Thoughts on the event

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.