!! The driver quite rightly accepted all responsibility and liability and was extremely apologetic. (In the words of the witness the driver was lucky that it was me she hit and not one of the children who use the cycle lane and path as with all my training I am probably in the best shape of my life. The impact on a child could have been fatal. )
The obvious damage to me was my arm was bleeding, a lot of damage to my bike and my cycling shorts.
After getting all the details of the driver and the witness I walk the last couple of hundred yards to work. Where I got my arm bandaged up and rang CTC to register the accident. All day I was feeling a bit light headed so I got the wife to collect me from work at lunch time. I spoke to my doctor and he was confident that I did not need to go to A&E . Wednesday my shoulder and back began to hurt so I saw the nurse on site at work and she instructed my to have Physio the next day and put ice on the injuries. This I did. When I saw the Physio on Thursday she felt that I took the brunt of the fall on my right arm and shoulder so she spent the session working on these injuries. Her conclusion was that riding this weekend will not impact on my ability to do the event at the end of the week. But I should expect to feel some pain. So I will be seeing her again on Monday and Thursday next to continue the treatment.
Monday 2 June 2008
Diary update week 20
This week start with Monday morning and me getting up at stupid o'clock to catch a plane to places foreign. So much for the Bank Holiday. It was not until Thursday morning that I got home and unfortunately work prevented me from getting any exercise. The good news was that I was able to put together my e-mail requesting sponsorship and I was overwhelmed by the response, for all those who have sponsored us - Thank You. If we are still undecided as to whether to sponsor us, I urge you to look at the Chase website - it will be the best money you invest this year!!
Friday I managed to get anyway from work early enough to join the wife taking the kids swimming which was fantastic. Then we all went back to the mother-in-laws and whilst the kids had their dinner I left for home on the bike. It was just over 17 mile which I covered in under an hour on a really nice route, so I was very pleased.
Saturday and Sunday, were the last of the team rides. Unfortunately Rich could not make the ride but everyone else was there. It was a 7 o'clock start on Saturday and we did the normal 150 mile route down to Brighton across to Portsmouth and back to Guildford. We stopped at the same pub as last time where we met Jules and had another wonderful portion of Fish and Chips plus lots of water. Once we had finished the meal it was back on the bikes. John's knee was holding up really well and we made pretty good time. We met up with Jules again at Four Marks were we had the a lovely piece of banana cake and a lot more water.
We got back to Guildford a bit later than we had hoped and after a quick shower we all went over to Simon's for a great pasta meal and then a chat about the event logistics. It was good to have everyone together including Jules and Richard from the support team. It is all becoming much more real. I now flip from being relatively confident to panic about the enormity of what we are trying to achieve. Luckily I feel we all have more than enough motivation.
Sunday, was another 7 o'clock start and we had no drop outs! The plan was to do e's 55 mile route and then go back e's for lunch before doing another 50 miles in the afternoon. Unfortunately, on the ride Henry's knee start to ache. He made the decision to stop about halfway round, which probably a good decision as the last thing to do is aggravate it this close to the event. Then going up a hill Ciaran's back sprocket broke and so he joined Henry in getting a lift back. The rest of us carried on and made pretty good time. We had a great lunch at e's and then it was off for the second ride of the day. The five of us made good time and Ciaran and Jules kept popping at various points on the rode to take photos for the website. Unfortunately John's knee also started to play up, but we made it home without further incident.
So we cycled 250 miles over the weekend which was pretty good going and I feel good, my shoulder aches a bit but my legs feel okay. The count down is on!
Friday I managed to get anyway from work early enough to join the wife taking the kids swimming which was fantastic. Then we all went back to the mother-in-laws and whilst the kids had their dinner I left for home on the bike. It was just over 17 mile which I covered in under an hour on a really nice route, so I was very pleased.
Saturday and Sunday, were the last of the team rides. Unfortunately Rich could not make the ride but everyone else was there. It was a 7 o'clock start on Saturday and we did the normal 150 mile route down to Brighton across to Portsmouth and back to Guildford. We stopped at the same pub as last time where we met Jules and had another wonderful portion of Fish and Chips plus lots of water. Once we had finished the meal it was back on the bikes. John's knee was holding up really well and we made pretty good time. We met up with Jules again at Four Marks were we had the a lovely piece of banana cake and a lot more water.
We got back to Guildford a bit later than we had hoped and after a quick shower we all went over to Simon's for a great pasta meal and then a chat about the event logistics. It was good to have everyone together including Jules and Richard from the support team. It is all becoming much more real. I now flip from being relatively confident to panic about the enormity of what we are trying to achieve. Luckily I feel we all have more than enough motivation.
Sunday, was another 7 o'clock start and we had no drop outs! The plan was to do e's 55 mile route and then go back e's for lunch before doing another 50 miles in the afternoon. Unfortunately, on the ride Henry's knee start to ache. He made the decision to stop about halfway round, which probably a good decision as the last thing to do is aggravate it this close to the event. Then going up a hill Ciaran's back sprocket broke and so he joined Henry in getting a lift back. The rest of us carried on and made pretty good time. We had a great lunch at e's and then it was off for the second ride of the day. The five of us made good time and Ciaran and Jules kept popping at various points on the rode to take photos for the website. Unfortunately John's knee also started to play up, but we made it home without further incident.
So we cycled 250 miles over the weekend which was pretty good going and I feel good, my shoulder aches a bit but my legs feel okay. The count down is on!
Monday 26 May 2008
Diary Update weeks 18 & 19
Week 18 started well with a ride to work on Tuesday monring. Going to work it was relatively hard work managing 15.2 miles per hour, however coming back I was in a really good place and manged to achieve 16.7miles per hour by far my best time and I felt good!!
The weekend was the penultimate team ride, however due to various commitments only 5 of us could make it and then it was complicated!!
Friday started well with us meeting up in Guildford were e, Simon and I set off for Rich's house. As luck would have it Rich lives almost exactly half way between Guildford and John's house. John was going to be riding down to Rich's and Rich was going to meet him enroute allowing him to get his miles in even though he had commitments later that day. We made good progress and got there later than we had hoped, but this was mainly due to a late start (mainly my fault as I did not seem to get my act together that morning!!)
We had a nice cup of tea and a slice of toast before going back to Guildford. In was on the journey back that seems started to go wrong. Firstly John's chain developed a loose link. So we phoned ahead to a bike shiop which Simon knows to ensure we could get it fixed for the next day's ride and then we carried on. However, for John the bad news was just beginning for as we rode to Guildford his knee was starting to hurt quite badly (although fair play to John if he had not told us we would not have known because he did a great job of sticking with us).
When we got to bike shop John was initially told that it would cost a couple of quid to put in a new "super link". Then the mechanic measured John's chain, it had stretched by more than 1%, and thus the mechanic was concerned that the front cogs and rear cogs would need changing - this is not a cheap fix!!
Anyway John got the link put in and got a lift back with Simon to e's house, his knee was still hurting. As I put my bike into my car I noticed that one of the spokes on my back wheel was very loose. So when I got home I had to rebuild the wheel - luckily Zinn's Road Bike Maintenance came to the rescue and I was able to cure the very minor buckle.
The next day we started early, Rich had driven down to join us. John did a quick circuit on his bike and his knee had started to hurt. In my opinion John made the right decision in deciding not to go on the ride as this allows him to rest it and have the best chance of joinning us on the actual event. Simon also had to pull out of the ride, due to extreme saddle soreness!! Ouch!
So if was just Rich, e and I that set out for our 150 ish mile circuit down to Brighton, across to Portsmouth and back to Guildford. The ride started well and whilst in Brighton we took the opportunity for Rish to drop in to see his Grandad whilst e and I had a quick snack. Then is was off along the coast to Portsmouth, as it was FA cup final day the roads were very quiet. We managed to find ourselves a nice little pub and had a great meal (fish and chips!). Then it was back on the road and into the northerly wind and the rain not fun. But we put our heads down and continued with oour routine of having 5 minutes each at the front. As we came off the Sheppard and Flock roundabout on the A31 I was in the lead heading up the hill when my front wheel caught the gulley of the road bridge expansion joint (apparently this is not unusual). I went A over T, and Rich and e followed me!!! We quickly flung our bikes and ourselves of the road and then tried to catch our breath!!
The damage was relatively minor, my bike was scuffed up at the front and the side. Rich's had no problem (as it was his new bike I think he saved his bike but hurt his rear end) and e's rear derailer was slightly bent (luckily he got it fixed the next day no problem).
Anyway after we had dusted ourselves down we all agreed that we had had a lucky escape and made our way back to e's.
Sunday I was feeling a bit sore and had a nice day with the kids before I did a quick 20 mile run down the A246 and up Ranmore. I made good time and felt good - soreness had gone away.
The next week was a nightmare from a work perspective with meetings away for home office and a trip to Europe. So I could not ride to work all week, but the hotel I stayed in has a gym so I got a good work out on Tuesday night. I got back home on Wednesday and the wife and I went to the gym that night. So although I did not get any riding in during the week I did manage to get some exercise in.
On Saturday the wife had made plans for the day to allow me to go for a nice long ride without feeling guity. I set off planning to do some hills before doing a flat circuit around Cranleigh and get 100 mile ride it. As I came down Ranmore I noticed a rattle on my back wheel, I stopped but could not identify any problem. So I continued up Box Hill this time I managed to stay out of the saddle from the "National Trust" sign all the way to the top - I was very please with myself. The noise continued so I checked the bike a few more times and figured out that the spokes were slightly loose. So I stopped in at the bike shop on Box Hill to ask to borrow a spoke key. The mechanic had a quick look, then he advised that all my spokes were loose and that I should take it easy going back. This I did, getting home at 12.30. I had already booked my bike in for a service for the next week and so I took it in a day early telling them that about the problem with the spokes. So now it is fingers crossed until I get my bill next week ;-(
The weekend was the penultimate team ride, however due to various commitments only 5 of us could make it and then it was complicated!!
Friday started well with us meeting up in Guildford were e, Simon and I set off for Rich's house. As luck would have it Rich lives almost exactly half way between Guildford and John's house. John was going to be riding down to Rich's and Rich was going to meet him enroute allowing him to get his miles in even though he had commitments later that day. We made good progress and got there later than we had hoped, but this was mainly due to a late start (mainly my fault as I did not seem to get my act together that morning!!)
We had a nice cup of tea and a slice of toast before going back to Guildford. In was on the journey back that seems started to go wrong. Firstly John's chain developed a loose link. So we phoned ahead to a bike shiop which Simon knows to ensure we could get it fixed for the next day's ride and then we carried on. However, for John the bad news was just beginning for as we rode to Guildford his knee was starting to hurt quite badly (although fair play to John if he had not told us we would not have known because he did a great job of sticking with us).
When we got to bike shop John was initially told that it would cost a couple of quid to put in a new "super link". Then the mechanic measured John's chain, it had stretched by more than 1%, and thus the mechanic was concerned that the front cogs and rear cogs would need changing - this is not a cheap fix!!
Anyway John got the link put in and got a lift back with Simon to e's house, his knee was still hurting. As I put my bike into my car I noticed that one of the spokes on my back wheel was very loose. So when I got home I had to rebuild the wheel - luckily Zinn's Road Bike Maintenance came to the rescue and I was able to cure the very minor buckle.
The next day we started early, Rich had driven down to join us. John did a quick circuit on his bike and his knee had started to hurt. In my opinion John made the right decision in deciding not to go on the ride as this allows him to rest it and have the best chance of joinning us on the actual event. Simon also had to pull out of the ride, due to extreme saddle soreness!! Ouch!
So if was just Rich, e and I that set out for our 150 ish mile circuit down to Brighton, across to Portsmouth and back to Guildford. The ride started well and whilst in Brighton we took the opportunity for Rish to drop in to see his Grandad whilst e and I had a quick snack. Then is was off along the coast to Portsmouth, as it was FA cup final day the roads were very quiet. We managed to find ourselves a nice little pub and had a great meal (fish and chips!). Then it was back on the road and into the northerly wind and the rain not fun. But we put our heads down and continued with oour routine of having 5 minutes each at the front. As we came off the Sheppard and Flock roundabout on the A31 I was in the lead heading up the hill when my front wheel caught the gulley of the road bridge expansion joint (apparently this is not unusual). I went A over T, and Rich and e followed me!!! We quickly flung our bikes and ourselves of the road and then tried to catch our breath!!
The damage was relatively minor, my bike was scuffed up at the front and the side. Rich's had no problem (as it was his new bike I think he saved his bike but hurt his rear end) and e's rear derailer was slightly bent (luckily he got it fixed the next day no problem).
Anyway after we had dusted ourselves down we all agreed that we had had a lucky escape and made our way back to e's.
Sunday I was feeling a bit sore and had a nice day with the kids before I did a quick 20 mile run down the A246 and up Ranmore. I made good time and felt good - soreness had gone away.
The next week was a nightmare from a work perspective with meetings away for home office and a trip to Europe. So I could not ride to work all week, but the hotel I stayed in has a gym so I got a good work out on Tuesday night. I got back home on Wednesday and the wife and I went to the gym that night. So although I did not get any riding in during the week I did manage to get some exercise in.
On Saturday the wife had made plans for the day to allow me to go for a nice long ride without feeling guity. I set off planning to do some hills before doing a flat circuit around Cranleigh and get 100 mile ride it. As I came down Ranmore I noticed a rattle on my back wheel, I stopped but could not identify any problem. So I continued up Box Hill this time I managed to stay out of the saddle from the "National Trust" sign all the way to the top - I was very please with myself. The noise continued so I checked the bike a few more times and figured out that the spokes were slightly loose. So I stopped in at the bike shop on Box Hill to ask to borrow a spoke key. The mechanic had a quick look, then he advised that all my spokes were loose and that I should take it easy going back. This I did, getting home at 12.30. I had already booked my bike in for a service for the next week and so I took it in a day early telling them that about the problem with the spokes. So now it is fingers crossed until I get my bill next week ;-(
Tuesday 13 May 2008
Diary update for weeks 16 &17
The last two weeks have been extremely busy weeks on many fronts.
On 3rd May e, Simon and I set off for another tour starting at Guildford. We left at 7am, e had programmed a route into the Garmin to get us down to Brighton. The route was pretty flat and we made excellent progress. Then we came to "Devils Dyke" which is not a side show in Amsterdam but a pretty big hill. This was a good challenge for us all and when we got to the top I saw a "white bike" for the first time. These are an excellent idea to indicate to all the road users that this is where cyclist has died!!!
With this poignant reminder of our mortality we carried on to Brighton.
Once we got to the coast we stopped off at a local café for a quick cup of tea and a wee stop, this then turned into a buttey stop. Then is was back on the bikes and following the coastal road until we got to Portsmouth. With the wind to our backs we made go progress, unfortunately due to time pressure Simon had to leave us and head back to Guildford. However e and I continued on and before long we were heading back down the A31 and home. As always the part of the A31 south of Farnham was a joy to ride on, and yet to the north of Farnham it was the usual nightmare.
Still we got back to Guildford and when I got home I had completed 158 miles - by far my longest ride, and I felt good afterwards.
Sunday was a rest day and then on Monday was the day of the Send May Fair. The weather was exactly what the wife had ordered warm and bright sunshine. I got down to start building the stall at 9am. Before long the gazzebo up and we started to lay out the tables. We were so lucky the pet food guys next to us lent us a table (we had managed to obtain so many prizes and cakes we could not fit them all on our tables!).
E and I started riding on our turbo trainers and kept going for the whole 4 hours and managed to attract some customers. However, I think the cakes and the prizes attracted them more!!
It was a great success, with us raising ovr £300 on the day. So a big thank you goes out to all our supporters and ofcourse the customers who spent their money (and a special tanks to my wife who did so much to ensure it was a success)
After Bank Holiday Monday life got very busy and so the first time I managed to get out on the bike was Saturday morning. So I was up at 6am and got to Guildford for 7am, then it was off down the A31 for e's new route. It was pretty flat and e set a really good pace. The route was excellent ending up on the A283., before going back to Guildford on the A3100. I got back home at 10.45 after completing just under 70 miles, allowing me to have a great day with the rest of the family.
Sunday the kids when swimming in the morning and as my wife is so lovely she let me go out for a bike ride in the afternoon. As we had not done any hills on Saturday I decided to do my "6 hill challenge". Up Ranmore the steep route, down Ranmore the hairpin route. Then up Box Hill, where I was realy pleased as I managed to really push myself. From the second hair pin onwards I stayed out of the saddle until the top of the hill. Then is was down off the hill and back round to the base. Then back up Ranmore's hair pin route and then back down Ranmore into the centre of Dorking. Remembering that there could be a queue of cars going into the household waste centre I made sure I did not go too fast. Luckily there was no queue to no problems. So I went through Dorking and then up Leigh Hill, once on the otherside I headed for Ewhurst. Once I got to the roundabout at the edge of Ewhurst with the pub I turned around and headed back to Legh Hill, once over the top it was back up Ranmore and then back to the A246.
I got back in just over 4 hours with no stops (I ate one of my "Power bars" on the bike for the first time with no problems), so all in all a great weekend.
On 3rd May e, Simon and I set off for another tour starting at Guildford. We left at 7am, e had programmed a route into the Garmin to get us down to Brighton. The route was pretty flat and we made excellent progress. Then we came to "Devils Dyke" which is not a side show in Amsterdam but a pretty big hill. This was a good challenge for us all and when we got to the top I saw a "white bike" for the first time. These are an excellent idea to indicate to all the road users that this is where cyclist has died!!!
With this poignant reminder of our mortality we carried on to Brighton.
Once we got to the coast we stopped off at a local café for a quick cup of tea and a wee stop, this then turned into a buttey stop. Then is was back on the bikes and following the coastal road until we got to Portsmouth. With the wind to our backs we made go progress, unfortunately due to time pressure Simon had to leave us and head back to Guildford. However e and I continued on and before long we were heading back down the A31 and home. As always the part of the A31 south of Farnham was a joy to ride on, and yet to the north of Farnham it was the usual nightmare.
Still we got back to Guildford and when I got home I had completed 158 miles - by far my longest ride, and I felt good afterwards.
Sunday was a rest day and then on Monday was the day of the Send May Fair. The weather was exactly what the wife had ordered warm and bright sunshine. I got down to start building the stall at 9am. Before long the gazzebo up and we started to lay out the tables. We were so lucky the pet food guys next to us lent us a table (we had managed to obtain so many prizes and cakes we could not fit them all on our tables!).
E and I started riding on our turbo trainers and kept going for the whole 4 hours and managed to attract some customers. However, I think the cakes and the prizes attracted them more!!
It was a great success, with us raising ovr £300 on the day. So a big thank you goes out to all our supporters and ofcourse the customers who spent their money (and a special tanks to my wife who did so much to ensure it was a success)
After Bank Holiday Monday life got very busy and so the first time I managed to get out on the bike was Saturday morning. So I was up at 6am and got to Guildford for 7am, then it was off down the A31 for e's new route. It was pretty flat and e set a really good pace. The route was excellent ending up on the A283., before going back to Guildford on the A3100. I got back home at 10.45 after completing just under 70 miles, allowing me to have a great day with the rest of the family.
Sunday the kids when swimming in the morning and as my wife is so lovely she let me go out for a bike ride in the afternoon. As we had not done any hills on Saturday I decided to do my "6 hill challenge". Up Ranmore the steep route, down Ranmore the hairpin route. Then up Box Hill, where I was realy pleased as I managed to really push myself. From the second hair pin onwards I stayed out of the saddle until the top of the hill. Then is was down off the hill and back round to the base. Then back up Ranmore's hair pin route and then back down Ranmore into the centre of Dorking. Remembering that there could be a queue of cars going into the household waste centre I made sure I did not go too fast. Luckily there was no queue to no problems. So I went through Dorking and then up Leigh Hill, once on the otherside I headed for Ewhurst. Once I got to the roundabout at the edge of Ewhurst with the pub I turned around and headed back to Legh Hill, once over the top it was back up Ranmore and then back to the A246.
I got back in just over 4 hours with no stops (I ate one of my "Power bars" on the bike for the first time with no problems), so all in all a great weekend.
Monday 28 April 2008
Diary update week 15
Tuesday rode to work - weather was good and I made good progress, same coming home. Another 24 miles notched up.
The weather was not good until Friday when I rode in again. On the way I managed my best time with an average speed of 16.9 miles per hour, on the ride back I was pretty tired and only managed 15.2 miles per hour.
Saturday the weather was fantastic, and I had promised the wife a family day. We had a wonderful day together.
Sunday the kids have their swimming lessons close to one of my normal routes, so we put the bike in the back of the car and once the lessons were over I rode off whilst the wife took the kids home. The weather was not nearly as good as Saturday and pretty soon I was wet through. Fortunately the rain was not prolonged.
It was amazing to see the Bluebells out in force, just like someone had put down a carpet of flowers quite incredible! I was making good progress as I got to Cranleigh so I decided to get in some hills.
First was Leith Hill the first part of this hill is really tough - typically we are coming down this route and I can now see why this is where e hits his top speed. Then I went through Dorking and then up Ranmore, the same route as with Rich. One thing of note was that there is a recycling centre about 300 yards up the road, this results in the traffic being stopped so you need to go up the outside of the stopped traffic - this is the easy bit. The scary bit was that the recycle lorries also go up the outside of the stopped traffic. I would hate to think about what would happen it a cyclist came whizzing down the hill only to see a lorry facing them on the wrong side of the road!!
Once I got to the top I turned right and went down the windy route which ends up at the bottom of Box Hill. So of course I had to go up Box Hill, a good ascent and then I took Simon's route off the hill (only going wrong once). Then it was back up Ranmore up the windy route. For some reason it felt much easier than the last time up this route. It was then across Ranmore down via Effingham back down the A246 home. All in all a very good ride and I felt I made made the most of the my time covering 69 miles with some "big" hills at an average speed of over 15 miles an hour.
The wife has been doing a fantastic job organising the stall for the Send May Fair. She has managed to persuade companies to donate 60+ prizes for the raffle, plus we have a team of cake makers organised and of course the boys will be on their Turbo trainers. I just hope that the weather is good, because if it is I am sure it will be a great success.
The weather was not good until Friday when I rode in again. On the way I managed my best time with an average speed of 16.9 miles per hour, on the ride back I was pretty tired and only managed 15.2 miles per hour.
Saturday the weather was fantastic, and I had promised the wife a family day. We had a wonderful day together.
Sunday the kids have their swimming lessons close to one of my normal routes, so we put the bike in the back of the car and once the lessons were over I rode off whilst the wife took the kids home. The weather was not nearly as good as Saturday and pretty soon I was wet through. Fortunately the rain was not prolonged.
It was amazing to see the Bluebells out in force, just like someone had put down a carpet of flowers quite incredible! I was making good progress as I got to Cranleigh so I decided to get in some hills.
First was Leith Hill the first part of this hill is really tough - typically we are coming down this route and I can now see why this is where e hits his top speed. Then I went through Dorking and then up Ranmore, the same route as with Rich. One thing of note was that there is a recycling centre about 300 yards up the road, this results in the traffic being stopped so you need to go up the outside of the stopped traffic - this is the easy bit. The scary bit was that the recycle lorries also go up the outside of the stopped traffic. I would hate to think about what would happen it a cyclist came whizzing down the hill only to see a lorry facing them on the wrong side of the road!!
Once I got to the top I turned right and went down the windy route which ends up at the bottom of Box Hill. So of course I had to go up Box Hill, a good ascent and then I took Simon's route off the hill (only going wrong once). Then it was back up Ranmore up the windy route. For some reason it felt much easier than the last time up this route. It was then across Ranmore down via Effingham back down the A246 home. All in all a very good ride and I felt I made made the most of the my time covering 69 miles with some "big" hills at an average speed of over 15 miles an hour.
The wife has been doing a fantastic job organising the stall for the Send May Fair. She has managed to persuade companies to donate 60+ prizes for the raffle, plus we have a team of cake makers organised and of course the boys will be on their Turbo trainers. I just hope that the weather is good, because if it is I am sure it will be a great success.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)