Doo's Challenge Blog Centre

Cotswold Corker (part 2)

2012-01-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

This week had an unusual start. I re-visited the Cotswold's and completed sections of the Corker that I cycled last week. Like last week, I had a bike with me, only this time I had Queeny and not Scotty. I also had a car! After completing the Corker last week, I was unable to show proof of passage for 3 of the controls. I took photo's at these controls but lost my camera. So this week, I revisited the controls and sneakily took photo's to prove my proof of passage. I also found out where the route sheet was incorrect and should I cycle this audax again, now know that I have an extended down-hill section into Winchcombe (as opposed to being 8 miles out on undulating roads). Brevet card in post, let's hope the event organiser does not read this and let's hope I get awarded my well deserved 1.75 AAA points!

Started a run at the beginning of the week to. SJ, Cody and I ran the 678 Route again on a cold frosty evening in the dark. This run was more fun than last week, for a start we were better prepared. SJ was wearing her lovely orange hi-vis jacket with built in USB light. Cody was wearing her hi-vis collar with a flashing bike light attached. I was wearing extra layers including my jacket, full length skins and gloves which prevented my digits from freezing. How much better it is to run wearing the correct clothing. SJ and I both looked a little silly with the way we were wearing our buffs, but hey, we got out and ran! It was fun watching Cody run alongside us.

Tuesday was a great day on the exercise front too. In the morning, I took Queeny out for a blast around the Breadcrumb Trail. Went over the usual naughty fields by Astwood Bank first. It was really very cold and everywhere was frosty and in places frozen. Queeny rolled over the fields really well, the ground being rock hard. The road in Alcester leading to the Breadcrumb Trail was closed (again) to motorised traffic, so it was nice having the road to myself. As good as ever it was around the trail, tyres making a nice crunching sound on the frosty wooded floor. Returned home via the Dovecote and Coughton Ford. Saw a few deer and a bird of prey during this adventure, which was nice.

Tuesday evening and I braved the cold again. SJ and I ran the Extended Studley Triangle Zig-Zag Route. It was about freezing but we were seriously warmed up by the time we finished.

Ran again on Thursday. This time I ran the off-road Handlebar Route with Cody. Had been a while since I had ran with my off-road shoes - they got seriously heavy as the mud stuck to them. A nice 5k run on a wet, miserable day.

Weekly totals: Ran 14.9 miles; Cycled 18.5 miles.

My fiancee, 'SJ', ran about 24 miles this week as part of her training for the London Marathon. Well done SJ. Big thanks to all those who have sponsored SJ and are continuing to provide support.

The Cotswold Corker....

2012-01-15T01:09:00.000-08:00

The start of this week was much like last week. I cycled the Deer Route again, only this time with the 'usual goons'. This time round, it was warm and dry. Oh why did I invest in Winter tyres?

This weeks major challenge was the Cotswold Corker, a 100k permanent audax event scoring 1.75 AAA points. This was my third time riding this event, though the first time I cycled the route it was a calendar event. This time, I used my mountain bike too. Each time has not been without incident.

The hill at Bushcombe Lane had beaten me on previous attempts. This hill is a 25% climb and stretches for about 3k. To make things worse, this hill is encountered within the first few k of the start. This time round, I decided to save this hill to last and start my event from the second control in Winchcombe.

Starting out from Winchcombe seemed like a better idea all round. Finding somewhere to park was much easier (and only cost £1 all day). Although familiar with the route, I missed the first turn at the start and added an additional 2k. I missed the turn because the actual road was closed off for repairs. I cycled along the closed road all the same. A hilly affair (this hill being second to Bushconmbe Lane) took me to the control at Guiting Power.

Perhaps the nicest lanes took me from Guiting Power to Northleach. Northleach is a very pretty market town and makes for an ideal control. An old chap stopped to admire my bike and asked if he could pick it up. He said he was impressed with the weight and then we got into story telling about the hills in the area. He alleged he cycled Bushcombe Lane Hill on a 3 speed steel bike back in his day. That was my cue to leave...

Very pretty lanes were cycled again all the way to Daglingworth. This ride being very undulating in nature. A ring twitching descent to said control.

Much menace to next control at Bisley. Horses were the first problem, they were taking up much of the road and passing them was difficult. Then, the road I needed to cycle was closed. Like before, I cycled the road anyway. This was fun, I had to zig-zag from left to right to avoid freshly laid tarmac and had to dodge heavy machinery and work men. At times, a little off-roading had to be incorporated. Reached the control at Bisley and got an actual cycling stamp for my brevet card. I also stopped at a pub just round the corner and had scampi and cheeps for my lunch. Delicious!

If I remember correctly, it was during the Bisley - Andoversford section that I saw a snake the last time I cycled this audax. No snake was seen today, however, I saw a deer and a bird of prey close up. Bumpy, lumpy and undulating all the way to the control. Stopped at control to catch my breath, stretch my legs and ring my ~~girl friend~~ fiancee.

The route sheet informed that the next control would be Winchcombe. I remember getting lost here last time I cycled the event, so extra care was taken following the instructions (destructions?). I was supposed to descend by Belas Knap, but just like last time, this didn't happen. (I even asked folk on route the whereabouts of Belas Knap but nothing materialised). The last instruction before alleged control stated 'TR @ B4632 $ WINCHCOMBE - 1km'. I followed this command, but Winchcombe was 8 miles away not 1k! Grr! I headed towards Winchcombe all the same and viewed further instructions on the route sheet.

After Winchcombe control, the route sheet stated 'Retrace on B4632 - to climb Cleeve Hill to then descend to Rising Sun Inn where TR desc Gambles Lane (care 25%)'. Well, I was climbing said Cleeve Hill and Gambles Lane was on my left! I decided not to cycle on to Winchcombe (temporarily missing control) but followed Gambles lane to reach control in Bishops Cleeve. I took a photo of bike next to Bishops Cleeve sign post as proof of passage.

The final leg was a real slog and much menace. I found a 25% hill and started to climb, but it wasn't Bushcombe Hill! Locals directed me to the next right turn, where I found the dreaded Bushcombe Hill. This hill was so tough. I started to climb, moving through my gears, then horrors! My chain had slipped off the largest rear cog and was caught between cassette and spokes. The chain did not want to sit on largest cog, so cycling resumed with me in 2nd gear, not my desired first. I cycled a short way and then sadly stopped. Bushcombe Hill had beaten me a 3rd time. Grr. Pushed bike to top of Hill (and that was an effort in itself) and was about to descend but noticed my front tyre was flat! How long had this tyre been flat? Was that excuse for not climbing hill?! With only 7k or so to go (plus fact it was now dark), I did not fix puncture but just used gas to inflate tube with hope it would see me to the end. A great descent took me all the way to Winchcombe. I stopped at the Winchcombe sign post to take photo for proof of passage (for the 'missed' control). Hmm, hope the photo comes out, it was rather dark. Continued to car park, the arrivee, where I stopped to get a bag of chips, using the receipt for my last proof of passage! Woo too, job done! Buschcombe

During Cotswold Corker, cycled a total of 105.4k (65 miles), in approximately 8 hours.

This latest Cotswold Corker turned out to be a real menace. Not only did I not beat Bushcombe Lane Hill and suffer ridicule from Ron, I also had a puncture to fix. Worse still, I lost my camera with a few proofs of passage contained therein. Grr!

Only ran once this week. The effects of Christmas are becoming apparent - I have put on much weight, gotten fatter and am developing man boobs ('moobs'). Was out of puff for the whole route. I ran with SJ, who seems to keep getting fitter as I keep getting fatter. We ran our 678 Route. It was very cold, -1C in fact, and I felt uncomfortable the whole way. The river and weir looked spooky with a cold mist hanging just above. Was pleased to finish that run and awarded myself with a pack of McVities digestives (perhaps this is where I'm going wrong?)!

You might have noticed Brian (the skeleton) and his bike on a few pictures throughout this latest blog. Brian is SJ's mascot and he has made an appearance to remind all that SJ and I are trying very hard to raise monies for the BackCare charity. Indeed, that's why SJ and I are training so hard and poor SJ has to run the London 2012 Marathon... Please help us to help others, by donating whatever you can here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/sarahbigrun. Many Thanks.

Weekly totals: Cycled 81.5 miles; Ran 5.8 miles.

Hippy New Year

2012-01-09T09:54:00.000-08:00

Hippy New Year to all those who have followed my blog. Welcome to any who are reading this for the first time. Peace out to all my friends and family.

This blog was created some years back and was intended to record any adventure achievements I wished to blog about. Over the years, it largely turned into an exercise blog with it's primary focus on cycling. It has at times recorded running activity and various moments of madness and nuggets of nonsense the author saw fit to post. This year the author plans to do the same but wants to point out from the out-set that the frequency and intensity of all exercise phenomena will be greatly reduced. There are valid reasons for this, but first the author would like to reflect on the past year.

Was very pleased cycle-wise. Cycled a total of 5,207 miles - which roughly equates to 100 miles per week! Cycled more the previous year (5,287 miles) but much further than my 2009 effort (3,160 miles). Last year saw me complete the Paris-Brest-Paris audax, probably my proudest cycling achievement to date.

Started running in the later part of last year. This was mostly because my fiancee has plans to run the London 2012 Marathon and is in desperate need of sponsors! Started to record my running totals in hours and minutes, then changed that to distance (with the advancement of gps and mobile phone technology). Have not got a yearly total of my running distance but hope to record that this year.

Speaking of plans this year - what are my plans? And what are yours? Doing anything interesting or worthwhile and this blog may well record it!

This year I do not plan to complete any (major) long distance audax or cycling events. That is not to say I have given up on cycling, I am just taking a kind of siesta for a year whilst I chase other plans, dreams and goals. I am signed up to do the Snowdrop audax event in February and plan to cycle along the flat backroads through farmland meeting barefoot farmers in Yangshuo, China during my honeymoon in May! Yes, that's right, I plan to get married this year, in March in fact! I am organising (ha!) the most part of the wedding myself and thus far have sorted out best man (my buddy Chris Hodge), the 'guy who is going to marry us' (Neil Bennet), the venues for service and reception, the rings and have designed the invitations too. SJ, can you believe, has just walked in with her wedding dress hidden in a bag! Exciting times! After we are wed, SJ has to run her marathon! So, running will be a high priority the beginning part of this year.

The first run of this year was quite a big one! SJ and I ran to Redditch Christadelphian Hall and back. This is the venue where we plan to get married. We were both quite whacked after completing this 9 mile circuit.

My first pedal of the year was nice too. It was like old times. Ron, John V and I cycled the classic Deer Route. It was a cold and wet affair, but hey, we didn't care!

Weekly totals: Ran 9 miles; Cycled 16 miles.

End of a year!

2012-01-02T12:06:00.000-08:00

The last week of the year and I didn't cycle a single mile! I did run though, and boy, what a run it was! SJ and I entered a race that I had organised. This race was a 10k affair. My organisational skills were a little off as per usual... I thought I had entered us into a flat race around an airfield. Big mistake! I had entered us into an incredibly hilly race in Ilmington! We both ran well and completed the course in just a few seconds over an hour. I came in 101st position and SJ came 102nd out of a total of 140 competitors.

We couldn't walk following the race, but we could eat! And, what a better way to end the year! Thanks to all who have followed my blog and look forward to sharing more stories with you in 2012.

Weekly totals: Ran 6.2 miles.

Yearly totals: Did not record my running totals; Cycled 5,207 miles (80 miles short of my 2010 total).

Re-tyred!

2011-12-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

The first run this week knocked me for 6! Cody and I ran the Handlebar Route and during the run all felt fine. However, not long after the run, I got a taste of the dreaded man flu!

The dreaded man flu was not the usual deadly strain and only knocked me out for a few days. By Friday I was feeling okay and took Queeny out for her second run. Queeny had been re-tyred with her winter rubbers - a Michelin Country Mud rear and a Panaracer Trailraker up front. These tyres get a total thumbs up. I took Queeny across naughty fields up by Astwood Bank which were really wet and muddy. The tyres gripped fantastically and did not slip or slide about at all and provided perfect traction. Made my way to the Breadcrumb Trial. Again, the tyres performed superbly all the way around, good grip even on wet roots and rocks. Went home via the Dovecote and Coughton Ford (including the 2 off-road sections) and Queeny didn't puncture once!

Did not run or cycle any further that week. Something much more amazing and wonderful happened. No, not Xmas! My dear lovely, awesome and beautiful girlfriend agreed to marry me when I popped the question on the 23rd! And Xmas day was pretty awesome too!

Weekly totals: Ran 3.2 miles; Cycled 19 miles.

Bodily exercise profiteth little

2011-12-18T12:58:00.000-08:00

No training took place this week. None at all. No running. No cycling. Something much greater and way more wonderful took place, and I was there to witness it! My dear girlfriend SJ got baptised.

^'For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation.' (1 Tim 4v8-9)

Brief Blog

2011-12-12T02:46:00.000-08:00

Argh, what a busy time last week was. Busy with work, shopping, travelling ... never enough time to cycle. Didn't really have the time to write this blog.

Only cycled once. The route Ron and I chose was the classic Deer Route. With all the Christmas decorations now up we were hoping the electrically lit up deer would make an appearance but sadly not. The Deer Route is so named because of said electric deer. Nice trek on a cold frosty night - my planet x / on one merino jersey kept me well toasty. Only mis-hap was Ron sliding off his bike over the Coughton Ford bridge. (There was talk of calling our group the 'Impassable Ford Cycling Club'.)

Ran twice with Cody and twice with SJ but only ran 3 times in the week. My first Run was with SJ and we ran an extended route of the Studley Triangle, zig-zag style up and down the streets at the one tip of said triangle. This was a good run stretching 5 miles. Cody joined me for my second run where we ran the Handlebar Route. Last run was with both SJ and Cody where we re-ran the Handlebar Route.

Weekly totals: Cycled 16 miles; Ran 11.4 miles.

Welcome Queeny! / End of a season

2011-12-04T02:06:00.000-08:00

This week had an unusual start. SJ, Cody and I went to the beach! We figured we would do our long run on the sand. The day was initially nice - sun, sand, sea and us three! Not long into our run though we encountered much menace. For starters, the sand was wet and muddy in parts and we got wet shoes and paws. SJ's ankle was playing up big time (and had been hurting for a few days). And, Cody was being harassed by a Yorkie Terrier. When SJ intervened, she got bit. Not a great day for SJ! Our long run was cut to a shorter run/jog/walk ramble. Our day was brightened up by a fish and chips lunch (until SJ got deli belly...). When I downloaded the map using Google maps, it showed that I ran through the sea, hmm - interesting?!

My first bike adventure had equal menace too. My ride started off well, was using my new but old bike 'Queeny', so named because she is adorned in the Royal colours of red, white and blue. Queeny was old in that she used to belong to my brother David for a while, who has lived in Australia for the past couple of years. David didn't get Queeny brand new either, he bought her from ebay (or maybe I did on his behalf). Anyways, suffice to say, Queeny is quite old, well vintage really or retro if you prefer! Queeny was new in that she was new to me. In addition to that, I had Queeny kitted out in new disk brakes, cables, headset and transmission too! Anyways, back to the adventure...

Like I was saying, Queeny's debut didn't go too well. Started off fine cycling to Sambourne and then taking that off road trail to the Ridgeway. From the Ridgeway I cycled across the naughty fields until I came out on Coldcomfort Lane. Queeny seemed to be doing OK across these fields, until pssst - puncture menace! Dirty thorn. Puncture was soon fixed and off I went to follow the Breadcrumb Trail. This trail went fine, Queeny performed well and it felt much safer using DMR's instead of SPD's again. The wet trail, roots, dips and all were no real problem. Headed back home via the Dovecote, Kinwarton and Coughton. Just before the Ford, pssst - second puncture menace! This puncture was soon fixed too but was a little peeved that I didn't have any gas with me and the tyres look major unhealthy too - the rims are braking away and look a little perished. Was pleased to make it home with no further mishap, except an extremely dirty face.

Took Scotty round Ron's 1 Hour Loop mid-week. Some of the roads were closed off, but this didn't stop me! The roads that were closed had large pits here and there and heavy machinery doing goodness-knows-what. This ride was great because I saw 2 deer today, the second of which ran out in front of me and then ran alongside me for a short while. Awesome. I had not seen deer for a while (even on the Deer Route) and wondered if the doomed Woods of Doom had anything to do with it. The Woods of Doom, for those that don't know, was a favourite play area of mine for the mountain bike. The usual goons and I had many an adventure there (including the time my crank arm fell off and the time I landed on the barbs, etc). Anyways, the powers that be chopped down a whole forest worth of tree's and hence the Woods of Doom became doomed.

My last training session of the week was with Cody. We ran the Handlebar Route on a cold frosty morning. Glad that SJ fixed the zip on my running top!

The 2011 cycling season has finally finished. The 2012 cycling season started in November 2011 (confusing or what?!). The 2011 season had been great for me and my best season for audax events. I managed to complete 3x100k, 11x200k, 2x300k, 1x400k,1x600k and 1x1200k events. That's a total of 19 rides, scoring 50 AUK points and 27 AAA points (compared to 9 rides the previous year, scoring 7 AUK points and 2.5 AAA points). My proudest achievement was completing the 2011 PBP.

Managed to add 3 awards to my Randonneur series during the 2011 season. These included the Super Randonneur (SR) - Audax UK's traditional award for the top 10% of hardened night-riders where I cycled a series of 200, 300, 400 & 600km events all in one season. The Randonneur Round the Year (RRtY) - In order to qualify for inclusion in the RRtY Roll of Honour, I had to complete a Randonneur (minimum 200km, either calendar event or Permanent) in each of the twelve consecutive calendar months. My 3rd award was the Randonneur 5,000 - Progressing past the SR, the Randonneur 5,000 is awarded to a person riding randonneur events totalling 5,000km in one season.

Also managed to add a further 3 awards to my Brevet series during the 2011 season too. These were the Brevet 1000, 2000, and 3000 respectively. The Brevet awards encourage the rider to keep riding over several years and the Brevet 4000 (for example) was for riders who can show they have ridden 20 x 200km over any length of time.

Weekly totals: Cycled 34 miles; Ran 6.9 miles.

No Limits

2011-11-27T12:02:00.000-08:00

Perhaps I should start setting limits on how far or hard I train?! Really pushed myself at the start of the week by tackling a 10 mile run with SJ! This was the furthest SJ has ran to date. We followed the Lover's Loop and added the 'extra chunk' that I checked out on my bike last week. This mapped route looked like 2 hearts held together by a strand. This was far from a lovely route though - both SJ and I felt some discomfort before reaching the end. The route was hilly in parts too. The following day SJ reported aches and pains, and my right knee was shouting 'know your limits'.

The following night was spent cycling Ron's 1 Hour Loop with no less than Ron himself. We were both on mountain bikes, but it was only I who had slicks. There was a chill in the air and it was very misty round about. As we cycled this route, we saw what looked like a fire in the distance. As we neared this 'fire', we discovered it was in actual fact a gritting truck - the amber flashing lights looking like a fire with the mist screen. Ron said the grit truck driver was actually the Devil himself, just earning a few bob more by gritting the roads over the winter. Tough economic times. I actually felt like one of the Children of Israel once a grit truck had passed and we were following this pillar of fire.

Hooked up with Ron again before the week was out and we cycled the Stroud 5 Valleys 50 Permanent Audax event. The event organiser (Stephen Poulton) had described this event as 'a short ride with plenty of vertical-seeking interest'. This event was only about 50k long, but included 1,174 metres of climbing to award us with 1 AAA point!

We started this event in Stroud on a sunny day. Ron had followed suit and kitted his bike out in Shwalbe City Jet's too (though his were a thinner version than mine). Almost straight away we encountered our first hill which, like all the rest that followed, was pretty tough. The descent into the control at Haresfield was tougher than the climb - it had a 25% gradient and much dirt and debris covered the road. Ron nearly clipped a red postal van at this juncture with his braking and back sliding technique!

From Haresfield to Painswick we encountered a 1:6 climb. We reached the control in good time and considered having a breakfast. The breakfast sadly didn't arrive - the 'cook' was way too leisurely and we made haste.

Our hasty action didn't last too long. Not far from leaving Painswick we hit a 1:7 climb, followed by 2 further big climbs before we reached the control in Bisley. On route I stopped to ask an old lady directions - she screamed and jumped back about a foot before she directed me. Her scream made me jump back. I think we both aged a few years during that engagement! Bisley control was nice - we stopped and ate at The Bear pub. Ron opted for a curry and I had steak. As suggested by Stephen Poulton, I got a stamp from the Post Office to prove my proof of passage. It was a cool stamp, picturing a cyclist with the words 'keep it up'.

We did keep it up and cycled a further 2 ascents until we reached the control at Minchinhampton. Very pretty here but hard to get a receipt as there were few shops and the first shop I found was empty! Had better luck at the second shop.

The ride from Minchinhampton to Nympsfield was a bit of a drag. Not seriously hilly, but ascending all the same. We were facing a headwind here too and everything looked a bit bleak.

Relatively easy from Nympsfield back to the Arrivee at Stroud. It was mostly down-hill and super zoomy it was too - Ron was overtaking motorised traffic at one point! Our final ascent of 77 metres came just in time, as we finished our adventure just as it had started to rain. We cycled a total distance of 34 miles during this permanent. Woo hoo, job done.

Finished the week's training with a jog. Cody, SJ and I scrambled our way around the cross country Handlebar Route. The fields were quite slippy due to a recent downpour and mud stuck to the bottom of our shoes and paws. Wonder how the winter months might affect our training?

Weekly totals: Cycled 53 miles; Ran 13.5 miles.

Duathlon Doo

2011-11-20T01:49:00.000-08:00

Started the week with a nice jog/run around the Studley Triangle with SJ. This was a nice run and we made it easier by running the reverse way around to usual. Our time's are similar which ever way round we run the triangle, but the power required differs greatly.

My mid-week bike ride was interesting this week. I cycled a solo affair and completed Ron's 1 Hour Loop (in about 1 hour and 13 mins) on my mountain bike. What made this ride interesting was the fact that I had fitted Scotty with Slicks (that is slick tyres) - Schwalbe City Jet's to be precise. Schwalbe City Jet are Puncture Protected slick tyres designed for the rigours of riding at speed in an urban environment and general purpose road use. Designed for a mountain bike. Scotty looked pretty slick indeed and was made for an awesome on-road ride!

This week has been duathlon style. Not that I've entered race's or anything, but the fact that I've been exercising in a run-bike-run style. Friday really was my duathlon day. Completed the first leg, a 5k run with Cody. We ran the Handle Bar route. This was a great run, especially because I was kitted out in my new Asics Gel-Trabuco shoes, courtesy of Lin. Thanks Lin, these really are awesome comfy shoes!

The second leg was the bike part. I started by cycling the Lovers Loop that SJ and I ran last week but added an extra chunk to it. This 'chunk' involved adding extra miles by navigating to, around and back from Arrow Vale Lake - the full circuit being a 10 mile loop. Plan to run this 10 mile loop with SJ one time soon. My cycling did not stop there, I also cycled Rons 1 Hour Loop reverse way around.

Completed the final leg by jogging/running a further 5k with SJ. We ran the Studley Triangle. SJ was lit up like a pumpkin - she was wearing the rather splendid Saucony top that I had recently gotten her. Awesome!

Weekly totals: Cycled 44 miles: Ran 9.8 miles.

Breadcrumb trail

2011-11-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

The first ride of this week was fairy tale like. I navigated the usual goons safely past the Woods of Doom and hit an off-road trail that took us to Alcester, through some abandoned roads and to the outskirts of Overley Wood. Ron took over at this point and followed a trail that he and John V previously mapped out. Ron alleged that he dropped breadcrumbs along the route to aid his navigation this time around. What Ron actually dropped were white pebbles which shone in the moonlight and illuminated our path. We rode around the perimeter of these woods following nice trails on the whole but having to deal with the odd dip here and technical piece of track there. A nice 'Breadcrumb trail'. Following the wood trail we felt pulled towards the Dovecote where I found the Orb. The Orb aka 'the poo ball' makes one mighty and causes others to flee away. The strange power of the Orb makes the owner want to attack fellow companions (usually resulting in throwing the Orb at them) and causes much jealousy to those who don't possess the orb. So great is this jealousy that those who don't possess the orb call the possessor 'poo person of the week'. Such a strange phenomenon. On hitting Spernal, a white owl guided us safely home.

SJ accompanied me for our first jog/run of the week . Kitted out with our new running shoes we completed the famous Studley triangle. SJ fared better than me and ran well - for the first time in an age I was running with slight stitch.

Mid-week, Ron and I once again followed the Breadcrumb Trail. It was a little more menace than the last time. This was possibly due to the fact that I was navigating and the pebbles weren't shining so bright (although a full moon was out). It was also a wee bit more wet than when we were out last. A great track all the same.

Completed the Breadcrumb Trail a third time before the week was out. This occasion was a solo affair. Found a few new trails on route but nothing to shout about. I figured the Breadcrumb trail would be easier to navigate in day light, but I still made a few errors. Was again quite wet and I went home covered in mud. Treated Scotty (the bike) to a wash which she hadn't had in a long time.

Made my way over to Worcester later in the week and continued with the Sarah Jane adventures. Our first adventure involved jogging/running a rendition of the 678 route. It was dark when we ran this time so we didn't bother forming a figure of 8, preferring to run a straight loop instead. At the half way point - the newly built bridge in Worcester - we started to feel extra-terrestial. The bridge was lit up like a space ship - all silvery with green lights. The bridge deck looked like a big tongue coming out of the ship and I swear we could feel some magnetic force sapping the energy out of us. True enough, the return route was more demanding than the route out.

Our final adventure of the week saw us complete a lovers loop. We jogged/ran a course, that when mapped out formed the shape of a heart. This was a tough route and started out up-hill following Node Hill to the Slough. From the Slough we by-passed Park Farm Industrial Estate and headed back to Studley. This route was slightly longer than what we ran the day before, but was definitely more hilly and we ran it in exactly the same time - 1 hour and 3 minutes. Really does seem some alien activity was at work.

Weekly totals: Ran 14.7 miles; Cycled 57 miles (and have now cycled over 5,000 miles this year).

Hippy Halloween/No shave November/My Morning Jacket/Bonfire night

2011-11-07T09:40:00.000-08:00

This week started on Halloween. Joining the Phantom and little Goblin, I rode a bone shaker off-road route on my mountain bike. We started out on the Deer Route, but things got a little devilish about half-way. We took our rides through corn like fields and attempted to cross a rotting bridge where a troll pulled one of us off our bikes. Later, a water elemental tried to sink my wheels in front of me with limited success. Am pleased to report we all made it safely back home before we turned into pumpkins!

Like 'good little saints' (aww, bless our socks), SJ and I stuck to our training program and jogged/ran a hard route on All Saints Day. We ran just under 10k in a figure of 8 type style. Our route incorporated much of the Studley triangle and went past Redditch Hospital and included running up St Judes Avenue twice! The mapped route formed the shape of a fat lady!

Mid-week, and I remembered it was no-shave November. Despite the fact I had forgotten this, the front man from My Morning Jacket had not. The My Morning Jacket gig that SJ and I went to see this week was awesome. They blew our socks off! Talking of socks, my socks stayed dry on my mid-week cycle - not sure about Ron's - it was he who fell off this time!

SJ and I managed to squeeze in another run before the week was out. We ran across Studley Fields following no particular route. We ran for about 6.5 miles before calling it quits and walked the rest of the way home.

Friday was bonfire night. SJ and I had gone to celebrate this in London and attended the Royal College of Surgeon's museum. The museum had put on a lecture all about Guy Fawkes. In the museum we saw examples of extreme curvature of the spine (kyphoscoliosis), amongst other things. Kyphoscoliosis is severely disabling and SJ is running in the London 2012 Marathon in support of BackCare to help treat and prevent such disabilities. Sadly my scanner has packed up and I am not able to post a picture here of the spine we saw. Trust me it was shocking, please sponsor SJ by following this link: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=sarahbigrun.

I should have joined SJ for one further run in the week. My paralysis of will let her down. Please help me to lessen her disappointment by sponsoring her big time.

Weekly totals: Cycled 31 miles; Ran 12 miles.

BRRR (Bike, run, run, run)

2011-10-30T00:29:00.000-07:00

After a whole week of neglecting my bikes, I finally managed a ride on my mountain bike. Ron and I started out on the good old Deer Route, but within seconds the heavens opened. Menace weather hasn't been a particular issue for us in the past but Ron was under-prepared this day. Whereas I was kitted out in my old, torn but trusty waterproof jacket and over-shoes, Ron was only wearing his Aldi best and no shoe covers. We decided not to call it 'complete quits' and instead rode a fast 11 miles cutting out a large chunk of the intended route. A shorter route, but at least I had been on my bike and it was fun all the same.

Completed more running this week and was happy with all runs. SJ got to try out her other new pair of shoes - her Asics road shoes, courtesy of Lin. Our first jog/run was, obviously, a road route and we ran the extended Studley Triangle. Still not entirely sure of the distance - SJ and I both had GPS units on our iphones, but they gave different results. According to Jog Log we ran 3.95 miles, but according to Runkeeper we ran 3.59 miles. Have since researched running apps and Runmeter gets the highest rating, so I will download that app and use it for future running efforts. Maybe Santa will get me a forerunner (hint).

SJ and I took Cody Menace with us on our second run. We jogged/ran a lovely cross country route all over and around fields in Studley and Coughton. This was our long run of the week and it measured 8.23 miles (Runmeter) but 8.53 on Jog Log. I am going to stick with the Runmeter results. An awesome run on a very foggy/misty day. We all returned home with wet feet and paws but were well pleased with our efforts. Beautiful colours emerged as the mist and fog moved away, such a fantastic creation. When we mapped out the route, it looked like a jelly fish.

Our final gentle jog/run of the week was in Worcester. This time I got to try out my new shoes - a pair of Brooks Ghosts (I think). SJ created this route and it was lovely. We ran alongside the river for a way, crossing over bridges including the 'new one' before heading back. The mapped route looked like a tulip and was in actual fact a figure of 8 loop. We finally decided to call this route the '678' because it followed the river Severn, for 6 miles, in a figure of 8!

Weekly Totals: Cycled 11 miles; Ran 17.9 miles.

The Major menace (aka mud and sweat but no gears)

2011-10-22T23:32:00.000-07:00

This really was a week of mud and sweat but no gears. Trained relatively hard this week but didn't use my bicycle once. Concentrated all my efforts on running.

Was great to go out for a jog with SJ and Cody at the start of the week. SJ had a lovely new pair of Mizuno kicks to try out (thanks Lin). Lin had also kindly bought me a new pair of Asics kicks too, but they have been returned due to wrong size issues (and will be swapped when correct size comes in). Anyways, this was a great run across the Studley fields, all off-road. We have nic-named this route the 'Handlebar' route because if you were to map the route out it looks like a pair of BMX bars. This route starts at the Studley fields and runs straight down to the river and across it. After the river crossing, the route leads to Studley Castle and returns back to the graveyard. Taking a left at the graveyard, several fields are ran through, a couple bridges crossed over until you follow the river back to the bridge by the Church, then head back to start. A lovely, perfect 5k off-road run.

So great was the Handlebar route that Cody, SJ and I repeated it again the following day. We ran the route this time at a higher intensity and hence quicker speed. SJ is very pleased with her new trainers, she says they have great grip and she loves them.

Cody and I repeated the Handlebar route for a third time in a row. I think this will become a regular route of ours as we train for SJ's marathon. For those that don't know, SJ is running the London 2012 marathon. Please sponsor her here: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=sarahbigrun

All this Handlebar route training was considered good preparation for the event SJ and I completed on Saturday - the Major! The Major is a 10-12k race series, and this is what their website has to say 'The Major is all about character. It's not just a run. It's a major challenge. Smoke. Water. Mud. Obstacles. You mustn't let any of them stand in your way.'

SJ and I met up with 3 of her friends (Karen, Lindsay and Carolyn) at Weston Park in Shropshire, ready to take part in the Major's Midlands challenge. It was initially a cold day, but after a 15 minute warm up, we really were warmed up! Following the warm up, we were off. Over 200 folk competed in this event. SJ, friends and I started off at the back and we treated this event as a challenge and not a race. Within minutes we were wet as we had water crossings to conquer. Then we were muddy as we had to pass through bogs and marshes. Then we were out of puff as we had to run up big hills. Then we were exhausted as obstacles, like fallen tree's and giant hay bales had to be clambered over and under along with muddy netted areas to pass through. The whole challenge followed this patten. One bog was seriously boggy, as soon as it was entered we would drop as far down as our arm pits. A rope was provided to stop us drowning, but even so, SJ and I tasted enough of the stuff. (I found the temptation of pushing SJ a bit further in too difficult to bear). Just before the finish, the last obstacle was like a giant pond. I dived in here and swam across. Then SJ and I ran to the finish, hand in hand and completed the event in 1 hour and 22 minutes. Woo hoo! Karen, Lindsay and Carolyn were right behind and we had great fun completing this event as a team. Though we started out last, by no means did we finish last!

Weekly totals: Ran 15.8 miles.

Run, run, run and don't forget the bike! (Part 2)

2011-10-17T10:45:00.000-07:00

On Friday 14 October 2011, 2 brave adventurers decided to leave the mainland. With just a couple of metal horses laden with swag bags they headed for the coast in search of adventure. Adventure was soon found in a little pub in Broughton - the home of the famous buffalo Broughton burger! However, before even reaching the coast they encountered troubles of the road rage variety. Indeed, some butch road hog wound down his window and slapped a butt cheek!

With minor retaliation, our wearied and some-what wounded adventurers continued on. After slogging some 40 miles or so, they spotted a ship and jumped aboard. This ship took them to the mysterious Isle they were in search of. So tired they were after sailing these storm seas, that they found refuge for the night as stow-aways in a floating boat.

So crazy was the Island. Our adventurers found themselves drinking old port in Newport. They found Cowes that could not be milked. The adventure took them post T. Taylors shop, but it didn't belong to him. And, they found an old town in Newtown. How bizarre?!

The Island experience just got weirder and weirder. Freshwater that couldn't be drank was found. Needles that could not be sewn were stumbled upon. And sew on and sew forth.

I would have loved to report that the adventurers had a great time and inform they made it back to the mainland safe, but they didn't. Oh no, not at all. The poor pair were eaten by a T-Rex that lived happily ever after.

THE END.

The adventurers cycled a total distance of 179 miles during their adventure.

Weekly totals: Ran 6 miles; Cycled 199 miles.

Run, run, run and don't forget the bike! (Part 1)

2011-10-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

This blog entry begins with a big shout out and big-up to Sarah Jane (SJ) because she will be running in the 2012 London Marathon! She will be running in memory of her Mum, who passed away in 2010, after a four year battle with cancer. SJ's mother also suffered with ankylosing spondylitis, which is a chronic, inflammatory, arthritic and autoimmune disease often resulting in severe back pain. At age 25, SJ was diagnosed with fused vertebrae in the middle of her back and has found that exercise helps with her pain relief (not to mention her mood and temper!). For these reasons, she has chosen to support the BackCare charity. BackCare play a key role in involving patients in research and dissemination of research findings to make sure that the research really improves the lives of people with back pain. Please help SJ support the BackCare charity by digging deep into your pockets and sponsoring her. SJ will be training very, very hard for this marathon (especially since I have made myself her personal trainer, coach and manager) and all donations will greatly help with her motivation! Thank you! You can sponsor SJ by visiting this link: www.virginmoneygiving.com/sarahbigrun.

As part of SJ's rigorous training schedule, we have signed up for a few races. The first race is quite extreme and is called 'The Major - Midlands' which is to be held on the 22 October 2011. The website states 'Weston Park, home to The Major's Midlands challenge, is a venue he is excited about showing you. From steep hills to muddy off-road tracks and obstacles, this venue will leave all you from the Midlands wet, muddy and exhausted, but with smiles on your faces! This course will be tough, but the Major assures you that it will be an experience to remember'. Following that, we will be taking part in the Threshold 10k Winter Road Race 3 in Stratford, just after Christmas. Have also spotted a 5 or 10k race in November which we may sign up for if our busy schedules allow.

I ran on a few occasions this week. On my first run, Cody and I ran the off road 'Stinky Route'. We covered 2.8 miles in 30 minutes. Cody had her birthday prior to our second run, she is now 4 years old, bless her! Our second run was really a jog. Cody and I jogged over the fields of Studley covering 3.2 miles in 40 minutes.

Despite the fact that I'm supposed to train SJ, she has kept making me participate in her sit-up and press-up routines, remarking that they too are challenges. She wasn't wrong. Early in the week, SJ performed 100 sit-ups with a big grin, whilst I performed 36 and pulled a muscle in my back. I don't think this blog will be recording any more sit-up and press-up challenges....

On to the cycling side of things... Finally got awarded with my AUK points for the Paris-Brest-Paris (PBP) randonneur I completed in August and scored a whopping 12! No AAA points were awarded for PBP, though the AUK website acknowledged that 11,000 metres of the event were climbs - that's some 2,700 metres of climbing more than the feared Bryan Chapman!

The first cycle of the week was with Ron and Sarah M. We took out mountain bikes over routes that Ron and I cycled last year. However, we added a new found stretch of bridleway not far from the Portway. Was a nice cycle and we covered about 20 miles.

This blog has been published early because the author has gone on an adventure around the Isle of Wight, with his buddy Chris Hodge, and their awesome bikes!

The Poor Student, Gold Rush and other short stories

2011-10-08T04:39:00.000-07:00

Started this week's training with an audax event. This event was The Poor Student 200, a 200k permanent event run under Audax UK regulations. These regulations basically meant that I had to complete this distance, on a bicycle, in under 14 hours. I attempted this ride prior to PBP but had to abandon or 'pack' after my rear wheel collapsed. This event would determine if my American Classics wheel set was a good investment...

Started the event at the Peartree park and ride in Oxford. Only recently have they started to charge for parking. Not to worry, this receipt could be used as my first control proof (the fare was £1.50). This first leg (of 3) to the control at Malmesbury was 80k. The route was mostly flat, quiet and lanesy. Was hard to judge if this was a fast section though, as my bike computer had packed up. I felt I was going quite slow and battled a head wind all the way to control. It rained at times too, but when the rain cleared, blue skies formed. In the distance I had a great view of Uffington white horse. The control was a cafe I had used on a previous audax with Ron (the one where I swear he winked at the waitress and got extra sized cake). I had a breakfast of bacon, scrambled egg, beans and toast and washed said down with a cup of tea.

Leaving Malmesbury was initially a breeze on nice fast roads. After reaching Cirencestor though, the route became distinctly hilly. No major hills, there were no AAA points on these route, but hilly none-the-less. At about the 100k mark, I stopped to take a picture of what I can best describe as arches. Pretty, eh?!

After leaving the arches and all those hills behind, a fast descent took me into Chipping Campden, the next control. Like the a-fore mentioned arches, more arches were found here too. Pretty, huh?! The bike that appears at the top of the blog was found here too. Most unlike myself, I didn't indulge in tea or cake at any tea room. Instead I admired the town and just devoured an apple and banana with a bottle of water before starting the final leg.

Leaving Chipping Campden it started to rain again but the rain was not heavy and it never lasted too long. Autumnal colours were seen everywhere which was very pretty. The route from here was undulating but downhill mostly. Once I had reached Shipton, it was clear that it was no longer summer - the night was drawing in and I had to use my lights. All route was fairly pleased with the route sheet and now it had taken me safely back to the control in Oxford.

Cycled a total distance of 206k during audax, in approximately 10 hours.

A trip to Tintern took place the day after the audax. SJ and I put on our walking boots and took Cody past Tintern Abbey to a sign that read '365 steps'. We followed these steps (I don't think there really was 365 of them) up a steep slippery climb, through woodland, mystical trees and rock faces until we got high into the sky. Once at the top we were rewarded with a great view and it felt like we were in an eagles nest. The weather was awful and we abandoned plans of walking any further.

Midweek, my cousin's wife 'Jas' tempted SJ and myself with Gold. This gold was in the form of gold bond places for the London Marathon 2012. These little nuggets of gold allow folk to run in the marathon providing they make a pledge to donate a certain amount of money to charity. Several charities have a number of these gold nuggets and one has to make an application. SJ and I thought it sounded like a good, golden if you like, idea. In the gold rush SJ tried to stake gold by offering to support a cancer charity - her application got turned down. SJ made another application for the BackCare charity and woo hoo, she struck gold. SJ has a confirmed place to run in the London 2012 marathon! I made a stake at running for the charity formerly known as the RNIB who are at time of this entry considering my application. I won't be running in this marathon though, as fundraising is an issue. I have gone for bronze and will be running in the Bath Beat marathon the week before (which is actually a walking event...). I plan to support SJ, become her coach and help her fund raise for her chosen charity. SJ has to raise about £1,500. As for Jas, I think she struck gold too.

Without further a-do SJ, Cody and I went for a training run. We ran an off road track from near Karen's house (my ex running partner) to Coughton Ford and Back via the Blue-bell woods. This was a good run and we all broke out into a sweat. This run was just under 3.5 miles. I plan to record all SJ's training efforts now and help her prepare for her marathon.

Researched some training plans that I plan to implement for SJ's big run. This research helped me to distinguish between a jog and a run. Basically a jog is where one's heart rate is beating between 60-70% of maximum heart rate (MHR) and a run is where the heart is beating at 70-80% MHR. Therefore, a run is a more intensive workout than a jog. With this new knowledge, I went out for a 30 minute jog with Cody. We jogged over the fields of Studley and covered about 2.5 miles.

A lovely website has been created so that folk can support SJ on her big run and sponsor her efforts. When SJ permits, I will put a link to her website on this blog. SJ is supporting BackCare the charity for healthier backs that helps people manage and prevent back pain by providing information and promoting self help through their website, helpline and publications.

Maybe I should get SJ back on her bike too ...

Weekly totals: Cycled 127 miles; Ran 6 miles.

Cotswold Porker

2011-10-03T08:24:00.000-07:00

Health and fitness is a funny thing. Prior to PBP I tried to reduce my weight (which is ok) but this did not really work despite my efforts. There was also little change in my blood pressure and resting pulse (again, they are ok). I had bloods taken about 1 year ago and my cholesterol level was sky high - it was over 11 mmol/l. A cholesterol level over 5 mmol/l is considered bad news. Further bloods were taken a week ago and I'm pleased to say that my cholesterol level had dropped to 6.4 mmol/l! Cholesterol level could be considered too high, but alongside my triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol results were not considered too bad. My triglyceride level was 1.9 mmol/l (less than 2.3 considered good) and my HDL-cholesterol level was 1.9 mmol/l (more than 1 considered good). So, my question is, does this justify eating a big mac and fries?!

Started my training this week by cycling 'Ron's 1 hour loop' in reverse on my mountain bike. As expected, it took me over an hour. Was good to be out on my bike but I felt a little spooked cycling these dark lanes at night by myself (with only half my Ay-Up light set). My knee's had felt dodgy all week, but strangely enough, after this ride felt fine.

My next venture was with Ron and Sarah M. We trekked a pretty awesome route on our mountain bikes. We started by heading for Burial Lane and continued over the Bridge of Rightness, up Mars Hill, through the Woods of Doom and down Dog Butt lane. We finished our evening by star gazing.

My last cycling adventure of the week saw me complete the 100k Cotswold Corker audax. I have completed this audax before, but not as a permanent. This time round was much harder - this was one of the hottest days England has seen in a while and I forgot just how tough a 1.75 AAA event really is!

The audax started in Bishops Cleeve, which always makes me grin each time I say it. My grin soon became a grimace as I started to climb the first hill. This hill comes at you almost straightaway and is a horror, it has a 25% gradient. This hill has now beat me twice - only managed to climb about a 1/3 of the way up. Grr! Maybe a triple chain set or a mountain bike is the way forward?!

Ride continued in a hilly fashion past the control in Winchcombe and up to Guiting Power. So hot and much sweat. Incredible views along nice roads. Northleach control was situated in a pretty market town and just passed this control I found a nice place name.

Sweet roads continued to take me Daglingworth. I found no suitable control here, so took a picture of my bike against sign instead. Stopped at the Bisley control to eat my first proper meal - bacon and egg sarnie with chips!

Started to hallucinate on route to Andoversford. Was so convinced that I saw a wild pig that I turned my bike around and back tracked a little way. The little pig turned out to be a jack deer. Further on route, I was convinced that I saw another creature and back tracked again. What I thought was a snake actually turned out to be a snake! Horrors!

After Andoversford I was feeling quite whacked. It was real hot and I had just climbed some 288 metres. This climb was now rewarded as I took a super fast descent by Belas Knap and whizzed along. Sadly, at the end of this descent, I was lost. I should have been in Winchcombe, but was about 10 miles away. The finish point was nearer so I headed there instead. I had cycled over 100k and climbed big hills so felt justified that I skipped a control but 'magically' had proof of passage...

Cycled a total of 105.8k during audax.

Weekly totals: Cycled 98 miles.

Yearly total (thus far): Cycled 4,616 miles.

Of frogs and dogs

2011-09-25T00:40:00.000-07:00

Relatively easy week on the training front. Have not pushed myself at all. I think this is because I have no big event ahead of me and, well, I must be getting old as I am feeling more aches and pains.

Cycled at the start of the week with Ron and Sarah M. This was a real wet night and dark too. My Ay-Up lights were put too work but I only took the 1 set out (ie the helmet mounted one) and missed the other set (ie the bar mounted one). We cycled the Reed route, that is the Deer route, but in reverse. We also added a section at the start and went down the Woods of Doom. Whilst on the roads, I felt I was playing 'frogger'. The rain had made all these frogs take on a mass exodus and avoiding them required some skill. Sadly some frogs hadn't learned the 'green cross toad'...

Have added links to Charities on this blog site that you guys have helped me support. To date monies have been raised for Agape in Action, Christadelphian Meal a Day, Help4Happy's, BHF and St Basils. My work buddy 'Kerry', is looking into a charity we can support before the year is out. She is thinking of supporting the RNIB. If anyone has a project in need of support, please send information. Once again, thanks to all those who have supported me (and the aforementioned charities). The picture below was a card from one such person who offered support.

Over the weekend, SJ and I took 'the dog' out. Indeed, we took Cody to Dovedale. We scrambled, walked and trekked for about 6 miles and saw some fantastic views, caves, rock sculptures, wild life, hills, etc. We have re-named the place 'Lovedale', as we climbed stairs up to 'Lovers Leap' and because we were 'loved up'. Additional walks to and around Arbor Low and the Nine Ladies stone circles were accomplished on Saturday too. SJ and I climbed the Cork Stone also and we found this other random rock too. Such adventurers we are! Touche, away!

Weekly totals: Cycled 15 miles.

Back in action! (Cheltenham Old Clee Fyer 205k Perm)

2011-09-18T01:07:00.000-07:00

Am so pleased that monies raised from cycling the PBP have been put to good use already. Is so awesome to know that an area in Kenya has a fresh supply of water because of the likes of you and I. I think the kind words of Brother Justus have had a motivating effect, as this week has seen me train hard and feel back in action.

SJ took me and Cody for a run on Monday. We ran the Stinky route, and boy was it stinky this time! As we ran past the sewage works in Studley we had to hold our noses and remembered quite clearly why we named this route so. I think SJ's BMF (British Military Fitness) training is having a good effect on her - she is certainly running faster. I shadowed SJ for pretty much the duration of the run and my average heart rate was a lot higher than usual.

On Tuesday, I completed a 205k permanent audax, namely the Cheltenham Old (Clee) Flyer. This was my first long distance event since PBP and it proved pretty tough. One should never under-estimate a 200k audax!

I did not follow the suggested route, instead chose Alcester as the start/finish control. This allowed me to not leave a carbon footprint, as I was able to cycle from my home to the start rather than use my car. This was the first time I ever cycled to the start of an audax.

Left from Alcester in good spirits. The weather was initially pretty fine and my start took me up a well known road, the road we call 'that undulating road' to Astwood Bank. A menace hill was tackled almost straight away (I thought this was going to be a flat route). France was in my head space all the way to the first control as the roads I cycled were long, much like that in France. Once I had reached the control in Bewdley it had started to rain a little. I took shelter in a Bakery and consumed a sausage roll. The ladies in the bakery made me smile - the one asked 'so how far are you cycling?' I replied 'about 200k'. She remarked 'so how many days will that be over?'

Leaving Bewdley cemented the fact that this was not a flat ride. Callow hill had to be climbed (Ron and I cycled this hill on our 'Montgomery Madness' audax) and it's a trifle tough. The route followed an up down up patten all the way to the control in Cleobury Mortimer. I chose this control to eat my staple audax diet of beans on toast.

More climbing took place as I made my way to Ludlow. Clee Hill had to be climbed and this is a tough hill. Spectacular views but 379 metres of climbing in a strong headwind! Argh! Stopped at the control and purchased a (fake) can of Red Bull for stimulant purposes.

Much menace from Ludlow. The route sheet said 'At Rbt SO SP Caynham', but Caynham never appeared. I did not follow the correct route through Tenbury Wells and Bromyard but ended up in Leominster instead. Heavy rain at times. I stopped and asked a couple of guys the best way to reach Ledbury and got to Ledbury just fine, with no additional K's cycled. The one guy commented that my saddle looked painful, and from then on, it was! Stopped at the control and ate my lunch, which consisted of a ploughman's sandwich and hula hoops.

The route down to Cheltenham was great. The sun had come back out and the bike was moving fast. Cycled up Coombe Hill, but this hill was not hilly at all. Just a quick stop here to eat some chocolate.

Short but painful ride to Winchcombe. This was real hilly and Cleeve Hill had to be climbed. This was the first time that I climbed Cleeve Hill from this direction and it was much tougher this way around. Nice to stop for a cup of tea at the control.

The leg to the arrivee seemed never ending. It wasn't so difficult but I figured I just wanted to be home now. I refrained from taking a cheeky short cut to Alcester (wise decision, I stayed off the dual carriageway) and again refrained from taking a cheeky shortcut through Ragley Hall (despite voices in my head instructing me otherwise). Reached Alcester and awarded myself with 2 pork pies. Then I made my way home, ate curry, had bath and crashed!

Cycled 222k (138 miles) in total, 205k (127 miles) during audax.

Wednesday was spent resting. The audax event I had completed had really hit me hard for some reason and I felt stiff and painful. Thursday was spent resting too. I had planned to use my rollers but allowed myself to rest as I was still a little stiff, wanted to 'save my legs' for Saturday's climb of Mount Snowdon and because, well, zombies had eaten my bicycle!

Friday was supposed to be an early night, as SJ and I had planned to climb Mount Snowdon the following morning. According to the weather reports it was going to be heavy showers and major winds all over the U.K. With that in mind, we scrapped ideas of going to Snowdon.

Saturday came around and SJ and I still wanted adventure. SJ took Cody and I to Worcester Country park for breakfast. Following this delicious feed we walked both the 'Woodland' and 'Meadows' walk. These walks were both about 1/2 mile long. The first walk certainly proved thrilling, I had to save SJ and Cody from a killer snake...

And I also found out that Cody, my supposed Border Terrier, was actually a fox!

After our adventure in Worcester, we continued to the Malverns for further challenge. Starting at the British Camp, we walked up the hills to the giants cave and continued to the obelisk. There was little rain (grr, should have gone to Snowdon) and it proved to be a great day. Today was also the 9 month anniversary of SJ and I. From the obelisk we walked on through the deer park and dodged arrows from a great number of archers there. Eastnor castle could be seen in the distance as we continued to head for another wood and walked our way back to the start. I think we walked about 3.5 miles in all, but it felt much further and my poor hoof developed a blister. We rewarded our efforts with some fresh pure Malvern water from a nearby spring (not to mention the rock cakes and tea).

Weekly totals: Cycled 138 miles; Ran 2.3 miles.

Water, water everywhere!

2011-09-12T08:36:00.000-07:00

Thank you, thank you and thanks again to all those who sponsored the 'Tim's Well' project on behalf of Agape in Action. I am so, so pleased to share the fact that the sponsor monies raised are being used right now and providing water! Copied here is correspondence that I received via email ''Many loving greetings in the hope that we share. This is just to thank Brother Taylor for his inner most love to the water project. He really did something that I do appreciate, I lack the words to thank him so much. Let God bless him and his family. The school will enjoy good quality water after tested and the building works will go on without hardship of water. Maybe if we have finished putting up stand, a tank and immersive bump, we may call it Taylor’s water project by writing something on it. Please pass lots Thanks and Love to him and to all who were involved in making this project success. REGARDS JUSTUS MABUKA''. So, as Mr Mabuka says, thanks and love to you all!

Monies are still coming in for the ''Tim's Well'' project. Thus far, £2,930 has been raised. For those wanting to know more about this project and for those wishing to donate to this cause, please visit this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Despite this past week being awesome on the project front, the cycling has been poor. I did not complete my planned permanent event. My sister Jane (yup, I blame her) told me that I should rest my body. I did take Scotty, my mountain bike out for 1 trek in the week and cycled in, around and through Webheath Woods. The rollers got used once in the week too - no intensive workout, but used all the same. Maybe, I will complete a permanent event this week?!

Weekly totals: Cycled 38 miles

Post PBP blues

2011-09-04T13:10:00.000-07:00

A strange feeling I have now that the 2011 PBP has finished. Well, it's only sort of finished really - I have to wait a while for the results to be validated and the DVD and medal (with my time engraved on the back) to be sent out. Most nights I have continued to dream about the PBP. Have been reading other folk's blogs too - they informed that I cycled 767 miles, climbed 40,100 feet, conquered a 20.7% maximum gradient and informed I was 1 of 65 different nationalities taking part.

'So what next?', 'How do you feel now?', 'What would you do differently, if you were to cycle PBP again?', 'Are you going to cycle the PBP again?' are common questions that folk have asked me. I will answer them here.

I will most probably not cycle the PBP again (sorry Ron). I figured, you only have to complete this event once to get your medal. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed training and qualifying for the PBP 2011 but the actual experience itself despite being awesome, was painful and demanding. At time of writing this entry, it is 10 days post PBP and I still have a pins and needles type feeling in some of my fingers and my butt is still painful. My poor backside blistered. It is easy to say what I would do differently if I were to cycle the PBP again - invest in a better saddle and acquire carbon bars (or at least apply double bar tape and/or get better quality padded gloves). In addition to that, I would arm myself with more batteries for lighting and probably sleep more.

'So what next?'. Well, I have a few ideas pencilled in. SJ wants to enter a gruelling off road run event, military style in October. This sounds like fun and I think I'll join her. Chris Orange likes the idea of a cycle trip to and around the Isle of Wight. This sounds like fun and I think I'll join him. The LEL (London - Edingburgh - London) 1400k ultra long distance cycling event is being held in 2013. This sounds like hell, maybe I'll have a crack (and possibly aim to complete an SR series in 2012 and a double SR series in 2013 as part of my training). Have been off my bike too long now, maybe next week I will complete a 200k perm.

Before the week was finished, SJ and I took our bikes out. We cycled the Deer Route. It felt nice for my legs to pedal again and my bum wasn't too sore either!

Weekly totals: Cycled 15 miles.

PBP 2011!

2011-08-28T00:31:00.000-07:00

Hi to all and thanks for reading my blog. Below is a summary of my adventure following my completion of the PBP this year. With severe mental strain, near physical exhaustion and general wonky head space, I will do my best to recount my story below. Errors and omissions excepted.

My start time for the PBP was supposed to be 6 pm on the Sunday night. SJ and I found our way to the start with plenty of time to spare. First off, SJ and I ate a very heavily loaded carbohydrate type meal in a room full of cyclists. Following our meal, we went into town and got some money. SJ's support vehicle had my gear inside, so we walked to her car and I got changed (and applied chamois cream to my butt). The walk to the start line was pretty crazy - there were 1000's of cyclists and bikes and some had started their adventure already. A foreign cyclist informed us that I would not likely start at 6pm unless I started to queue pretty soon. With this in mind, I left SJ at around 5pm and joined a huge que. This que was packed tight with cyclists of all different nationalities, all pushing and prodding in an attempt to get a bike space ahead. This was hot and frustrating - it was already about 40 C. I queued for ages before I actually started. Just before my start some fire works were set off and much clapping was happening. Then, at 7pm I was off! I had started the PBP! A few metres into the ride I spotted SJ, Chris and Ben (at a pre-arranged spot). Although just started, I had to stop to give SJ a big kiss, Chris a hug and Ben a high 5! Chris said he felt for me, Ben said he believed in me (and also commented I was at the back) and SJ told me she loved me ...

Whoa, what a start! I felt like royalty or something. The streets were full of folk all clapping and shouting 'Bravo, Bon Voyage, Allez' and other such things. Sweet. It was real hot, a perfect day. I had to cycle 140k from St Quentin en yvelines to the first control at Mortagne au Perche and 221k to the first official control at Villaines la Juhel. The first 100k was relatively flat but quite undulating after that. The first control was just a 'food' control and my brevet card (more like a booklet) was first stamped at the second control. I remember lots of folk handing out free water, clapping and shouting praises all the way to these controls. In fact, folk throughout the whole PBP route would hand out free water and food (including tomato's). I stopped to get some free water and whack, a cyclist rode into the back of me and threw me off my bike. I shredded my shoe covers and cut my knee open but was otherwise ok. I saw another guy who was not so ok, for whatever reason he was being sick big time - projectile vomit, the works! I witnessed a crash at some point to. It got dark before too long and I remember a long, long trail of red lights. I felt I spent far too long at the first control - I qued for a while but didn't get served so just shrugged my shoulders and left control without a feed. I ate loads of food on route and had gels, biscuits, malt loaf and a blood potion from Chris which was downed between controls. The Fougeres control was awesome - it was here that I met SJ. SJ was wearing a bright pink rain coat, a gorgeous big smile and carrying my track pump and bags of food. SJ and I made use of the control here and I ate well. I pointed out the guy who knocked me off my bike to SJ. SJ supported me in a fantastic style and brought me clean shorts, socks, gloves and socks. SJ did such an awesome job and had been awake since 3 am to drive 4.5 hours to meet me for just 20 minutes! Bless her! Not to mention her sweet words of encouragement... SJ made a computer entry later which said 'SAW TIM AND HE IS DOING GOOD ... 300K IN 13 HOURS'.

When I left the control at Fougeres and made my way to the next control at Tinteniac, I was amazed to see some cyclists had already decided to take a sleep. These cyclists were camped out on the side of the road, or on benches, or in bus shelters and all having a nap. I gave SJ a call when I had cycled 500k and she made a computer entry 'TIM HAS CYCLED 500K NOW ... GOING TILL IT'S DARK, THEN HAVING A SLEEP'. I didn't really have a 'game plan' or know when best to sleep. I cycled some way with the guy who knocked me off my bike earlier (will refer to him know as 'Gloop' as SJ said he looked like Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the chocolate factory), only I didn't recognise him as he had changed his top. Whilst chatting, I informed Gloop I had crashed earlier and it was only then I realised that he was the culprit! Haha. Gloop turned out to be a real nice guy and suggested that I take advantage of any day light and cycle as far as I can, suggesting that maybe I cycle all the way to Brest. I took Gloop's advice and cycled in all available day light. When I reached the Carhaix-Plouguer control, it started to rain. SJ's hotel meanwhile had a power cut due to weather (including fork lightning). Indeed SJ's computer entry stated HEAVY RAIN AND THUNDER' at the 525k mark. The final few K's into Brest were hard work, the route just didn't seem to end and I didn't see any pretty coastal scenes (being pitch black didn't help). A pretty bridge or too were passed and I was now seeing cyclists passing me on their return to Paris. At last, I had reached Brest. SJ's computer entry read 'TIM GOT TO BREST AT 2.15 THIS MORNING [MONDAY], HALF WAY 612K'.

The Brest control was probably the biggest of all controls. Navigating around controls was never easy, and this one was particularly difficult. The fact I hadn't slept for hours (?days) can not have helped. Anyways, at this and each control one has to find their way to the actual control point to have brevet card stamped and signed. If you wanted the toilet then that required a walk to a different point. All entry points were not exit points, confusing or what?! Many of the controls had showers and beds too, all at a cost. I hadn't showered as yet and was still concerned about time. However, sleep was something I was desperate for now. With my limited french, I managed to get an official to lead me to a big gym which was full of camping beds to get a few hours sleep. I paid 3.50 euro's for this privilege and had to point on a clock to demonstrate what time I wanted to get up (and hence how long I wanted to sleep). It was about 3 a.m now and I wanted 4 hours sleep so I pointed at 7 a.m and was led to my bed. Amongst the 100's of snorers I promptly fell asleep. Sweet dreams I did not have, I was awoken about an hour later by a girl who had mistakenly thought I wanted to get up now. I shouted 4 hours and went back to sleep. About an hour later another guy came and woke me up, grr, again I said I wanted more sleep and promptly dropped off again only to be awoken again about 10 minutes later. This time I was awoken by a french brute who pulled my ear to get me up and was shouting at me in French. The voices in my head were not pleasant about this chap! Not wanting to fight, I made my way back to my bike and thought about the return journey.

The start of the return journey was horrible. It was dark, cold, wet and visibility was extremely poor. Indeed, I was cycling in pea soup. So severe was this fog that I couldn't see left or right and only a few yards ahead. This was without doubt the hardest section and to make things worse this was the hilliest stage too. Audax AAA points should be awarded for this event, it was already the most difficult event I had ever entered (yup, even harder than the Bryan Chapman). Lows and highs were experienced throughout the event and this was probably my lowest point. How I made it to the next control at Carhaix-Plougher I do not know. The ride continued in a very hilly style but I knew that the worst was completed and felt pleased to reach the control at Saint Nicholas du Pelem, the 736k mark. This control was not an official control (ie no stamp on brevet card) but offered sleep, food and showers. I decided to eat first and bumped into Gloop again. Gloop did not cycle all the way to Brest, instead he stopped at Carhaix-Plougher for a sleep (despite the advice he gave me earlier). I had a sleep here, just for an hour or so (maybe less) and then showered. The shower was cold but it felt great to wipe the sweat and salt off my body and feel fresh once again. Highs and lows...

Must have been cycling pretty well up until the control at Loudeac, as SJ's computer entry read '[AT] 782K SPOKE TO TIM, FEELING O.K'. This o.k feeling didn't last too long. I punctured! Grr, I had punctured in the dark and it was wet too. It felt like an age to change my inner tube and how I wished I had taken a head torch. My Michelin Pro Race 3 tyres were excellent and came on and off the rims real easily (but were not so awesome because they did not prevent punctures). My new wheel set was awesome and handled hitting cobbled roads at the bottom of hills at speed. I checked the tyre for thorns and/or cuts but found none. With tyre fixed I continued on my journey. I cycled about 1 mile and psst, the tube had punctured for a second time. This second puncture took even longer to sort out. I found a thorn in the tyre, which was easily removed. What took me a while to find was the wheel skewer, I had loosened it too much and it had fallen in long grass. After an age, all was fixed and off I went again. The voices in my head were singing songs to keep me happy and motivated 'only 54k till I see SJ'.

The next awesome thing I saw was SJ, hooray! I met SJ for the second time now at the Fougeres control. How happy I was to see her! SJ walked with me to get my card stamped. My bike was parked in an official parking spot, which I left behind as I headed away from the control. Indeed, for a whole hour (there about) I had left this PBP experience behind and let SJ drive me to a hotel for a quick sleep and a shower. SJ had washed my shorts and had gotten me loads of food for good measure. Before long however, we had to say our goodbyes and SJ took me back to my bike. Only about 300k left to go now. SJ's computer entry stated 'JUST SAW TIM, HE IS UNSURE WHAT DAY IT IS AND I HAD TO CONFIRM WHAT TOWN WE WERE IN. HE IS OK'.

The next control I reached was Villaines la Juhel at the 1009k point. I was hoping to meet SJ here, but can you believe it - I beat her here! Hahah. Again was feeling pretty whacked by now. SJ's computer entry read 'SAW TIM EARLY HOURS THIS A.M, HE HAS DONE 1009K ... REALLY TIRED'. At some point during the route I saw young kids on BMX bikes race (and usually win) randonneurs climbing to the top of a hill.

Cycling to the next control was fun. I had hooked up with a guy called Simon (from Chippenham) and we chatted for miles before he zoomed off and left me. Talking for so long helped me to forget about my aches and pains. The voices were singing my SJ songs again and before too long, I was with SJ at the Mortagne au Perche control. It was bright and sunny now, really hot in fact. We had a really tasty sausage sarnie here, mmm, delicious! SJ made me a bed on some grass in the shade under a tree. My bed was her sleeping bag and my bike blanket - how improvisational was that?! SJ had become my manager and was instructing me to sleep and informing me that I had plenty of time. She predicted I would finish this same night (turned out she was right). I fell asleep, but not for long. When I awoke, there were sleeping bodies all around me, hahah, where did they come from? Before I left this control, an English chap came up to me and said 'you must be English wearing a Heinz Baked Beans top'. I informed him he was correct and he requested to take a picture of SJ and I. He was taking photo's of English randonneurs for his website. Go UK go! During the whole event, I think I must have seen at least 4 folk that I had previously ridden audax events with back in the UK. Left SJ here saying 'I'll see you in Dreux'. SJ informed folk back home that at this 1090k mark that 'TIM HAD A 30 MIN NAP ... HE DIDN'T WANT ANYMORE. VERY SORE AND TIRED'.

The next control point was in Dreux. This was very hard going as I was so very tired and sore. With about 40k to go to the control, I pulled over and tried to take a cat nap on the side of the road. I had seen 100's of cyclists do this earlier in the event and no one battered an eye lid. In fact, I had taken one such cat nap earlier and felt much better for so doing. This time however, a car pulled over and checked to see if I was ok. I took this as a sign to continue. (My previous cat nap was taken because I actually cycled off the road and onto the grass verge and felt a sleep was a necessity). I continued and before long I found a garage. This garage provided me with a can of red bull, a much needed stimulant (plus food). Throughout the event I had taken Pro Plus capsules with good results. I must have taken a total of 10 such capsules and asked SJ to get me some more. SJ couldn't find Pro Plus but found me guarana tablets - a natural caffeine high. These guarana tablets were rubbish. SJ also provided me with Ibuprofen which worked very well and Arnica cream which my butt loved. The red bull helped pick me up and I cycled in beautiful weather all the way to Dreux where SJ was waiting. SJ was hard to spot. The reason why SJ was so hard to spot was the fact that I had gotten 3 bugs stuck in my eyes, 1 in the right and 2 in the left. I purchased an awesome pair of glasses at the start of the event but sadly lost them somewhere, probably left in a restaurant at a control. Talking of eyes, I experienced hallucinations throughout the event. These were more like illusions to be fair. I saw a dinosaur silhouette in the tree's and many posts and such like looked very much like fellow cyclists until I neared them. At this control, the last before the finish, SJ suggested I sleep. SJ made up a bed (just like before) on the car park floor and tucked me in. I tried to sleep but despite my body being willing, my head was not. SJ allowed me to rest and cooked me up a pot noodle thing. SJ informed that I was quite out of it and nearly fell over when I tried to get off my bike. With just 65k left to go, I decided to leave as soon as I finished my meal, wanting to take advantage of the remaining light.

My maths is often terrible and I thought I had less time than I had remaining to reach the finish. I knew I would make it before the cut off point, but the voices in my head were instructing me to finish within an 80 hour limit and told me (wrongfully) that I had to finish by midnight. With these voices as fuel, I sped off on this last section and was pleased the wind was behind me and the hills had mostly disappeared. Things were going great until about 30k to go, when my headlight showed that it was about to die (a red light appears when the battery is about to die). I had no batteries left (had taken 4 with me and purchased another 4 during event) and my awesome Ay-Up back up light (a better light) was missing. The Ay-Up was removed way back after my puncture menace, as when I turned the bike upside down, the handlebar mounting band had broken. Menace! Nowhere was available to get new batteries, the day light had faded and I was not going to cycle without lights in the dark. I used an old trick and waited for cyclists behind to catch up and over take, then I followed them closely, using their light source. This slowed me down a lot, but I guess it helped me concentrate and I knew I would find the finish without having to navigate myself. The whole course was sign posted with arrows with either Paris or Brest written alongside them. I also had a back up route card. I was informed that folk like to pinch the signs as memento's so it was worth slowing my pace and following this group. Before too long, I was back in Saint Quentin - I knew this because I saw the train station where Chris, Ben, SJ and myself took a trip to see the Eiffel Tower. Just after this point, SJ phoned and said she was at the end, I said 'I'll be there in 3 minutes honey' and I think I was. As I passed a sigh for 'Guyancourt', I sped off along a roadside that was littered with clapping, cheering folk - the clapping and praises getting louder and louder as I reached Gymnase des Droits de l'Homme, the finish. And then, I stopped! I spotted SJ, and just like at the start, I got off my bike and gave her a big kiss. I remounted my bike and cycled just a few paces to the finish. SJ helped me park my bike and followed me to the control where I had my brevet card signed and stamped for the last time. Woo hoo, I did it, job done! Big claps, kisses, hugs, praises, a pat on the back and a free drink! SJ's face book entry read 'TIM CYCLED 1230K IN 77 HOURS [AND 14 MINUTES] ... HE CAN'T MOVE RIGHT NOW'.

It really felt great to complete this PBP challenge and I am so pleased with my time of 77 hours and 14 minutes. It has been great to share my experience with you good good people. Without the support of so many dear friends and family this could have been a real painful miserable experience. Thanks so much to everybody for their support and thanks a bunch to those that have sponsored me. At time of writing, we have managed to raise over $3,000 (Canadian) for the Agape in Action charity, and more specifically the 'Tim's Well' project. For information on this charity, project or sponsor details please visit this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html. Further monies are coming in and I thank you all so much. Before concluding this blog, I would like to make a few shout-outs. My biggest shout out goes to SJ for being so awesome, a loving thoughtful and caring support, a manager and the best girlfriend a guy could hope for. SJ you really rock! Big shouts to Chris and Ben too for coming to France and supporting me in ways that best friends do, you guys are awesome and your flapjacks are hard to beat. Thanks to Ron, Sarah M, John Vincent et al for training rides, borrowed bikes, maintenance, repairs and adventure. Cheers to my family. Thanks to all who have sponsored, supported, texted, messaged, mailed, sent cards or fed me. Strokes to Cody menace.

To finish, I will leave you some statistics. 4,998 cyclists started the event but only 3,980 finished within their time limits. 1,018 cyclists abandoned or 'packed' and 270 finished outside their time limit. Sadly, 1 cyclist died. Below is a chart demonstrating my progress between controls.

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Contrôle	Heure	Cumul		Intermédiaire
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	21-08 18:51	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	22-08 04:26	9h34	23.1 km/h	9h34	23.1 km/h
FOUGERES	22-08 08:23	13h31	22.9 km/h	3h56	22.6 km/h
TINTENIAC	-	0h00	0 km/h	0h00	0.1 km/h
LOUDEAC	22-08 16:09	21h17	21.1 km/h	0h00	6553.5 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	22-08 20:54	26h03	20.2 km/h	4h45	16 km/h
BREST	23-08 02:15	31h23	19.7 km/h	5h20	17.4 km/h
CARHAIX-PLOUGUER	23-08 11:10	40h18	17.4 km/h	8h55	9.5 km/h
LOUDEAC	23-08 16:41	45h50	17.1 km/h	5h31	14.3 km/h
TINTENIAC	23-08 21:31	50h39	17.1 km/h	4h49	17.6 km/h
FOUGERES	24-08 01:32	54h40	16.8 km/h	4h00	13.5 km/h
VILLAINES-LA-JUHEL	24-08 09:20	62h28	16.2 km/h	7h48	11.3 km/h
MORTAGNE-AU-PERCHE	24-08 14:25	67h33	16.1 km/h	5h05	15.9 km/h
DREUX	24-08 19:52	73h00	16 km/h	5h27	13.8 km/h
SAINT-QUENTIN-EN-YVELINES	25-08 00:06	77h14	15.9 km/h	4h13	15.4 km/h
Kilomètres parcourus: 1230

Pre PBP

2011-08-21T03:27:00.000-07:00

It is Sunday August 21st and only a few hours before the PBP begins. Tim has asked me (SJ) to type this entry, as he is still in bed and has a lot to sort out. Argh,,,

Monday was the last training day that Tim undertook. He met up with Ron and Sarah M and did a mountain bike trek to WebheathWoods and back, via Morton Stanley Park and Arrow Vale. They were like 3 town rats. Tim just hopes this training was enough and says he could not find time for any more.

Tuesday and Wednesday was mostly spent working and worrying. Tim worried about his challenge and I worried with the thought of driving through Paris. Much to worry about.

Thursday was the day our trip began. We did not reach Paris, but we fully loaded my car with all our stuff (clothes, bike bits, bike, malt loaf, etc) and reached London. We stayed in London over night and headed for the ferry at 5.30 am. the following morning.

Travelling down the motorway on Friday was interesting - we saw a giant T-Rex and hid buddy whizzing up the other side of the carriage way! Luckily he didn't smell the malt loaf and try to eat us. We made it to the ferry just in time. At the ferry we had much to worry about, I had to fix headlamps, attach GB sticker, etc and hope that my Sat Nav would work ok in France. The ferry took us from Dover to Calias with no major issues.

Touched French soil and I had the nervous excitement of driving on the wrong side of the road for 220 miles till we reached our hotel just outside Paris. We then met up with Chris Orange and his son Ben for something to eat. Sadly there were no frogs legs on the menu for Ben.

(Still in bed, Tim writes the last few lines)...

A big big thanks to SJ for being my no.1 support and bringing me here to France. SJ has really been a star and has had to suffer about 6 months of constant 'bike abuse' where I have spoken about little else and spent much time pedaling. She has been awesome in helping me prepare and supporting me in thick and thin. Big shout out to Chris Orange too (and his son Ben) for travelling to France and offering me extended support. Chris also trained some events with me. Big thanks to all my training buddies, family and friends and thanks to you reading this. An extra big big thanks to all those who have sponsored me too.

Ok, back to France. On saturday, SJ, Chris, Ben and I did the proper tourist thing and went to look at the Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triumph and stand on the Chands Alysees. This was a nice relaxing morning out. The evening was a wee bit more stressful - SJ and I took my bike to get checked. Mostly French speaking folk twiddled with bits on my bike whilst SJ and I had to suffer the hot sun (about 30 C). The bike guys needed proof that my front wheel rotated, that I had lights that had a onstant mode and proof I had a reflective vest. I didn't have a vest, but had a ticket for same. Following bike check we had to collect vest, jersey and bandana from various stalls. Time counsuming and hot. SJ had to visit the 'support' stall too and get stickers for her car. The guy giggled at SJ and said 'good luck' which we both found quite disturbing. Whoa, had finally got my brevet card, a medal for my SR series, a timing chip and my frame number, which is 5631! We visited a stall and purchased some glasses, a cap and some shoe covers too. After this task, we hooked back up with Chris and Ben and had a pizza/pasta meal. Chris gave me some flapjacks (sorry Ben) and a few gels, wished me well and we all went to sleep not long after.

Morning came. Argh, the day of PBP. SJ started to type, I took over and now must go, less than 6 hours to get up, shower, prepare, load, eat and then, who knows .....

Weekly totals: Cycled 18 miles

Trompe Le Monde!

2011-08-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hi all, this is a hasty post as I should be packed up now and heading to paris for the PBP! Eeek! Horrors! Just before my Bon Voyage, I wanted to let you all know that you can follow my progress live by clicking onto this link: http://www.paris-brest-paris.org/pbp2011/index2.php?lang=en&cat=accueil&page=edito and typing in my frame number which is 5631.

Remember, I'm cycling this 1200k PBP challenge to raise monies for the Agape in Action charity. You can find more information and/or sponsor me by following this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html Thankyou!

Ok, cars to load, ferry to catch etc... I'm off! Hope to post something when in France.

Sniffles

2011-08-14T09:12:00.000-07:00

Can tell that PBP has gotten nearer as many more folk have sponsored me! Big big thanks to all those who have sponsored and to those who have and are continuing to support me. For those yet to sponsor me and for those who have no idea what 'Tim's Well' is all about, please visit this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html Some folk who have sponsored already have stated that they will donate the same amount again if I complete said challenge. Should I be concerned and hold a belief that these individuals have a lack of faith which I find disturbing?! Or, should I be thank full and hold the belief that these individuals are giving me motivation and a push to get to Brest and back in 90 hours?! ;)

As many are aware, and as could be expected, my head space is filled with bike stuff. PBP related stuff is probably top of the list and deciding what to take to Paris (and what to leave behind) is a chore. Have recently fitted my bike with new stuff - new wheels, new tyres and nearly a new saddle too. Have gotten the bike checked over with help of Cult Cycles and my mate Ron, and am hoping all is good for Paris. Cult cycles had to straighten my wheels as both were buckled - these wheels had only been out on 1 ride! My bottom bracket needed some work too. The saddle was an issue. I purchased a very nice Brooks titanium swallow but sent it back a few days later. The saddle was perfect but my seat post appeared to be stuck to the frame. Indeed, the carbon seat post had seized tight into the carbon frame. Many attempts were made to remove said post but to no avail. A telephone call to Dan ('the bicycle man') indicated just how severe the problem was - he advised I take a hack-saw to my post! Decided to keep my post in one piece and return saddle. The saddle I have is ok and will have to suffice for PBP. On the up-side, I have a seat that will not drop out of position and I have saved myself over £100 in returning saddle. I guess the future holds a new bike, rather than a new saddle?!

Deciding on whether to tackle coast to coast on mountain bikes or a trip on road bikes to and around the Isle of Wight (and back) with Chris Orange, post PBP is another head stretch. I think I will (hopefully) complete PBP, then beg Chris to make the final decision. Both sound like awesome options.

Chasing awards and points with AUK has also proved quite menace. So far this season, I have 30 AUK points (with a further 4 pending). I require 50 AUK points to get the randonneur 5,000 award, which is worth chasing as 50 AUK points in one season is a hard thing to achieve. The pending points awaiting to be awarded are for the Two Battles Perm and the Montgomery Madness Perm. I recently received an email from one organiser (Geoff Cleaver) who said 'John Ward has indicated that the photo's will do as proof of passage but was not impressed with losing the receipts'. That pretty much confirms the points for the Two Battles Perm. Another email from organiser Philip Whiteman indicated that points will be awarded for his perm, especially as Ron had 'found' all missing receipts as proof of purchase. This brings me back to the PBP, I didn't know whether they awarded AUK points for this event. I know now that they do, as I asked same question on a forum and Keith (AUK validater) replied 'Yes, your points will be credited some time before the end of the season'. Sweet! To top that, the PBP dossier says the route is hilly, I don't know whether any AAA points are awarded. Time will tell!

Training this week didn't start with a cycle. SJ and I decided to face each other on a battle court, I mean badminton court, instead. We both played well and the final score was 3:3. Funny that SJ still treated this score as a victory. Am surprised she didn't perform some sort of victory dance.

First cycle of the week was with Ron and Sarah M. We took our bikes from Studley to Coughton then skirted around and past Shelfield. Tony Green was met on this section of our ride but could not be convinced to travel much further with us. We took an off road path which passed through Little Alne, Aston Cantlow, Billesley and Redhill before meeting the busy main road at Stag Hill. This off road section was great - I have many cuts and scratches to prove it! We were only back on the road for a few minutes before turning off again and cycling off road to Haselor. From Haselor we made our way to Coughton Ford and then back home again.

My indoor rollers training session has continued to improve. I did not cycle at a high intensity, but like the past few weeks I made sure I increased my average speed - this week cycling at an average of 27.9 mph. Perhaps higher intensity training is the way forward, I don't know. What I do know is, is that higher intensity training is probably better suited to a turbo trainer than rollers.

I planned to complete The Poor Student Perm in the week but this did not happen. I felt a little run down towards the end of the week and didn't want to take any chances with it being so close to PBP. It rained on the day I had in mind too, so perhaps I made the best decision.

My final training session was with SJ. We cycled to Sambourne and up the off road track to the top of Astwood Bank. From this high point we took a descent off road and followed it to the end by Cold Comfort Lane. SJ did some acrobats here and jumped off her bike 3 times! We saw fantastic Mr Fox in the lane which was nice. Our journey continued into Alcester, through Dovecote, past Haselor and Great Alne and took another speedy down hill track to Coughton Ford. (The 3rd ford I kept looking for was perhaps this one at Dovecote?). From Coughton we cycled home, passing birds of prey and many deer on route. Nice.

Weekly totals: Cycled 56 miles.

Montgomery Madness (208k audax) [perm]

2011-08-06T13:49:00.000-07:00

Only _ days to go now till the PBP! That means that there ain't too many days left for you good good people to sponsor my efforts and help build 'Tim's Well', which will provide clean drinking water for 280 students at a school being built in Kenya, plus 40 teenagers residing in 'Kimbilio' (a nearby Agape in Action shelter) and for the entire surrounding community. Please read about my project and/or sponsor me by clicking on this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Not many days left for good training for the PBP either. Oh well. This weeks training went real well. My first training session was with Ron and Sarah M. We took our bikes in a loop starting and finishing in Studley. The majority of this route was off road and we passed through Oldberrow, Shelfield, Little and Great Alne, Aston Cantlow, Coughton and Sambourne. The high-light of this adventure was passing through 2 fords. There are 3 fords in the area but I can't remember where the third one is (any ideas?). The first ford we passed through was somewhere between Aston Cantlow and Great Alne. This was the best ford and a sign saying 'impassable at all times' was there to provide adventurers like us a challenge! The sign held true for Sarah M, she fell from her bike and had a good wash! Ron made it across on first attempt, As for me, well, I kept putting my foot down until about my 3rd or 4th attempt where I made it across in one go! Woo hoo! The second ford in Coughton was no bother. The third awaits!

My second adventure was an epic. This adventure was shared with Ron and completed using our road bikes. This particular adventure was The Montgomery Madness 208k Permanent Audax. The Beacon Roads Cycling Club has this to say about said event - 'Montgomery 'Madness' is an appropriate title for this route. Aside from the obvious destination being the historic town of Montgomery in Mid-Wales, the 'Madness' refers to the challenging nature of this route. It is unrelentingly hilly with some serious climbs and deserves its 3.5 Audax Altitude Award Points. This route is not to be underestimated but there is benefit for all that hard work, unrelentingly picturesque views of stunning and varied countryside along with passage through some attractive Georgian market towns. Pick a day with good weather and this will be a ride to remember!'

We picked a good day with great weather (maybe the hottest day this year?!) and this ride will not be forgotten in a hurry. We started the event at about 8.30 a.m in Bewdley. The ride felt weird from the start, maybe because I was using both a new wheel set and new tyres. My bike felt like it was rolling over deep carpet but after a while I had gotten used to it. This really was a hilly event - it was hilly from the start and no flat road was encountered at all on passage to the first control in Bromyard. The control was awesome. Being so hot, we were able to sit outside and devour a full English breakfast with a mug of tea! The picture below represents the hilly nature of our adventure.

From Bromyard to Ludlow was what I liked to call 'the calm before the storm'. The ride started off hilly, but downhill, which was great. However, before the control was reached the hills started going up again. We sat outside a very pretty castle and ate ice cream once the control was reached.

Ludlow to Knighton was hilly indeed. Down then up was the pattern throughout. No sign welcoming us to Wales was passed but judging by folks accents and Welsh sign posting I figured we had gotten there. Chips with pie was our dinner here. I don't think I've had chips on any audax before. Hmmm.

Shropshire hills were battled from Knighton and once said hills were conquered a sign saying 'welcome to Shrosphire' appeared and shortly after 'welcome to Wales'. Madness! Ha ha, then we reached Montgomery. Bonkers B roads, lunatic lanes, crazy course, psychotic cycling - the Montgomery Madness! This section was very hilly throughout and the roads were narrow. At the control we had a well deserved piece of carrot cake and ice cream. After applying sun screen (thanks SJ x) we were off again!

Leaving Montgomery was hard work. We had to climb hills with a gradient of 17% in hot weather. We felt great as we conquered said hills and passed Stiperstones and Great Mynd (which means long mountain, so Ron tells me). After the hills came the reward - a long steep descent called the Burway. A reward for Ron, a curse for me! Bombing down this hill (and speeds of over 46 mph were reached) I punctured! Whoa, scary indeed but no damage. Rolled my bike to the bottom and with Ron's help fixed said puncture. Happy to be rolling again and decided not to re-trace back up big hill to bomb down again! We reached the control in Bridgnorth and ate sausage roll and pork pie. It was getting a wee bit dark now too, so added sleeves and set lights up before continuing.

The last leg was short but felt longer. I guess I was eager to finish but the relentless nature of this route was menace. The hills kept coming and it was dark too. The last hill was great, it was downhill and led to the finish! Woo hoo! Job done, what a great ride!

Cycled 208k (or 129 miles) during audax

Used my road bike again in the week. This was during an indoor rollers session. I did not cycle at a very high intensity but I kept my average speed above that of last week (as I have been doing week by week) and cycled at an average speed of 27.5 mph.

The last training session of the week was with my girl 'SJ'. We took our bikes all the way to Kings Norton following country lanes. Prior to the country lanes we passed through Arrow Vale lake. The weather was great and we were having fun. On route we stopped and equipped ourselves with lucozade which helped wash down the flap-jacks that SJ had purchased from a granny at market. The flap-jacks provided energy to push us both up the hills towards our destination. We reached Kings Norton and had a look around a Bible exhibition. The exhibition was interesting and they also provided us with juice and biscuits. At this stop I fixed my slow puncture, well tried too - the new tube I had put in was split. Luckily I had another tube and my puncture problem was solved. When we left the exhibition, my badger navigational skills kicked in and got us lost. I was hoping to go home via Tanworth and Earlswood lakes. Instead we cycled a few circles and headed home down country lanes close to those we had cycled to get to the exhibition. It was a wee bit wet on the return. Once we got to Arrow Vale lake for the second time, disaster struck. Some 'idiot' (the voices in my head calling him something else) on a bicycle rode straight into the back of SJ's bike. Luckily SJ was ok but the gears on her bike were whacked out of sync. SJ and I soldiered back home with thoughts of kebab meat and chips.

Weekly totals: Cycled 210 miles.

South Downs Way (100 mile off-road randonnee)

2011-07-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hi. Firstly thanks to all my sponsors. I have raised £65 for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) through generous donations and a further £342 and $420 (Canadian) for the 'Tim's Well' project. Please visit this link for more information on my current project and/or should you wish to sponsor me: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Training for the PBP has gone well this week. Argh, only 3 weeks till the PBP kicks off! Such training has included running and cycling of course. No road bike cycling was completed (though I used my road bike on the rollers). However, the South Downs Way (SDW) randonnee was tackled. The SDW is known to many as the toughest off-road bike ride in the UK, and the BHF say 'the seriously challenging South Downs Way Randonnée is not to be missed in 2011!'

The first half of the week saw me run and cycle each day from Monday up until Wednesday. This meant I had ran for 5 consecutive days. The great weather helps with motivation and enhances the 'feel good factor'.

The first cycle of the week was awesome. I went out with SJ and her new bike. We took our bikes from Studley to the crematorium in Redditch via cycle lanes and Arrow Vale lake. SJ was very brave for a newbie and took her bike down a steep off-road descent (by the arboretum) and some off-road dips. At the half-way point, the crematorium, we visited the graves of my nan and my friend Louise who passed away only 8 months ago. The return leg was just as much fun and I was pleased to be out on a bike with 'my girl'. We still felt quite energetic following our cycle, so we took Cody out for a run. We ran a shortened version of the Stinky route. I forgot we called it the Stinky route, but after SJ reminded me, plus the noxious smells of the sewage works, I could remember why!

My next run was an extended version of the stinky route with Cody. Following this run, I cycled an indoor session on the rollers. My new wheel set appears fine, but I have yet to test them outside. Ron and I are planning to complete the Montgomery Madness 200k audax next week - that'll test my wheels for sure!

Talking of Ron, my next cycle was with him and Sarah M. I chose the route and took us through naughty woods to Alcester. At Alcester we passed through the Dovecote, past Karen's house, down hill to Coughton Ford and back to Studley via the bridleway in Middletown. Ron punctured once again during this trip. Once home I still felt I had energy, so I took Cody for a run. We ran the same distance as Monday but avoided the smelly sewage works and just stuck to fields in Studley.

Thursday and Friday were rest days.

The South Downs Way (SDW) 100 mile off-road randonnee started Friday night for me. Logistically, the SDW is a real pain in the butt. I drove from Studley to meet Chris in Windsor on the Friday night. Once at Chris's we readied our bikes and filled our camel-back's with much food. Such food included cereal bars, malt loaf, chocolate bars, flap jacks (made by Chris), tuna sarnies (thanks Em, Chris's wife) and lots of gels (if you were Chris), not to mention energy powders and such like .... From Chris's abode we packed our bikes into his car and drove to Tom's (a work mate of Chris's) parents domicile in Winchester. A big shout out to Tom and his folks for putting us up and thanks again to Tom for taking Chris and I out for drinks.

We awoke early Saturday morning (4.30 a.m) and cycled our bikes to the start of the SDW challenge, which was about 1.4 miles away from Tom's. It was dark and a wee bit chilly at this time in the morning. However, at 5.30 a.m - our start time, it was light and we were off! Chris and I were in a group of about 20 and were the first to pedal away.

It felt great to finally set off on this SDW challenge as we had been waiting for an age for this event to happen. The start was fine and there was plenty of off-road terrain to keep us occupied throughout the day. Before we reached the first checkpoint at Queen Elizabeth Country Park we had climbed at least 2 steep hills. As with most steep hills, this was followed by super zoomy descents. The whole route was like this - hills followed by descents. The terrain was great and included single track, open field, mud, chalk and clay. Scenery was awesome too, we could see for miles at at time were very high up and exposed. Rich (another work mate of Chris's) set off about 30 minutes after Chris and I but had caught us up prior to reaching the first checkpoint. As the 3 of us chatted, Si (a mate of Rich's) flew past on his 29er (a single speed mtb with rather large wheels and no suspension) without noticing any of us. We all got to the checkpoint together and all was well.

SDW route was tricky at times as some of the sign posts were missing or hard to spot. With that said however, we managed to reach the Cocking and Bury checkpoints with no problem. At often times along the route were unofficial stop points - these were water taps where we would stop and fill our bottles.

From Bury to the Steyning checkpoint was where I encountered my first problem. I punctured! This was no major menace really as it was easily fixed. I think this was my second problem in actual fact - the first was when I was pedaling up a steep hill and my glasses fell off, grr! Chris waited while I fixed said puncture but Rich and Si carried on.

Rich and Si had carried on to meet their support at the Steyning checkpoint. Their support became our support! Indeed, when Chris and I reached the checkpoint, Rich's wife made us both a cup of tea. Better yet, Rich's folks supplied us with bread, crisps, sausage roll and energy drinks. Bonus! After this surprise feast we encountered a hill straight away that had to be climbed on a full belly.

The next section to the Devils Dyke control was nice. We were joined by John (another mate of Chris's) for a spell. I remember lots of descents here with frequent little bumps where it was possible to take air - this was great fun. I bunny hopped Scotty that many times that I couldn't keep count. As we were nearing Brighton we could see the sea and that was so pretty. It was a little push to the control but we could see an ice cream van on the horizon which provided me with motivation. The ice cream van was a ploy, however we were treated with a banana and a bottle of water at this checkpoint.

Is funny that much devilment happened after the Devils Dyke control. Jon had to leave us and we were back down to a group of four. This group became a group of 2. Rich and Si didn't wait for Chris and I at a watering point (!). Sadly, Chris and I have the navigational skills of badgers and as usual had gotten lost. We teamed up with another 'lost soul' and after a while managed to regain the route we were supposed to be following. This mishap didn't add extra miles but it stole a significant amount of time. We soon caught up with a group and cycled to the next control with them (we had an extra stop to finish our tuna sarnies too) but Rich and Si were not seen again. This was probably the hardest slog of the day.

When we reached the Itford Farm checkpoint we were a little put out and so were the other cyclists with us. We had gotten to the checkpoint after the closing time and officials were telling us to abandon. The others we were with were defiant and were going to continue anyway. They were warned it was going to get dark soon, but they didn't care as they had lights. I so wanted to finish this ride. I asked the group if they had spare lights - they did! However, lighting was not the only issue - we had to reach the train station before last train at 9.20 p.m. Hmm. Abandoning was not an option for me. I wanted to finish, I wanted my t-shirt, I wanted my medal and I wanted to cycle a 100 miles on Scotty, my mountain bike! Then I came up with a cunning plan! I asked the officials how far it was by ride to the last control - it was 16 miles and we had done 84! All we had to do then was reach the checkpoint before closing time and job was done.

Without further questioning, Chris and I pumped our tyres to near maximum pressure and sped off like a bat out of hell. We took turns to lead and pull each other for the first so many miles and were cycling at relatively high speeds. I had lost a bottle somewhere (probably down a bumpy descent) but was remembering to drink plenty. This route had a little sting in the tail, namely a few climbs but just before the end we were rewarded with a descent. Bombing down the descent and we saw a red BHF flag, woo hoo, this was the end! My gps unit counted 99.97 miles! We reached the checkpoint in Eastbourne in time! Woo hoo! We were happy and received our medals and t-shirts (I got an extra one for SJ) and big claps. Fantastic!

We then had to race to the train station! This story had a happy ending. We completed the challenge and got our rewards. We reached the station at 9:20 p.m but the train didn't leave till 9:31 p.m (phew) and better yet, a girl gave us 2 free tickets (and saved us £60). Once off the train we had to cycle a few miles back to Chris's home. We got back tired but pleased with another epic adventure!

Weekly totals: Ran 8.1 miles; Cycled 156 miles.

The Poor Student (not), The Poor Nurse (indeed)

2011-07-23T13:54:00.000-07:00

Major menace with the PBP planning. Chris 'Orange' noticed that I was booked into the Camapanile St Quentin and not the Campanile in St Quentin. This basically meant that I would have been 200k from the start. Grr. Cancelling and re-booking the hotel proved difficult too - the policy stated no refund or change and despite 2 phone calls little could be done as I was not able to speak french. After much frustration and a further 2 calls, I was able to get a complete refund. Chris said he would look into accommodation and bless him, he got it sorted. Maybe I should have let SJ do the planning ... My friend Clive aka 'the Dr' has completed another London to Paris trip this week so big claps to him! He posted to me while he was away, and this is what he had to say 'Hey Doo we passed along some of the PBP route! Town called Villaines-la-Juha got all their banners up & stuff! Few juicy hills in the vicinity you're gonna love!! Out AND back again!! Good luck mate - madness is confirmed!! Doc'.

On a better note, I have claimed my AAA SR badge and my AAA medal. The AAA website stated 'Tim Taylor completed his AAA and AAASR with the Bryan Chapman on 14 May 2011, having ridden The Dean, the Brevet Cymru and the Kings, Castles, Priests & Churches earlier in the year'. Better yet, folk are still contributing to my worthy cause - 'Tim's Well'. If you haven't sponsored me yet, please do and take a look at the information provided on this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Training this week began on Tuesday. I was able to take Scotty out for the first time in a while. Scotty had been fitted with a new Hope headset, a new carbon Eridy bar, plus a new Ritchey stem and much love. I also switched the DMR's for spd's. My bike felt like new, the only real problem was that the bike shop had placed my lock-out the wrong side of my shifters. Scotty met up with Ron, Sarah M and Lydia. The was Lydia's (who happens to be my 2nd cousin, 'something' removed) first trip out with me and the others. Ron led us out and took us to relatively hard spots for any newbie. Such spots included Mars hill (where Ron allegedly rewards folk with mars bar if they complete climb), the climb to the pylon just past Astwood bank and, of course, the Woods of Doom. Lydia punctured and Ron did too (maybe that'll teach him).

Wednesday was the day I planned to complete my second permanent event, namely 'The Poor Student 200', in Oxford. Just a few miles into this ride and disaster struck. Two spokes on the rear wheel had come loose and another one had completely snapped and tore a hole in the rim. This really was bad news, as rims cannot be fixed. Mavic Aksium wheels are rated quite highly, but not by me any longer. This was the second time I had broken spokes on this wheel set. The wheel jammed too and would not rotate so a taxi had to take me back to my car. A trip to a bike shop confirmed what I already knew - a new wheel was required. I cheered myself up and purchased a new wheel set that is said to be 'bomb proof', I hope so, they cost a bomb. My new wheels are American Classic Hurricane's and have a great many more spokes than my previous set. (Audax riders tend to favour more spokes). I guess problems now are better than problems during PBP.

Despite my lovely new wheel set, I decided to take Scotty out instead. After putting the lock out in the correct position I went for a trek along familiar paths. My idea was to get used to my spd's so I chose a few 'tough' areas for this purpose. I cycled through the Woods of Doom, past Coughton Ford (and up and down the big mole mounds) and headed towards Studley Castle. I climbed Thistle Fall hill at last, but it did take 3 attempts. The first attempt was nearly successful - just a few yards from the top and I fell off. Take 2 was awful. Take 3 and mission completed - I found I had to use my lowest gear and stand on the pedals. My journey then took me through Thistle Fall Woods and down the steep off road descent and back home through Studley fields. Awesome.

I planned to test my new wheel set with a quick spin on the rollers, but SJ called and had other plans. Indeed, SJ invited me to join her military training. This training was proper hard core stuff. We met up with a couple of SJ's mates (namely Steph and Becky) and a whole bunch of other gluttons for punishment in a suitably named Cripplegate park. Two ex soldiers then marched us off and made us perform many exercises. These exercises were extra mean as press-ups had to be performed on a gradient, sit-ups had to be performed on a rock strewn path and so on. Two days later and my stomach, arms and pecks continued to ache.

Thursday involved little exercise, but ... we got SJ a new bike! A bright shiny Boardman. Her bike is pretty awesome and has Avid, SRAM and Ritchey components plus Rock Shox forks. We pimped the bike up a little too and added DMR pedals and a Hope seat clamp. SJ and I then cycled our first trip together (ever) by cycling a loop within Studley.

I got the running bug on Friday and ran over the fields of Studley with Cody. We hadn't ran for a while and this just felt great. Because I had recently gotten a new phone, I was able to record the distance via gps - we ran 4.5k. Should I record my running distances in miles or k's?!

So good was Friday's run, that I repeated it on Saturday. Am not sure Cody was so pleased to go running again. I finally used my new wheel set today too. I didn't take my bike outdoors, but cycled a low intensity ride on the rollers. Even though I cycled at low intensity, I kept my average speed higher than last time I rolled (26.7 mph).

Sunday turned out to be a good day. SJ and I played a few games of badminton. We were both determined to beat each other. The final score was 3:3. Following our game of badminton we still felt pumped up, so we decided to go for a run. Our run took us from SJ's front door to Worcester race track. We ran around the track but stopped at the stadium to run 5 reps up the stairs before continuing around and back to SJ's front door. Also, I managed to perform 7 real man style press-ups (SJ scored 5 - I knew I'd beat her at something!).

Weekly totals: Cycled 54 miles; Ran 9.1 miles.

Two flats and a wedding

2011-07-18T10:10:00.000-07:00

Argh, only 33 days to PBP. Argh, less days to SDW. As most are aware, these are both 2 long distance cycle events. What most don't know is, is that both SJ and my buddy Chris 'Orange' (and Ben, his son)will be joining me. How cool is that?!

Fundraising is going ok. The SDW event has raised £65 for the British Heart Foundation. The PBP event continues to raise money for 'Tim's Well'. Read about (and please sponsor) said project here: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Easy/lazy week on the exercise front. This week was officially a 'rest week', but I guess I took it more leisurely than I should have. I could throw in the excuse that my mountain bike was out of action ...

The week had a promising beginning. Ron and I took our road bikes out for a trip. We followed new paths mingled with old trails. Our paths crossed the TROAD route on occasions and also, strangely enough, some mtb trails. Ron was leading the way and suggested we took our road bikes off road and follow a mtb path. Reluctantly I agreed. Ron punctured! Puncture fixed and ride continued.

Tuesday was full of good intention. I started cycling indoors on my rollers and cycled 13 miles before my mother walked in. I turned off my ipod player and it was only then that I realised that I had been cycling with a punctured tyre. Grr, the voices in my head blamed Ron and his off road antics!

No further exercise/training took place for the rest of the week. The weekend saw the marriage of Paul (SJ's brother) and Sally. This was a nice affair and I wish them both well for the future.

Weekly totals: Cycled a distance of 37 miles.

Mr Pickwick's Tour of the Cotswolds (304k audax) - Take 2!

2011-07-10T00:57:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, is only about 40 days to the PBP now! I have now been sent my frame number, which is 5361. Anyone who wishes to follow my machine live can do so by clicking onto the PBP website.
Fund raising for 'Tim's Well', is going great too. Deb, a Canadian friend who constructed my web page, had the great idea of putting details of my ride on her Facebook page and some kind Canadians have already donated $420. Big thanks to everybody who has sponsored me already, especially to my cycling buddy SN for such a generous donation - I hope your legs are feeling fine after your epic adventure!. To those that haven't checked out the web page that Deb constructed, please follow this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html. On the fund raising side of things, a big shout out is due to my sister Jane. Jane managed to walk/run/hobble 85 miles in just less than 24 hours! I agree with her Dr and think she's an 'idiot'. Poor Jane ended up with DVT symptoms, a heparin injection and lots of cash for Happy's School. Nice one Jane, well done! Next time, ride a bike! Check out Jane's story here: http://teaandblisters.blogspot.com/2011/07/done.html.

Began this week with an off road adventure with Ron and Sarah M. My mountain bike was not in action, but thankfully John V let me use his Saracen steed. Had been a while since I used a mountain bike with spd type pedals and yup, you got it, I fell off. Only fell off once mind you, it was unfortunate that I landed on a thistle bush. Have named the hill I was attempting to climb 'Thistle fall Hill'. A second take at this hill didn't result in a fall, but I was unable to conquer the hill (maybe on my own bike....?!). Gave John's bike quite a beating and got it dirty too as we took our machines over the bridge of destiny, through the woods of doom and past the fence of truth, to name but a few obstacles. Washed John's bike down and promptly returned it, many thanks John.

SJ and I were a little upset to hear that Chris PT was ill and that our PT session had been cancelled. Not to worry we told ourselves and created our own killer session. We started out by completing 5 reps of sit-ups, SJ maxing out on 80 in her final set (41 for me). This was followed by 10 press-ups (girly style). We then ran, a longer than usual run, which was the extended Studley triangle run. On our return home, dripping with sweat, we completed another 10 press-ups (girly style). After this we held a plank (55 seconds for me and 1 min 25 secs for SJ). I completed this session by digging out my skipping rope and performing a 100 skips. Following this session, the temptation of chocolate became too much and I devoured several of the chocs SJ had been brought by a thankful patient.

On Wednesday SJ and I played badminton for the first time in ages. SJ was on form big time. I hate to admit but she kicked my butt. It hurts me to publish the results, but SJ beat me 4-2. As SJ pointed out, she's beating me at everything lately and is wondering if she'd show me up on a bike too! We still haven't checked out a tandem yet... Oh, and on the subject of a bike for SJ, well, I think I've found one, as the picture below shows. This was my brothers bike, I have re-claimed it and want to do it up for SJ.

Went for my second run of the week on Thursday. This run took me around Worcester race course. At the middle section of this run, I ran up and down the stadium stairs 5 times which was a real killer. At the start and finish of this run I also performed 10 girly style press-ups. Later that day I used my rollers, feeling a little guilty that I had not used them last week. My heart rate monitor indicated that I must be getting fitter - 2 weeks ago I cycled 20 miles in heart zone 3 at an average speed of 25.3mph, this week I cycled the same distance at a higher average speed of 26.2 mph and in heart zone 2. This means that my heart was working less hard to push my legs around faster. I still felt some guilt that I cycled this session in heart rate zone 2 as I usually force myself to cycle at a higher intensity.

Friday was a rest day.

Saturday saw me complete my 23rd audax. This audax was Mr Pickwick's Tour of the Cotswolds which was a 304k cycling event starting from Tewkesbury. This was the second time that I rode this event - it was my first 300k event last year. The route crosses the Evesham Vale and then heads into Warwickshire. Following that the Cotswolds are transversed from North to South. Finally the route returns to Tewkesbury running across the Cotswolds from South Gloucestershire.

The ride started at 6 a.m, from Ashchurch railway station. It was a different start location to last year. About 30 riders started this event, a few of whom I knew from previous events. Initially I cycled along with a Londoner called Alan, until we neared PinvinInkberrow, I called Ron, who planned to meet me in Studley and pedal a few miles with me (him not being 'allowed' to do the full event). Ron aka 'the Phantom' met me just past the Green Dragon pub. It was nice to catch up with Ron and we steadily rode all the way to the first control at Warwick Services. Last year I had a Burger King meal here, and this year I had the same!

Stage 2 took us from Warwick Services to Chipping Norton. Things were going great until we reached Wormleighton then we had route sheet menace.The instruction said R/L stg X sp Fenny Compton. This was open to interpretation and we ended up doing an additional 9 miles just trying to interpret this instruction. Back on route we were happy and knew we would be fed at the next control. Just before the control was reached, the heaves opened. If we hadn't have added those additional miles we would have reached the control dry. The control was the Old Mill Cafe in Chipping Norton. A big (expensive) feast was devoured here. We had beans on toast, a mug of tea and cake. The Phantom left me here and headed home. Big thanks to the Phantom for leading me out this far.

Stage 3 was ridden as a completely solo affair (and so were all the other stages from here on). This was the shortest stage and the wettest too. The rain beat down hard and the clouds were black in colour. The control was a Tesco garage in Cirencester. At this control I ate a banana that I took with me. I did not take any gels on this audax, instead I took 8 slices of malt loaf, some fruit and miniature chocolates that SJ was given from one of her patients. This food stuff was great and I rate it over gels and the likes.

Stage 4 was a relatively fast stage. This stage passed through Brinkworth, which is apparently the longest village. This stage was hot too, the rain had stopped and the sun came out to dry me up. Reached the control at Leigh de la Mere with no major problems. This time last year, I was really hallucinating and felt spent out when I reached this far. I ate a salmon sandwich and crisps at this control. Mary H was met here too and we had quite a chat - this was her first 300k event.

The final stage proved a little more difficult. There was a big hill to conquer in Birdlip. This climb was rewarded with a super fast descent, a 1:6 hill that stretched for ages. However, because the roads were so wet I had my brakes on for pretty much the whole duration of the descent. It was lovely to see the sun set, the skies had a purple haze for a while. This was when the next problem arose. Even though I had lights, it was hard to read the route sheet in the dark. By hook or by crook, I reached the arivee and felt pretty good. The arivee was at Mark Rigby's, the event organiser's home. Mark pointed out that I had now completed a Black Sheep Super Randonneur Series (in that I have completed a 200, 300, 400 and 600k Black Sheep event in the same season). Sweet.

Cycled 199.73 miles during audax event, at an average speed of 14.7 mph and a maximum speed of 38.2 mph.

Weekly totals: Ran for 1 hour and 16 mins; Cycled 237 miles.

Two Battles (200k audax)

2011-07-02T12:43:00.000-07:00

Training this week began with a run. SJ and I ran around Oversley Wood during a hot summer evening. We were both baked and dripping with sweat and forgot just how hard it was to run 5 miles. I guess the long break from running plus my 'Africa belly' didn't help.
On Tuesday I caught up with Ron and we went for an evening ride. This time we went on road bikes and were accompanied by the 'Mitchell mob'. The Mitchell mob are 3 family members. John was well known to me already - he used to terrorise my sister at school. John continues to have an air of menace about him. Phil is John's brother and he appeared to be the boss of the mob and would like to race at any given opportunity. Sarah was the sister of John and Phil and she was the supportive one of the three - she would shout for Phil if he was racing, or hang back for John if he was struggling. We all cycled local roads round and about Studley. Ron and Phil would race up all the hills. In retrospect, I guess I should have raced too (I raced up one) as this would have been good training. This was a nice evening and we all plan to meet up again next week but on our mountain bikes. Earlier in the evening, SJ and I re-started our sit-up routine. As before, SJ can do more than twice as many sit-ups as I can. Grr.

After a long absence, Chris PT made an appearance. SJ and I had one of those 'killer PT sessions'. This was another great session where we were worked some. We did the usual sit-ups, press-ups, running, lunges, squats and so forth but this time we had to do exercises on a trampoline too. These sessions never seem to get easier.

Thursday was a rest day of sorts. I did no exercise, save a few sit-ups with SJ. I maxed out in the 20's and SJ in the 60's.

Friday saw me complete my 22nd audax but my first 'permanent'. This was a 212k ride starting and finishing in Tamworth and known as the 'Two Battles'. Two Battles were being fought that day, the battle with the voices in my head and the battle with butt pain!

I started this permanent at 8.20 a.m (believing you can choose the start time and date of any permanent) from Amington. It was a hot sunny day and perfect for a long ride. During the first stage I passed through Bosworth Field, which was obviously the first battle. I ate my traditional beans on toast at this first control in Wistow.

Stage 2 had 2 controls. The first control was just past Naseby, the second battle. I stopped here and purchased a banana and 2 bottles of water. SJ had decided to do the 'Volvic Challenge' and was drinking 1.5 litres of water daily, I planned to follow suit. At the second control of this stage in Upper Stow, I purchased baked potato and coleslaw. My food here was washed down with a cold coke. Unable to eat inside the cafe as a wedding was taking place.

Left Upper Stow and cycled a short way with a random cyclist during the third stage. I was pleased I met this cyclist, as I pinched a tow for a few miles and chatted some which enabled me to forget about the pain in my bum! Reached the control in Wellsbourne when menace struck. It was at this self same control on a previous audax that I realised I had lost my wallet. This time, I had lost my receipts from the controls where I had stopped. Bummer!

Cycled out of Wellsbourne and headed back to Amington. This was the longest stage but I knew it reached to the finish. I finished the ride in under 11 hours. Sent my brevet card to the organiser along with photo's I took on route in hope I get awarded with AUK points (receipts missing, remember). A great days cycling on generally flat, quiet roads. My legs, face and arms tell a different story - a story of too much exposure to the sun. Indeed, I reached home looking like a Red Indian. Or like a twister sweet when I revealed my white bits. Hmm.

Cycled a total distance of 212k or 131 miles during audax. Cycled at an average speed of 14.7 mph and reached a max speed of 41.3 mph.

Scotty went for a service this week too. Her prognosis is poor. She needs a new headset, bottom bracket and brake bleed. I wonder if new carbon bars would make her feel any better?!

Finished the week by completing my third set of sit-ups with SJ. The Two Battles organiser got in touch and said he wasn't that strict but still required proof of passage. Scotty remains unwell.

Weekly totals: Ran for 50 mins; Cycled 155 miles.

Mr Pickwick's High Summer Meander (215k audax)

2011-06-27T08:11:00.000-07:00

This week saw the return to training. Training for the PBP! Can you believe it? Even though exercise has resumed, I have a need to work on my diet (maybe this will be looked at next week) and incorporate more than just cycling.

Monday was SJ's 21st birthday ;), so no exercise took place. However, we went to Alton Towers so that fear and high adrenaline could be experienced. I think this trip aged me somewhat!

Tuesday was the summer solstice and I took advantage of the long day. Took Scotty through Sambourne, across the naughty fields and passed through the Dovecote in Alcester. After this I went through the bit of off road section by Karen's house and down the off road section the other side which led to Coughton Ford. Cycled the cycle track back past Karen's and down the off road track (2nd time) and returned via naughty fields (not so nice in this direction) before reaching home. Am thinking of getting Scotty serviced, replacing the bar with a carbon one and maybe swapping my DMR's for SPD's (again) before the epic South Downs Way Randonnee. Hmmm.

Wednesday was spent indoors on the rollers. Am planning on cycling at least one indoor session per week until the PBP. During this session will attempt to keep my speed above 25 mph throughout.

Thursday was a rest day. Friday saw me cycle just 4 miles! I only cycled because I had to drop my car off for it's MOT (it passed!) and needed a way to get back home.

Saturday saw me complete my 21st audax event, namely 'Mr Pickwick's High Summer Meander'. This was a 215k event, ran by Black sheep Cycling Club, starting out from Tewkesbury. This audax was 'a grand day out - exploring the differing terrains that Gloucestershire can offer. Taking in the Forest of Dean, Severn Vale and the Cotswolds. Finishing where Mr Pickwick supped too much ale'. A map of the route can be seen below:

Started the event at 8 a.m, after a couple of banana's and a brief. The organiser told us to look out for sheep, pigs (wild boar) and deer that may be on the roads but none were encountered. Only a bear was seen. This bear was 'Bertie', a bear that SJ brought me to accompany me on my long distance adventures. This was Bertie's first road trip and we have since given him a surname - Bertie Pickwick! The first stage felt like hard work - I think the break from cycling and my added weight made this ride harder than usual. Was surprised to reach the first control, the Dean Heritage Centre as it opened. At this control I had my usual dish - beans on toast, washed down with a mug of tea.

Stage 2 took me to paths cycled during my last audax (the 600k menace) and indeed past the start and over the Severn bridge. I love this bridge and have now cycled across it many times. Beautiful weather all day, the sun never stopped shining. The control was in Sherston (I think) and this 'free' control was also used in the Mad March audax. I ate a relatively healthy lunch for me consisting of a tuna sarnie, sausage roll and crisps.

Started feeling better during stage 3. Ironic that I passed through a place called 'Happy Land'. It had taken me this long to find a nice pace and feel comfortable on my bike. From Malmesbury I cycled to Bourton-on-the-Water which looked stunning. The sun was beating down real hot and loads of folk were having picnics here. I stopped just to eat a kit kat, apple and banana. Did not feel particularly hungry today (unusual) and other than foods mentioned, I only ate 4 flap jacks and 1 gel.

The final stage to the arrivee in Tewkesbury was relatively easy. However, my front mech broke during this stage which meant that the last 30k had to be ridden in lower gears which was a bit irritating. My front mech broke during last audax too. Still, Mr Pickwick and I completed this event and enjoyed our high summer meander.

During audax I cycled 211.77k (my computer stopped working for aprox. 5k) or 131.59 miles if you prefer. I cycled at an average speed of 14.7 mph and reached a maximum speed of 42.3 mph.

Fundraising went okay this week. The British Heart Foundation (BHF) sent me my handlebar rider number (51724) and other paraphernalia. The event I am riding for the BHF is the South Downs Way Randonnee on 30 July 2011. To date I have raised £65 for this BHF challenge. My other challenge, of course, is the PBP where I plan to raise monies for a well to be constructed in Kenya. Further information and details of sponsoring me can be found here:

http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html Many thanks to all who have sponsored and supported thus far.

Weekly totals: Cycled 178 miles.

Back in the saddle

2011-06-19T06:34:00.000-07:00

This week has proved difficult on the exercise front. Came back from Africa being almost 2 kilo's heavier than before I went. Took my resting pulse and this too had increased by 10 beats. How will I get back on form?!

Think I have secured my place on the PBP, that is registered a place (as opposed to pre-registered). I also purchased the 2011 official PBP jersey (for souvenir purposes), a reflective PBP vest (to comply with French law) and 2 meals on the Sunday afternoon (1 for SJ and the other to ensure I am suitably food loaded prior to the start, donated a little to a cancer fund (Institut Curie) and purchased a bandanna in support of Japan. I said 'think' I have secured a place because am not sure if any monies were actually taken from my account. Am not sure if any of these items get sent to me or whether I have to pick them up when in France. However, what is clear, providing I have secured my place, is that my time slot for bike check and brevet card collection is 5:15 pm on 20 August 2011. What also is clear is that I need to train.

Managed to do some training in the week. My first training for nearly 3 weeks. I didn't do any exercise in South Africa, save a few push-ups one time. The first bit of training I did was indoors on the rollers. Did not find this exceptionally difficult but my heart rate monitor indicated my heart was beating faster than prior to leaving for Africa and I was pushing smaller gears. Hmm. Only exercised once more in the week and this was on Scotty (my mountain bike). Took Scotty along the deer route and added a further section by including a trip to the Dovecote in Alcester. Was nice to be back on the bike, even though I experienced aches and pains after only a few miles.

Plan to train harder in the next 6 weeks or so before PBP. This training will certainly include a couple of 200k audax events and a 300k event for good measure. I have 3 permanent events too and it would be great to include those in my training schedule. Have contacted Chris PT and should he return my call then killer sessions looking at my core will pick up again. Indoor rolling, mountain biking and maybe a run should also form part of my basic training plan.

Thank you to my first 2 sponsors who have generously donated to 'Tim's Well' project. "Tim's Well" will provide clean drinking water for 280 students at a school being constructed in Kenya, for 40 teenagers residing in 'Kimbilio' (a nearby Agape in Action shelter) and for the entire surrounding community. I have managed to raise £105 thus far. For more information or for those willing to sponsor me, please click here: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Goodbye SA

2011-06-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

South Africa was such an amazing place. It kinda felt sad to write this entry from my home address rather than posting some information from Westville Christadelphian Church, which had been my home for just over 2 weeks. The eclectic mix of friends, volunteers and locals I had met in Africa continue to fill my head space and put a smile on my face. People spoke of Africa as being a dangerous, hostile and violent place - this was not my experience. I was part of a (sub) culture that consisted of Brits, Americans, Australians, Africans, Indians and Zulu's that all mixed into a friendly society that worked well with one another. The South African flag itself is made up of many colours and I read somewhere that this was to demonstrate how SA sees itself as an ethnically mixed society that values each person. Nice. SJ brought me a buff with the SA flag on it. Very nice!

My last few days in Africa were not as busy as my first week but proved to be fun all the same. It was sad to leave Happy's School behind but I was pleased to have the memories of such an experience firmly in my head. Am not sure if I had an impact on the lives of pupils there, but they had an impact on mine. The only real work carried out in the last few days was when we went on a 'work day' to help out a local Township. This day was spent cleaning and tidying up the local Church and it's surrounding environment. Loads of folk mucked in together and much rubble, rubbish dirt etc was moved, windows were cleaned, bins were put out and various tasks were completed. I spent a whole bunch of time with the children of this Township. We had treated them to face paints - sure enough they painted their faces but they painted SJ, Kim and I too, all in different colours. The kids were given chalk too with which they chalked the road. What the kids drew and wrote was amazing. These kids are very young and poor and one child wrote 'Dear Lord, I love you because you help me' and another drew a figure of Jesus on a cross. These kids have little to be thankful for, yet they thank God for everything. Amazing. Humbling.

Those that read this blog, know I like to talk about food. In Africa I ate very well. I ate my best curry ever here. Food was so good, I even remember some place names where food was served. Mmmm. I ate snails at the Woodcutter, bunny chow at Moyo, Steak at Nourish and had the biggest serving of carrot cake at Mugg & Bean. However, what I remember most is the kids at Happy's running up to hug me with chicken feet sticking out their mouths!

Hope you have enjoyed reading about my experience of SA. Maybe, in time, I'll visit Africa again and be able to share more experiences. Meanwhile, I am going to get back on my bike but keep Africa in mind and plan to fund raise for a clean water (well) project in Kenya. If you would like to have an impact on the lives of needy individuals living in Africa and share my latest vision, then please sponsor my next project here: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

The Nasty Taxi song!

2011-06-12T23:50:00.000-07:00

I have found the 'Nasty Taxi' song link! Please follow the link below, sit down and enjoy!
http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150232869982137

And if you would like to sponsor my next African project (to build a well in Kenya), please follow this link:
http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Many thanks :)

Nasty taxi

2011-06-11T00:30:00.000-07:00

The second half of my second week in South Africa proved to be interesting. On Wednesday, SJ and I took a car load of young Zulu children to a zoo (where we met up with more volunteers and more Zulu children). I think we had 9 children crammed into our car - health and safety does not appear to exist in SA. These children were great and were singing in Zulu as we drove to the zoo. Not sure exactly what they were singing, but it sounded like 'nasty taxi, nasty taxi, I want a pasty'. SJ filmed this little ditty and should she post it on youtube I will provide the link! The zoo itself was relatively small and only housed smaller type animals like raccoon, meercat and the likes. The zoo had monkeys though, not as inmates, but as a band of thieves. These monkeys were awesome and would come over and steal yoghurt pots from the children as they tried to eat their lunch. (Most houses in SA have bars on their windows, this is to prevent monkeys from entering). My sister Jane had a car load of children too and one had puked big time all over himself and a number of others. The way back from the zoo was almost as entertaining as the first. We had a car load of sleeping children, except one who had pee'd herself. Jane took precautions and gave her 'sick' child a plastic bag - he wasn't sick again, but he wet himself!

Wednesday night was spent at the creche (which is also used as a church and houses Go go too). A kind Zulu lady called Vesta had prepared a Zulu meal for us volunteers. The meal was nice and was essentially a curry style meal. Delicious! Following the meal, there was much praising God and shouting and singing in Zulu style. The sky was lit up tonight with flashes of lightning too which was great.

Thursday was spent at the BEC. The BEC is an acronym for the Bible Education Centre, what I called 'the book shop' in previous blogs. The shop was not so busy today but kept us occupied all morning.

We had another big meal Thursday night, cooked by volunteers. This was equally as nice as Vesta's meal. All this eating and little or no exercise will have to revert when I go back to England.

Friday morning was not so great. Everywhere was flooded due to big rains in the night. We spent the morning doing little work and visiting a local shopping mall.

Friday afternoon was spent at Happy's. SJ, Simon and I picked up Nazipho en route. Nazipho is an ex Happy's student who had left about 1 year ago. Nazipho is wheelchair bound and suffers with arthritis. Help4Happy's supported Nazipho and she now has an electric wheelchair. Some of you sponsored me last year which supported Help4Happy's, so a big thank you indeed! On reaching Happy's, it wasn't the usual hectic place I had become used too. The rain had flooded the grounds so most pupils were indoors. This school still requires much support, it houses around 200 disabled pupils with special needs. 1 wheelchair bound girl spoke to me and informed me that her mother had died in 2004 and when not at Happy's was 'looked after' by a family that 'found' her. This story sounded okay till she told me that this family abuse her and she asked for my help in moving into a care home. How sad. I did not know the expectations of this child, but she told me she loved me before I left. This was a sad day really, as I was saying goodbye to the pupils. One particular albino pupil was never really tactile prior to today, this day he held my hand tights before I left. I have so many stories and memories from Happy's that I'm sure will last a life time.

SJ and I took Siphiwe (a Zulu volunteer) home from Happy's. Siphiwe is such a great guy and we have had a lot to do with home during our stay in SA. Will miss 'my brother'. Anyways, on this run home we passed a dead body on the side of the road which was a little grim to say the least. This body was near to the place where those wooden homes were being built - those homes that had no running water, only 1 room, no electricity and no toilet. These homes cost about £100, peanuts to us, but a large amount of money over here. If my story in SA has had an impact on you in any way, please dig deep and sponsor my next project. My next project is the construction of a well in Kenya (refer to previous blog entry) and you can help by visiting this link: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

Down to the well!

2011-06-09T12:36:00.000-07:00

Hi to everybody reading this blog. If you have been following my blog you will know that I am planning to complete the 2011 PBP 1200k cycle event, that starts on 21 August. You will also be aware that I plan to raise money for the 'Agape in Action' (AinA) charity by cycling this event. AinA have kindly set up my fund raising page and it is live now, so please, please, please sponsor me by following the link at the end of this blog.

I am raising money so that a well can be put in at a Agape in Action High School currently being constructed in Western Kenya. 100% of all donations will go directly to building the well. "Tim's Well" (as AinA have kindly named it) will provide clean drinking water for the 280 students at the school, for 40 teenagers residing in 'Kimbilio' (a nearby Agape in Action shelter) and for the entire surrounding community. Please donate to this great cause by following the link at the end of this blog.

At time of writing this entry, I am in South Africa, Durban, and have seen how sponsor money has had a huge impact on a disabled school. I have been visiting Happy's School where money from a previous sponsored event enabled a number of wheelchairs to be purchased and greatly improve the lives of the pupils. Please show a bit of agape (love) and help enable water to reach this community in Kenya.

Please sponsor me here: http://www.agapeinaction.com/tim_taylor.html

South Africans have little to be thankful for, yet thank God for everything

2011-06-08T07:49:00.000-07:00

Sunday was an interesting day spent in SA. We went along to a Christadelphian Ecclesia (church) armed with our new Zulu Bibles. The service was a mixture of Zulu and English. Most of the prayers were in Zulu, but the lecture (exhortation) was in English and prepared by a volunteer (Simon). Bible readings were first read in English and then read again in Zulu. SJ and I were doing well following the Zulu passages. Our singing in Zulu didn't go quite as well. The Zulu singing is full on energetic and they stand, clap and bang their Bibles as they sing. As my sister Jane stated in her blog, the South Africans have little to be thankful for, yet they thank God for everything.

Most of Sunday was spent as a rest day. It was a good day to catch up on emails, to write blog entries and reflect on the past week. I am planning on raising funds for a project called 'Agape in Action' (agape is another word for love) and the project had sent me an email stating they were prepared to build my web page - watch this space! Sunday evening was spent planning project work to be completed in the week ahead, here in Durban, South Africa.

Monday morning was spent dishing out soup in the poly-clinic again. We were with different volunteers today, one of whom had a disability herself - she only had one arm. The other volunteer drove us from our base to the poly-clinic but was sadly stopped by the police en route. Because she was not in possession of her driving licence, she was fined 1,000 Rand, that's about £100! This weeks soup smelled so much nicer than last weeks though people initially appeared a little reluctant to take up the offer.

In the evening SJ, Kim and I went to Happy's. We played a whole bunch of games as per normal. Today, I helped one pupil with her tourism homework. A number of pupils all had exams this week - well wishes to all. One pupil, namely Miss Faith had added SJ as a friend on facebook and said we should get married. Miss Faith took me on a tour of the school and showed me where the girls grew vegetables and hand washed their clothes (SJ helped scrub). We spoke about village life - she could not believe that my village had electricity and running water. In her village, clothes were taken to the river to be washed - if I took my clothes to the river then folk would think I was mad.

On Monday night, SJ and I had some 'us' time. We went for a meal at a place called 'Nourish'. The meal we were served was lovely. It appeared as though the African restaurant staff are keen to swipe your plate or cup away as soon as you have finished (or in the case of SJ before).

We were again at the poly-clinic on Tuesday to serve out tea and coffee. This would be our last visit here (probably) and in a funny kind of way I will miss it. Following the visit here we went to 'go go', the granny group/creche for the last time too. Go go is in Marianhill (not Cleremont) and it such a wonderful place.

On Tuesday night, SJ, Kim, Si, Cam and I went bowling. This was fun, despite the fact that SJ and I were quite naff. The amusements in Africa are similar to those in the UK from about 20 years ago. The original 'Out run' being an arcade favourite. Kim looked great - SJ and I had dyed her hair blue! And if things couldn't be more bizarre, SJ, Kim and I all ate snails prior to our bowling experience!

The saga in South Africa continues

2011-06-05T07:30:00.000-07:00

SA has continued to amaze me, inspire me and humble me. So many stories to share that this blog will never do my experience justice. Below is just a nutshell version of my past 3 days.

I forget which day of the week it is, but remember the days a little more clearly. Day 4 was spent at the poly-clinic with the HIV/TB sufferers. During this particular visit we were serving soup plus bread to the patients. The patients were quite grateful on the whole (considering the quality of the soup). As usual, cups had to be counted at the end to ensure none had been stolen. After soup had been served we had our lunch. My lunch was at a place called 'Mugg and Bean' and I had an excellent blue cheesecake drink?!

The afternoon was spent at Happy's again. We took a parachute with us which proved great fun. SJ ensured all the kids were lifted in said parachute, regardless of whether they had a wheelchair or not! The extra balls we took were well used too. Such wonderful children.

Day 5 was spent working in a Christadelphian book shop. This was a strange experience. The book shop was kept real busy with so many folk coming in wanting to know/learn about God. The book shop offers free bible lessons (home or group) and offers certificates and photo should course be completed. I was amazed at the level of interest. Largely speaking, one is considered a freak in the UK should they believe in God. In SA it appears you really are quite normal to have a christian belief. SJ and I supported this book shop and both even purchased a Bible from there.

The evening of Day 5 was spent at Happy's again. We love it here and the kids love us. I plan to spend more time here. There is a child with no legs and severe disability, yet he has the biggest smile I have ever seen. As I left Happy's I saw some housing project happening. A number of people here live in what look like sheds. These sheds are smaller than my bedroom and have no bath, sink, fridge, cooker etc and no running water or electricity. These communities look similar to battery hen farms. So sad.

Our evening was spent near the beach which was nice. We find we reflect on the things we have seen when we are not working. The smile of that disabled child had been stuck in my head.

Day 6 saw the greatest jumble sale of my life. We took a whole bunch of jumble to Cleremont and had what was best described as a car boot sale. Lots of the community came to buy used clothes and toys. We were selling items for between 10 and 30 pence (1 to 3 Rand) to such a poor community. The road we were on was incredible - it housed what appeared to be a happy community yet a slum was one side of the road and built housing the other. I saw a banana tree growing here too. The children turned the sale into a fancy dress party which was awesome. SJ found a wedding dress ...

Later that day we did a whole bunch of stuff. High-lights included a trip to the markets. The markets had goat and sheep heads hung up ready to be purchased. Eek! SJ and I walked along the beach, stepped into the sea and even took a cable car. We ate bunny chow today, a famous African dish, which I have previously cooked at home. SJ, bless her, said mine was nicer.

Today is Sunday, a day of rest, so I plan to blog again in 4 days time.

Hello SA

2011-05-31T09:16:00.000-07:00

On Monday 29 May 2011 we (myself, SJ, and sisters Jane and Kim) finally made it to Africa! It took 3 plane journeys, many sleeps and a great number of hours to get there. We played pink girl poke and red boy slap at the airports to keep us amused. We also saw lots of celebs (dopples!) including Yankee Doodle. When we reached our destination our luggage was missing, still stuck in Madrid. I shared digs with 2 others (Si and Glen) at a project in Westville. The girls were next door. So tired we were, we crashed out before too late and awoke at 5.45 a.m ready for further adventure.

The girls and I were crammed into a jeep with Jude, Maggie, Char, Katie, Ethan, Simon and Glen early on Monday morning - that's 11 people in a small wagon! SJ and I were lucky to be inside, as opposed to unfortunate others in the back of the pick up who were exposed to the elements. Before long we had reached a safari ranch. This was totally awesome, we saw hippo, giraffe, wart hog, impala, rhino, ostrich, birds and kudu amongst others. Fantastic! We really were in Africa! As if things couldn't get better, we went to a lion park afterwards. We were that close to a pride of lions that we could see their tonsils! Elephants were supposed to be nearby but they were most evasive.

Later on we went to 'Happy's School' aka Maison Lincoln Special School. This school was full of children (and some adults too) who mostly had severe disability. The school was housed in what looked like lots of out buildings. The kids were amazing and were full of smiles and eager to hug, play and very excited to interact with us. All the children appeared to have a huge interest in my watch, it was like they had never seen one before. Is hard to describe how this school made each of us feel on an emotional level. We played football, helped with homework and observed the happenings of a very busy school. Jane was showing off her favourite lion pictures on her camera, until a pupil grabbed camera and erased said pictures!

Monday evening was spent doing a few sit-ups along with SJ, Jane and Si. Jane was impressively naff, haha, and Si was king. I maxed out on 30. We rewarded our efforts with an Italian meal with Kim and Glen joining us. This was a goodbye supper for Glen really, as he returns home to Australia tomorrow. The group went mini golfing after, except SJ and I had alternative plans. On our return to Westville we were reunited with our lost luggage - hooray! (Think I had spent 36 hours in my boxer shorts, which is longer than I've worn lycra cycling shorts!).

Tuesday morning was spent at a poly-clinic. We were making and distributing tea and coffee to AIDS, HIV, TB and dental sufferers. The clinic was certainly quite full and appeared very old fashioned. Most folk were really quite grateful. Due to high levels of poverty we had to make sure none of our cups were stolen. Following this we went to a Township creche and were greeted by lots of lovely little kids. The idea of this trip was to spend time with the 'gogo's's (granny's), but the kids got all my attention. Only 3 grannies were present and other volunteers spent time with them. Our evening was spent at Happy's. Happy's is a great place and it is humbling spending time with seriously disabled children who are so happy, active and friendly. A lot of these children have major problems even walking and fall often. When they fall, they often bleed. I have not seen a single child cry, rather just pick themselves up and get on. The kids are so great and support each other better than a family member would. These children are teaching me how to live!

[This blog is a work in progress and whilst in SA, I plan to update every 3rd day].

Goodbye GB, hello SA

2011-05-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

I would like to start this blog entry with a copy and paste from my sister Jane's blog: ''Once home, I thought I ought to see if I could maintain my sit -ups number from Saturday (112)....and failed miserably!! In fact, I tried to see if I could do more yesterday (Sunday) and my stomach muscles said NO!! -I only managed 60....today was a mere 50.....it's agony if I cough or sneeze, but at least I know they are doing something to the muscles!! The funny thing is....I was talking to SarahJane last night, and their Personal Trainer - Chris PT - is making them do proper sit-ups where they have to sit all the way up, that's why my brother Tim is struggling to do more than 10 at a time - heehee - but, I'm doing what the website says, and if they say 'abdo crunch or curl to 38 degrees, no more', then I'm sticking with it...I just don't think I'll tell Tim just yet........''. Need I comment?! Pah!

Began the week by attempting to do more sit-ups than Jane thought possible. SJ likes to do her sit-ups with me - I think this is because she always has a higher max out number than me in our exhaustion tests. The exhaustion test is the highest number of sit-ups we can perform after doing so many sets before hand. Allow me to explain further. During this workout we performed 21 sit-ups (set 1), 27 sit-ups (set 2), 21 sit-ups (sets 3 and 4) with a 60 second gap between sets. On set 5 we have to max out, but complete at least 30. I maxed out on 31 and SJ on 40. We were following a workout which can be found at www.twohundredsitups.com. I think I am going to adapt the workout from now on though as it is seriously killing me...

Tuesday was a great day. I finally got my teeth sorted! After so many years, I finally have implanted teeth (final version). Yup, I have a shiny smooth porcelain smile. These teeth are so amazing, it's hard to tell them apart from the rest of my thunder choppers. For those that don't remember, I lost my 3 front teeth following a mtb accident some years back. Check out the before and after pics! I have a lot to smile about now! Following this major surgery, SJ was pushing me to go for a run. I had paralysis of will, but SJ got her way. We took Cody to Tardebigge canal and off we ran. It was my turn to push SJ now! We were running into a headwind and it was really hot. Was a great run though, we ran past lots of ducklings and I nearly fell in as I tried to prevent Cody from having a sniff. Cody almost did a kamikaze jump off the lock too. Both these girls are so much trouble ...

Wednesday was spent indoor on the rollers. I have not been using these rollers for a while and forgot how tiring (and boring) they are. Tried to lose myself in the music from my mp3 player and I think the Chemical Brothers helped with that.

Thursday was supposed to be spent with Chris PT but luckily the weather put pay to that! It was such a wet and windy day that we had to reschedule. So horrid was the weather, that when my buddy Chris O turned up, he looked like a drowned rat! Chris is off cycling (motor style) in the Isle of Man. Despite it being the eve of Chris's birthday, he brought me a present - a particularly awesome cycling sign as shown in the pic at the start of this blog entry. Thanks Chris and happy birthday mate!

Friday was the last day spent doing any type of exercise for the week. SJ pushed me to do more sit-ups. I could only manage a max out of 30. SJ, on the other hand, beat me by just a few, well ok, by 70 more than me! Unbelievable!

The weekend will see me travel to Africa with SJ and my sisters Kim and Jane. We will be spending time at a disabled orphanage, as volunteers, in Durban. This is the 'Happy's' project. Some might remember sponsoring me last year to raise funds for this project during my second LEJOG trip. Over £8,000 was raised and purchased a whole bunch of wheelchairs. I will try and blog a little during my visit and hope to exercise just a little while I'm out there. On my return training for the PBP will start.

Weekly totals: Cycled 20 miles; Ran for 30 mins.

Wham, bam, need to make a new plan

2011-05-22T01:24:00.000-07:00

This week turned out to be a 'rest' week. A lazy week indeed. Little was done it terms of exercise, but I guess a good recovery from last weeks 600k cycle event was warranted.
The bike saw no tarmac at all. The rollers are getting dusty. My mountain bike had been redundant too. I had plans of cycling the Cotswold Challenge, a 158k audax event starting from Meriden, but decided to spend my time with SJ instead. This event scored no AUK or AAA points anyway. It is important to rest and they suggest a days rest for each 100k cycled in an event. I guess concerns regarding keeping my form are what are bothering me. I have a place in the Paris - Brest - Paris (PBP) 1200k cycle event in August and am aware much training is required. I have trained a lot in just cycling the qualifying events (a 200k, 300k, 400k and 600k audax event all completed this season) but am aware training must continue. The PBP is only about 12 weeks away and from next Saturday I take a break from training for about 3 weeks as I will be going to Africa to offer my services as a volunteer at a disabled orphanage project (will blog more about this later). I guess I'll worry about PBP more on my return. I will be riding for Great Britain (of course) and my number is GB -3727.

In terms of other bike news, I have a few things to report. Took Cayo to get her gear cable fixed, this cost a more reasonable £3.50 from Speeds. Have ordered a new rear light as my previous Blackburn one proved useless - water got into it and it stopped working. Ron is away in Spain cycling big mountains on his mountain bike, well wishes for him.

Did not run this week. Well, ran a little in a PT session if that counts. SJ and I had a session with Chris PT where he worked us real hard. Both SJ and I are still suffering a little from that last session. I cheated a little and did not sprint on any of the shuttles (shh!). We did the usual mix of a variety of exercises including weights, running, sit-ups and my favourite - boxing! Over and above that, no further exercise took place except an exhaustion test on our sit-ups. I managed to score 48 sit-ups and SJ 56. My sister Jane text me and said she can do 112 - I don't think she's doing them right and I plan to find out and print her results here!

Bryan Chapman Memorial (Classic) 619k Audax

2011-05-16T09:21:00.000-07:00

Presented below is a summary of my collective thoughts and feelings following my completion of the Bryan Chapman Memorial (Classic) 619k audax on the weekend. A lot of what I have written may be jumbled and/or incomplete as this was a particularly gruelling event that took it's toll on both my body and head space. Errors and omissions accepted!

I started this event from Chepstow at 6 a.m along with another 100 or so cyclists. Just prior to the start there was a 'bag drop' facility. This bag drop was an awesome idea, that I never expected. Basically, I was able to drop off a bag that would be taken to a control further on in the event. This meant I could empty my new saddle bag of a number of items (shorts, socks, base layer, mits and food) and hence save some weight. These items could be picked up later in the event and further items (dirty shorts etc) dropped off and taken back to the finish. This was good news and made a great start. The beginning of this ride was essentially the end of the Brevet Cyrmu audax I completed a couple of weeks back and the route took me through Usk and then continued to Abergavenny along the A40. Once off the A40 it was a bit of a drag to the first control. The first control was called the 'Honey Cafe'. I ate no honey, but glady consumed some beans on toast and a mug of tea (along with some shortbread biscuits from my pocket). There was a sign outside this control which read 'may peace prevail on earth' in a number of different languages, which was nice.

I can't quite remember when it rained and when it didn't, nor can I remember when or what exactly I ate. As a general rule however, it seemed to rain a lot during the first few stages and to make matters worse there was a head wind. On the return leg it rained less and I had a tail wind for the most part. I ate lots and lots and spent about £30 on snacks during the event. I took rolls (jam and beef), energy gels (x8), vitamins, chocolates and malt loaf with me.

Stage 2 was the longest stage and passed through Rhayader before reaching the control at Nant Yr Arian Visitor Centre. For a stage that had no serious hills this was tough one - major head wind and I was wet. Remember cycling 'wacky racers' style with a couple on a tandem - they would pass me going down hill and I would pass them up hill. Very pretty control and again I ate well. I had chocolate cake and some ready salted crisps (alongside my beef roll).

Stage 3 was real hilly, lots of climbing. Not exactly sure where the route went but I definately passed through Machcynlleth before reaching control. Major menace was encountered along this stage too. First off my cycle computer died making navigation an issue and worse still, my front deraillier cable snapped which meant I could only use my lower gears for duration of the rest of the event. I cycled this section mostly as a double act with the guy whose name I never got. He was a nice guy and obviously Welsh (so for sake of this write up, shall refer to him as Mr Welsh). If I had issues, they did not compare to that of Mr Welsh - one of his spokes snapped. Mr Welsh tightened a number of his other spokes and just continued in the hope that his wheel would hold out. Remember climbing a big hill as a small group somewhere during this stage. A sharp and steep cutback finally led to the control at Kings YHA. This YHA was great and my bag was dropped here. I took off my wet clothes and hung them in the dry room, cremed my bum (with a chamois butter) and changed into new cycling gear. I ate some chicken soup (delicious) and pasta bolognese (awfull). I was missing SJ's cooking skills here as I thought back to the pasta sauce she had cooked up.

Left the King YHA with Mr Welsh and passed through Arthog. We cycled onto a train platform which led to a long wooden bridge. This really was quite weird, as this bridge went over sea and sand and led to a troll booth. The troll charged us £1.50 to cross this railway bridge. The bridge led to the A496 which took us to Barmouth and on to Harlech. This was an interesting ride, as I had been here before, but not on a bike! A major hill was climbed which led to Llanberis Pass. This hill seemed to go on forever and was a real climber. I lost Mr Welsh here and caught up a guy named Mark and cycled most of the hill with him. The top of the hill was the car park I have used before when walking Snowdon! And once at the top, weeee, a super long and fast descent! It was dark by the time I crossed Menai Bridge. Menai Bridge incidentally reminded me of my brother Dave. Dave would often say 'Itchi menai beardi' in times past. Ha ha. Was real pleased to reach the control at Canolfan Thos Telford. Again I was soaked to the skin. Soup, cheese sarnies and peaches were served here and it felt good that I was about half way through my adventure.

At often times I thought about my buddy Chris O (aka Chris Hodge). Chris was cycling a 24 hour mtb marathon. I would have joined Chris if it were not for this audax. He and a few of his mates completed the marathon event and raised some monies for CLIC. Well done Chris!

Stage 5 seemed much like stage 4 in reverse and led back to the Kings YHA. I don't recall too much but sure enought there was a tough hill past Trawsfynedd and that menace approach to the YHA. I was cycling with a small group of 4 who I cycled again with later in the event. There was Julian, Mark, Gary and Richard (providing I've remembered names correctly). They were a nice group and provided good company. Richard always tended to be towards the back of the group which didn't seem right as he had objectively the largest calf muscles. Mark was the guy I climbed Llanberis pass with. My memory goes a little blurred here but how awesome it felt to reach the YHA. I think I ate pasta sauce on potato before crashing out. I was looking forward to a bed, but none was availabe for about a further hour. I changed from my wet clothes into my clothes that I put in the dry room earlier on and crashed out on a 2 seater settee. I dozed off for a couple of hours of broken sleep before feeling too cold and quite miserable. I goofed around for about an hour and then decided to set off again (the breakfast I ordered never appeared).

Started stage 6 by myself and so glad I did so. A few km's into the stage and I needed an emergency poo! I had to pull over on the side of the road and let nature take it's course. Note to self (and others) - toilet paper is a must! Was joined later by Mark, Julian, Richard and Gary which was nice and they provided me with a little needed encouragement. Again my memory goes a little blurred but remember reaching Aberhafesp Community Centre. Ate bacon on toast and corn flakes at this control. Brushed my teeth here too!

Stage 7 was cycled with the small group again. Gary would pass the time by talking in a light hearted manner and Julian would share a wealth of information pertaining to this ride. This stage contained the longest single climb. I remeber the descent as it went super fast over a number of cattle grids. Generalised aches and pains almost everywhere. The control was at a One Stop Shop. I missed the sit down and eat controls to be honest. No matter really, I sat down outside and ate!

Stage 8 was the final stage and again I cycled with the small group. Not sure of Mr Welsh's fate and the tandem couple packed at the last control. Julian was sick during this stage, he said it was the way his body coped with stress. My body coped by aching and hurting all over. So many hills here. It really was like a roller coaster all the way to Monmouth. As a general rule, Mark and I would reach the summits first then bomb down the descents and wait for the rest of the group. After this roller coaster ride I began to suffer and Ibuprofen did little to lessen pain. I got dropped by the group just before Tintern (traffic lights sealing my doom and preventing any chance of catching them up). I was happy here as I knew the end was in sight and felt strong that I would finish. I stopped at Tintern Abbey ruins and took a picture before embarking on the final climb. This final climb was menace! I have on a few occasions flew past Tintern Abbey on cycle events and often wondered what it would be like going the other way. Now I know! It's hard and tiring but very pretty all the same. Once the summit was reached I raced to the control, the end point and reached there just before 6.30 pm. Yay, job done. It was great to get my brevet card stamped for the last time and nice to meet up with the guys from the small group. We shook hands and wished each other well and all said 'see you in Paris' ....

Am real pleased I completed this event, my first ever 600k event (was awarded with 6 AUK points and 8.25 AAA points). I am now officially a Super Randonneur (and an AAA Super Randonneur at that) and I have been awarded enough AAA points to claim by AAA medal. Over and above that I have completed all the qualifying events to enter the Paris-Brest-Paris (BPB) 1200k audax event in August and beat this, I have a place! SJ pre-registered me. I'll keep you posted!

Cycled 619k (384.6 miles) in under 36 and a half hours.

The 'B' word

2011-05-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

This week saw me panic. I had a 600k event to prepare for. This 600k event was the Bryan Chapman 619k audax which goes around North Wales and includes many a hill. Family and friends were getting annoyed with any mention of the word 'bike'.
So much was my worry that I didn't do any training on Monday. Instead I worried. I checked the weather for the weekend and worried some more - heavy rain was forecast for Wales.

Tuesday was a better day. Today I went cycling with Ron. We cycled new tracks and trails which was nice. We spent a bit of time cycling around Studley Castle. I lost my glasses coming down a steep off road descent. At one time, both Ron and I nearly rode over a kamikaze monk Jack deer that swept out in front of us. As usual we saw plenty of deer during our outing.

Wednesday was a great day. Chris O had sent me some tubes (for cycling purposes) through the post and Chris PT had contacted me. Chris PT was happy to provide SJ and I with a training session which we gladly accepted. Last time we had been with Chris PT he had worked our legs so hard that we could hardly walk for 2 days. We mentioned this to Chris and informed him of my plans for the weekend, so he concentrated on not working our legs too hard. We still ran. We ran in a box like figure which was mingled with periods of walking and periods of exercise that would include lifting weights, sit-ups, press ups, the dreaded bench etc. As one of us was performing exercises the other would run and vice versa. Following this we did more sit-ups with a medicine ball and then played net ball with this medicine ball. SJ had a forfeit of doing a sprint run for dropping ball and I had to perform extra sit-ups for pulling my tongue at SJ. On top of this we had some boxing to do. This boxing was great fun, even though tiring. SJ might get some boxing gloves for her birthday...

Thursday went back to worrying. I had ordered a Carradice saddle bag to carry extra stuff on the impending audax but it hadn't arrived. SJ, bless her, advised I look on the internet and locate a shop that sold them and go pick one up. I did just that and am now the proud owner of a Carradice barley saddlebag. Again, no exercise today but SJ prepared me a lovely pasta based meal (noodles and salmon) to start my carbo-loading.

Friday was spent organising all my kit ready for tomorrows audax. The Carradice barley bag was packed full of stuff and I mad some changes to my bike. The biggest change I made was to add 3 lights to the front of the bike. I now have 2 Cateye light sets and my awesome Ay-Ups are in place too. This will definitely make me feel safer and brighter. For this new audax I am taking loads of food with me which I don't normally do. SJ gets the giggles when I talk about bonk rations. Finished the carbo-loading with another meal cooked by SJ, this time it was bolognese sauce over ravioli. Delicious. Hopefully am all prepared. Car is packed. Just need to write off here, have a bath and go sleep.

IF! If I complete the audax event tomorrow then that will be my first completed 600k event, I will have completed an SR (Super Randonneur) series, an AAA SR series and earned enough points (20 over any period of time) for my first AAA medal. In addition to all of that, I would have completed the necessary qualifying events for the PBP (ha!).

The Lumpy Scrumpy 100 (110k audax)

2011-05-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

After the hard work of last weekend, that was the Brevet Cyrmu, Monday was spent resting. Following said event, most of Sunday was spent resting too. I should do these events more often, I say this because SJ pampered me big time following that audax. These audax events certainly play havoc with one's head space though. In my previous blog entry I reported that I went to two different controls, both called 'The West End Cafe' - it turns out it was the very same cafe both times. Hahaha. This was pointed out to me via a cycling forum.

Took Cayo (the road bike) to get a service on Tuesday. To my amazement only the chain and rear brake pads needed replacing - still cost a total of about £75 though... Despite aching legs and sore bum, took Scotty out with Ron for an 'easy pedal'. This easy pedal was the usual Deer route with the addition of a hill (the one that leads to the cart that is no longer there?!).

Wednesday and Thursday was spent training with SJ. On the one day we continued with our sit-ups - I maxed out on 23 and I think SJ completed 60 plus or something! The other day was spent running. We did a shorter than normal run and felt more pooped than normal too. SJ was playing with her new heart rate monitor that I got for her but it was playing up a wee bit.

Friday was spent resting and Saturday saw me complete The Lumpy Scrumpy 100 audax. The start of this event was awful as the heavens had opened and it was wet big time. On the plus side I was able to test my new Gore Oxygene IV jacket. I also chose to kit myself out with my over-shoes. Despite the miserable conditions, a good number turned out to this event including 'the hag' and her husband. I shall no longer refer to Mary as 'the hag' as she is quite lovely really and I often meet her at events and she is nice to chat with. From now on I will refer to her as Mary H. As usual, Mary H was wearing sandals.

The audax event started in Parkend, Forest of Dean and was considered a 'challenging ride'. In all honesty, I expected the event to be hard and hilly (it did score 1.75 AAA points) but found it relatively easy. The first stage (of which there were only 2) only proved difficult on the narrow lanes. The hills were not too strenuous but triffids tried to take me off my bike as I cycled the said lanes. These plants were seriously over grown and sticking out the hedges. My Gore jacket was excellent and my over-shoes were not! Top half dry, feet wet (but warm). Caught up and cycled with Graham from Cirencester to the control. Graham was a nice fella that I cycled a Pickwick 200 event with earlier in the year. Ordered beans on toast at control and a mug of tea. Tea was in a jug that had to be divided between 3 folk (we were not all together) and the beans on toast was only a single piece of bread with a few beans.

The whole of stage 2 was cycled as a double act with Graham. The sun had come out for this stage and it was very hot. My feet were baking and I guess I should have removed the over-shoes. Again, not a difficult stage and this whole event was easily completed on a compact chainset. Felt cheated really, had cycled to Malvern Hills and Forest of Dean and did not experience any major tough climbs. Maybe this event just felt easy compared to last weeks 400 ?! With this event completed I have now made the AAA roll of honour for this season.

During audax I cycled a total distance of 69.23 miles at an average speed of 16.2 mph and a max speed of 35.6 mph.

Sunday saw me complete another exhaustion test for my sit-ups. I completed these sit-ups at work with Zalika. I maxed out on 45 and Zalika on 20. SJ was contacted, she only beat me by 15 and maxed out on 60.

Weekly totals: Cycled 86 miles; Ran for 24 mins.

Brevet Cymru (401k audax)

2011-05-02T12:35:00.000-07:00

In view of the fact that no running took place last week (save during the PT session), I started this week with a run. SJ and I ran the Studley Triangle. We both felt quite pooped and it was a hot day. To be fair though, our time was pretty good.

Tuesday was a little disappointing as SJ and I had geared ourselves up ready for a Killer Chris PT session which didn't happen. Chris had got our dates mixed up and we were so busy with one thing and another that we weren't able to fit in another session this week. Like good folk though, SJ and I continued with our sit-up homework. I maxed out on 29 sit-ups today and SJ on 42. We also ran today. Our run took us, plus Cody Menace around Oversley Wood for a couple of laps. This run was hard going but I guess it made up for no running last week.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent indoors on the rollers. The first session was at the usual high intensity (Z3) and the second at a lower intensity (Z2) and only half the distance. The second session was deliberately easy as I just wanted to spin and 'save my legs' for the 400k audax over the weekend.

Received good and bad news during the week. The good news was that I was awarded 4 AAA points for completing the Dean 300k audax, which I cycled with Ron earlier this year. The bad news was that Ron informed me he had a bad fall. Ron was out cycling the TROAD route with John and just past the slaughter house he nearly got slaughtered! Ron's front tyre came completely off the wheel and Ron's bib shorts, gloves and skin came off him. Poor Ron - well wishes big time.

The weekend saw me complete my first ever 400k audax. This event was the Brevet Cyrmu audax that started and finished in Chepstow. I was awarded 4 AUK points and 2.75 AAA points for this event. My AAA points (this season) so far are 11.75, just need 0.25 points to be added to this years roll of honour!

I rested well the day before the Brevet Cyrmu and SJ cooked me up a nice dish of spaghetti bolognese - the perfect carbo load. Packed my car the day before too and checked I had all the equipment I required. This was the most stuff I have ever carried on a bike and the extra weight was noticeable.

Got to the start of the audax in good time. Had left my house at about 3.30 a.m and reached the community centre in Chepstow a good half hour before start. About 100 cyclists were taking part in this event - a few were using fixed speed cycles. I had a hot cross bun (plus 2 banana's on way up) then readied myself preparing to begin. At 6 a.m we were off. It was a nice fast start and the initial chill passed quickly. I was wearing my new Pearl Izumi gilet and I completely rate it - it kept me toasty warm. Big descents were encountered early in this stage. The most memorable descents being the long stretch past Tintern Abbey (cycled before during LEJOG events) and another steeper descent not long after. This second descent was real scary - I saw a poor cyclist feather his rear brake and subsequently see his rear wheel bounce a few times before he went straight over the bars and into the side of the hedge. These big descents and subsequent climbs soon broke the pack of cyclists up. I was towards the front cycling in a group of 5. We cycled steady till we neared Hay-On-Wye and then 2 cyclists in our group of 5 raced to reach said destination first. Just a few miles later we had reached the first control. The picture below shows the complete route.

I did not stop at the first control, save to get my brevet card stamped. I had wanted to stop for something to eat but the others I was cycling with had just continued so I followed suit.The gels and shortbread biscuits in my pockets made a great snack. I was cycling this section mostly as part of a double act for a long stretch - taking turns to pull and follow until we reached a group with a few more cyclists in. My thoughts went a bit cloudy for a while after joining group and it was starting to get very hot. The guy I had been cycling with to reach the new group was suffering already and was soon dropped - I never saw him again. Reached the control in Llandovery in good time and stopped for a suitable breakfast of beans and egg on toast and a mug of tea. Met Zigzag from a cycling forum here, which was nice. This cafe was called the 'West End Cafe', and was the first of 2 controls with the self same name.

Stage 3 was menace! Near disaster! Sadly my navigational skills were badger like. After 198k I was not at the control in Tregaron. Instead, I was outside an antique shop. I popped in and asked how far away from Tregaron I was, the shop keeper informed I was about 25 miles away! Grr! I felt quite peeved at this juncture and wasn't sure what to do. Should I pack and give in was my first thought - this was a silly idea as I was half way through, ie it was about 200k back to start and also about 200k to finish. My second though was to back track and find Tregaron, but I wondered if I'd reach the control in time. A quick check of the brevet card indicated I had hours to reach control so off I cycled. The cycle here was horrid, I had big hills to climb and was cycling into a headwind. After what seemed like an age, with only my shadow for company, I picked up signs for Tregaron. With renewed hope I sped along till I reached control. I was so happy at this control because lots of cyclists were here. I had added 32k to my trip by making this wrong move and missed the sign for Llanddewibrefi.... that I so wanted to photograph. Grr! I ate the most delicious butternut squash soup ever at this control and washed it down with a pint of coke just before I set off again. As I set off from control, other cyclists were still reaching control which made me feel good and the voices in my head were bigging me up and telling me I was fitter than I thought.

Stage 4 was awesome. This stage led to the beach in Newquay which was a real pretty sight. Although I was already over half way, this felt like a 'true halfway' as this was the furthest point I was to reach before heading back. I felt a bit sick and out of sorts at this control and had a light lunch consisting of just a tuna mayo sarnie and banana milk shake.

So pleased was I that I had only a light lunch at control because as soon as leaving Newquay a major hill was encountered that just went on and on and on. I saw some folk pushing their bikes up the hill here. My dry, dark sense of humour got me up this hill as I chuckled at the thought of those cyclists eating a large fish and chips before tackling this hill. When I finally reached the control at Llandovery it was dark. The control was the second 'West End' cafe on this audax. Folk must have known the moment I reached this control, as when I did, lots and lots of fireworks were set off! Again, I felt rough at this control so I ate lots as a recovery means. I had egg on toast and washed it down with a cup of tea. Is strange what you do when you feel drained, when off your head and in pain. I ate a custard slice, which normally I do not like, but right then, I loved it! I decided to lose a bit of weight here too and went for a number 2!

Started stage 6 in complete darkness. My front light that I have previously rated was naff and it was hard to follow the road. As a result of this I cycled quite slowly and got scared when suddenly flying down a descent. To be fair the road was mostly flat and navigating was minimal. It was lucky that navigation was minimal as I could not see my route sheet and would have benefited greatly by using my head torch (which I didn't bring with me). The sky at night was awesome. So beautiful was God's creation - all the sky was splashed with glitter - the many stars looked fantastic and there was no light pollution. After so long a cyclist caught me up and I benefited big time from his powerful lights. Up until now, I had cycled slowly until a car passed, where I would suddenly speed up being able to clearly see the road and it's markings. I stuck with this 'bright' cyclist all the way to control. Call me an opportunist but these lights were too good to miss out on. At one point I took a few minutes off the saddle, just to stretch, which was nice. How great it was to reach the control at Bwlch. Not sure how you pronounce 'Bwlch', but the voices in my head pronounced it 'Belch'.

The control at Bwlch was the first sleep control that I had ever encountered. After getting brevet card stamped I was treated to soup. I could have had pie and custard too but decided to give it a miss. Then, I had the option of sleeping. Lots of sleeping bags and roll mats were placed in rows and sure enough a whole bunch of cyclists were resting/sleeping/groaning. Have no idea where all these sleeping bags came from but was happy to use one all the same. I asked the brevet card stamper dude to wake me up at 2 a.m - he woke me up after 2 hours (3a.m). I didn't want to get up now but there was demand for my bed! Left this control knowing that I was now on the last leg.

Again it was still real dark when I left control and initially I was alone. I had only cycled a few miles and then I hit real trouble again - my front light packed up completely and I had no spare batteries. I decided to do my previous trick and wait for a passing cyclist and 'pinch' from their light source. This worked ok but meant I had to cycle slower than I wanted. As other cyclists caught up I would jump ship and use their light. I followed this process until it was light enough for me to read my route sheet. This last stage seemed to go on forever. There was a hill near (or leading to) Usk that just didn't seem to have an end. It wasn't particularly steep but it went on and on and hard it was on tired and fatigued legs. A real sting in the tail. Or a pain in the butt (quite literally). Ah, once the summit was reached though, it was a long descent pretty much all the way back to the Arrivee in Chepstow! Woo hoo!

This was the furthest audax event I had ever cycled and I clocked a distance of 437.36 k or 271.76 miles. My average speed was 14.29 mph and according to my speedo I reached a max speed of 65.8 mph (hmm?!). Great sights were seen. Nice cyclists were met and stories shared. Thanks to those who shone a light, provided a pull or helped in any other way. An adventure shared with a few and now I share with you too!

Weekly totals: Ran for 1 hour and 14 mins; Cycled 311 miles.

Killer Chris and the PT session(s)

2011-04-25T12:55:00.000-07:00

Training this week began with a MTB ride. Ron and I took our bikes around trails and fields in Astwood Bank. We hadn't been here for so, so long and it proved fun cycling tracks we had cycled in the past. Dog Butt Lane always brings a smile to my face. We didn't cycle long or far (I punctured) but it was nice to get the legs spinning all the same.

On Wednesday, SJ and I rocked up to meet Chris - the PT guy, at Morton Stanley Park. Within minutes, this dude nearly killed us both! Chris had us doing 'shuttles' after we had loosened up by jogging around a football pitch and stretching muscles I never knew existed. These shuttles involved running and sprinting back and forth with bonus exercises to do at certain points. These exercises included lifting weights (not heavy, but heavy enough), lunges, sit ups, squats etc. After these shuttles we had to do more and for longer. SJ and I were both seriously drained and sweating some! Later in our session we were to concentrate on core muscles and had more sit-ups and this thing called a plank to do. SJ beat me on both counts - she could hold a plank way longer than me and scored 19 sit-ups in her exhaustion test compared to my 14. To finish we ran around the football pitch again and loosened up again by doing more stretches. This was a good session but hard, hard work. We both liked Chris and look forward to seeing him again next week. In the meantime, we have sit-up exercises to do as homework. Groan!

Thursday was spent indoors on the rollers. This was also the last I cycled this week - think I had started to lose focus a wee bit. Or maybe it was the fact the the PT session had caused discomfort to my legs!

For the remainder of the week, I did little in the way of exercise. Shame on me, I didn't run even once and cycling was seriously limited. Chris sent me a photo of last weeks MTB adventure and someone (I think Chris Rimmel) had posted me some cycling books - were they trying to covertly motivate me? I require motivation as I have that whopping 400k audax coming up (next weekend). My only real saving grace was the fact that I adhered to my sit-ups schedule. This sit-ups schedule involved doing repetitions of these menace exercises and 'maxing out' on the last set. My max out results were 24, 22 and 16 respectively. SJ maxed out on 31, 51 and 40 clearly kicking my butt and was, can you believe it, disappointed at her results! She might have a 6 pack, but I have a fuel tank!

Weekly totals: Cycled 34 miles.

New Forest Spring MTB Ride

2011-04-17T13:17:00.000-07:00

No long distance event at the end of this week. No chance of getting a new bike. And no girlfriend (SJ has gone 'sunning it' in Sri Lanka). However, the week ended with an epic off road mtb adventure.

Training began on Tuesday. I decided to use my off day for cycling some hills. I stuck to local hills and followed the 'Hunting for Hills' ride which Ron created last year. Less than 10 miles into my cycle I stopped to answer my phone - it was SJ calling from abroad, which was nice. A few miles on and I had to stop again because I had punctured - this wasn't so nice. My puncture occurred at the bottom of Cobley hill. After fixing puncture I cycled to the top of hill, then realised I had left my glasses at the foot, so back I turned and climbed that dreaded hill twice! I completed this trek in good time and so decided to add a few more miles towards the end. The additional miles took me from the Green Dragon pub to 'that undulating road' between Alcester and Astwood Bank, which I cycled in both directions (ie to Alcester and back to Astwood Bank). This was a nice trek and I covered just over 50 miles. Later in the day, I teamed up with Ron and Mick (a guy Ron bumped into a couple of weeks back) and we took our mountain bikes out. The basic plan was for Ron and I to show Mick local trails we often cycle. Ron was having trouble with his crank set, indeed his pedal arm fell off on 2 occasions. Luckily, Ron is mechanically minded and ingeniously fixed problem with a scrap of metal he found. We cycled new paths new to me too, which took me through a ford near Alcester and then round the back of Oversley Wood. A great days cycling all round.

Wednesday was spent indoors on my rollers. As part of the plan, I have decided to cycle 1 indoor session each week. Rollers are boring but I figure they help with balance (and I have fallen off my bike so many times). Rollers require a continuous pedal and I try and keep my heart rate above 132 bpm the whole session (Zone 3).

Thursday was a rest day and Friday was a little strange. I had 'won' a free personal trainer session (PT) (courtesy of 'for goodness shakes') and decided to give the chap a ring. I spoke to a guy called Chris and told him I wasn't overly keen on the idea of having PT sessions as cost, motivation and time would be an issue. Chris came over and gave me a consultation and we essentially agreed to 1 PT session per week, lasting for aprox. one and a half hours (girlfriend can come along too if she wishes), all for the cost of £15. I can quit whenever I like, and should I have 10 sessions, then the next 2 will be free. Seemed reasonable to me and decided to give it a go. The PT sessions will concentrate mainly on my core strength (as this is particularly weak) and look at my running too. I was been given a 6 week plan of sit-ups to do (homework) and I was able to perform 51 in my initial test. The plan has developed and now looks like this: 1 x PT session, 1 x run, 1 x rollers session and 1 x night cycle with Ron, Jon, etc each week. Plus as many audax and off road events I can muster within each month. There is no maximum amount of cycling I can do. Following the consultation (the 6 week plan will commence next week), I went out for a run. I ran the Studley stinky route. This run felt strange as neither SJ or Cody were with me.

Saturday was the day of the New Forest Spring MTB Ride - a cycle event organised by Wiggle. The day was beautiful weather wise and the event was well organised. I was a little disappointed with the ride itself, as (compared to more recent events) the hills were few, the miles not many, no single track, no super fast descents and little in the way of technical stuff. I felt I could have got round this course on my old Grifter. However, meeting up with friends was great. 3 of the Lejog 2010 boys were here, - Guy, Chris and Ben Adams plus Ben's brother Matt, who I had not met before.

The event was not dull. Lots of wild creatures were spotted en route. These creatures included wild horses and wild cows! The were seriously 100's of horses strolling around as if they owned Hampshire and would walk across the roads and pavements care free style. As I passed one horse, I couldn't help but slap it's behind - not sure who was more startled, the horse or Guy (following behind me) who was lucky to miss a buckaroo! The cows were care free too, there was just less of them. Cow tipping was not considered an option as these cows had major long horns!

It was nice to meet Matt, he was much like his brother Ben. Awesome hooking up with Ben - had wanted to go out MTBing with him since Lejog 2010 and finally got the chance. Ben was clearly the master at bike tricks, trail hopping and the likes. Had not seen Guy since an audax event in Bristol last year (the last time he had been out on a bike). Guy was still fit and all the gym work he does seems to have paid off nicely. A swim challenge is Guys next major pursuit. Chris was riding his Scott bike today (not his Orange), so we became the Scott boys for the day and kinda rode as a double act. Chris's Scott differed to mine in a major way - his was a cyclo cross bike and was only 1 of 8 such bikes to ride this course. Chris, like myself, was not impressed with this course and feels he needs to do another cyclo cross event that is more challenging before he can say he has really completed such an event. We both got our heart rates going as we had several sprints/races along the way which was fun. Chris and I were pretty much evenly matched. At the end, I sprinted to the finish to cross the line first. I thought Chris was far behind, but he truly sprinted to the finish and got every one's heart rate going as he was nearly squished by 2 cars coming at him in opposing directions! Chris felt he had beat me on the line, I thought not. The official results were ... we both had the exact same time!

All 5 of us successfully completed the event. We were awarded with goody bags upon finishing along with a medal. I think all our times were quite naff and we were awarded with 'bronze' status. A good day was had by all and we all finished with a smile!

During MTB event, I cycled a distance of 37.86 miles, at an average speed of 10.3 mph and a max speed of 27.8 mph.

Weekly totals: Cycled 134 miles; Ran for 30 mins.

The Plan

2011-04-10T00:18:00.000-07:00

No major event this week, however training continued. The next big goal of mine is a 400k event at the end of the month. I have never cycled such a distance and just hope I can complete this goal. That is my plan!

Ran a couple of times this week. My first run was with SJ and Cody and we ran around Oversley Wood. This was a nice run and we completed 2 laps (aprox 5 miles) in under 45 mins. We were all pleased we had managed 2 laps. Doing this distance was a first for SJ. My next run didn't include Cody, but SJ came along. We ran a hilly off road track in Henley. This was a good run too, it was very sunny and an awesome day. Poor SJ was suffering with a cold though.

Was a good week on the weather front all round really. So good was the weather that Ron and I went out in shorts (as opposed to longs) on my first bike venture of the week. We started cycling the 'Ron's 1 hour loop' route but extended it at the end. The end was 'that undulating road' to Astwood Bank that I cycled during last weeks audax, the one with the short sharp climb at the end. After this climb it was an easy pedal back to Studley with a quick race up St Judes Avenue (hard to judge who reached the summit first). My second cycle was indoors on the rollers. I think I must be getting a little fitter as I am having to push harder gears to reach the desired heart range (Zone 3).

No long distance cycles this week. However, Audax UK reminded me of long distance events that I have done and posted me out several medals and cloth badges to add to my collection. Such awards included the Brevet 500 (for cycling 5 x 100k events last season), the Brevet 1,000 (for cycling 5 x 200k events this season), the Randonneur 500 (for riding Populaire events of 50k, 100k and 150k then going on to a 200k at Randonneur speed, all in one season) and the Randonneur 1,000 (for riding Populaire events of 100k, 200k and 300k all at Randonneur speed, topped up by more events totalling another 400k, this season). I would like to add a Super Randonneur and Randonneur Road The Year award to this list by the end of the season - that is my plan.

Weekly Totals: Ran for 1 hour and 14 mins; Cycled 42 miles.

Droitwich - Towcester (218k audax) a flat, up and down menace!

2011-04-03T00:51:00.000-07:00

This weeks activities on the training front included walking, running and cycling. As usual, a whole bunch of creature spotting occured. And, a dose of menace was encountered too!

I don't normally record my walking activities. This is because, unlike my sister Jane, I don't really regard walking as exercise. Cody and I are walking all the while and we'd have enermous amounts of space to fill up. I am recording the fact that I walked around Ladywood reservoir on 2 occasions with folk from work this week, during work time. If I'm getting paid to walk - it's a different story! Over and above that, the folk from work who regularly walk the reservoir (namely Zalika, Max, Eddy, Adrian and Cecelia) are using this as a means of exercise (or maybe that's their excuse).

Only ran once this week. This running took place at Oversley Wood and I had SJ and Cody with me for company. We ran further than our usual norm (1 lap) and added an extra half lap which we will start to increase until we can comfortably run 2 laps. On our return to the start I took us up and over the mound and we spotted about 4 deer which was nice.

Cycled twice during the week. The first excursion was with Ron and we took out our mountain bikes. We cycled to the 'Woods of Doom' and got lost. The regualr trail was blocked with tree's and the likes (some felling etc taking place in the woods). Getting lost was great, we cycled 'free style' following new paths and trails and went up and down some sweet ascents and descents. In the woods I kept spotting deer but Ron always seemed to miss them. However, once we reached a clearing, Ron spotted a whole bunch of deer (about 7 or 8) running together. How awesome. Once we found this clearing, we also found the descent trek from our usual woods visit and followed it. We then essentially followed the 'Reed route' back home. I don't know about Ron, but my legs were still tired from the 300k event the week before.

Saturday saw me complete another audax event. This was the Droitwich - Towcester 218k audax. With this event completed, I think I am halfway in getting my RRtY award ( a 200k+ event each month for a year).

Only 12 cyclists (including myself and the event organiser) met at Droitwich for the start of this event. Just prior to meeting up, I had a touch of deli belly and the heavens were open. However, just as we set sail, the rain had stopped. I thought I'd be sensible and stick with the group at the start and maybe benefit from a tow. I stuck with the group for about a mile and then left them as they were cycling way too slow. I sped off alone on flat fast lanes and reached the first control in Shipston-on-Stour ahead of everybody else. I got to the control 2 mins before it had opened - that was a first for me. Even though this control was a bakery, I wasn't tempted to purchase any food (I had a banana and bowl of porridge before I set out this morning) and just opted for a cup of tea (which I ate with 2 cup cakes I bought from home, made by ex-student nurse Becky).

Left the first control and cycled with 2 others. The one chap remembered me from the 300k event I did last year and the other chap has done a few audax's with me before. Like the last stage, this section was fast too and maybe just a little hillier (nothing major). Reached the control at Towcester (pronounced 'Toaster') in good time. This control was 'Jacks Hill Transport Cafe' and the staff here were most interesting. I swear I was served beans and egg on toast by that fat, tattood, ugly woman from the 'Goonies'.

Left Towcester and sped along as a group of 3 (2 different cyclists to last formed group). This group contained the organiser Gavin. As before, this was a relatively flat and fast stage. We reached Wellesbourne and that's when menace struck. I had lost my wallet and it's contents (debit card, driving licence etc). This should teach me to put items in zipped pockets. Grr! At least Gavin was able to see I was at the control - I couldn't get a receipt as I had no money with which to purchase food. Cancelled my debit card and sped off again for the last stage.

The last stage was like all the others - fast and relatively flat, except there was one short steep climb to navigate (a hill leading up to Astwood Bank that I have climbed several times before). I cycled this section as a group of 4, which became 3 after so many miles. I raced to the end, not only to be the first to finish but because I knew SJ was waiting for me at the finish. Sure enough, I was proud to finish first (a first for me) and SJ did me proud too, she looked absolutely stunning and took my mind off any lost wallet menace!

This was a great audax event that I would be happy to ride again. All the roads were well surfaced, quiet and it was possible to cycle at a decent speed. This event was considered to contain a 'moderate amount of climbing' but there were no major hills or climbs really (none when compared to 'The Dean' 300k audax). Oh, my wallet was found by a cyclist futher back and returned to the Gavin. All is well that ends well! SJ plans to save the day and re-claim my wallet!

During audax cycled 132.28 miles, at an average speed of 15.3 mph and a max speed of 37.7 mph.

Weekly totals: Cycled 147 miles; Ran for 31 mins.

The Dean (307k audax)

2011-03-27T13:54:00.000-07:00

Started this week with full on anxiety. I knew that I had plans to cycle a 300k audax on the weekend. This would be the second time I had ever attempted to cycle such a distance. 'Why' is a question one might ask. I am not sure I know the answer.

Training began on the Monday. First off was an indoor cycle on the rollers followed immediately by a run. SJ and I ran the Studley Traingle (door to door) and were only 5 seconds off our fastest time (not that we race). My legs really ached following this activity, I wondered how on earth I would fare Saturday. SJ distracted my thoughts and gave me a belated birthday present which was awesome - it was a T-shirt with a print of DMR pedals on the front. Nice!

Tuesday was spent cycling with Ron. We took our mountain bikes out and cycled an extended version of the 'Deer Route'. This was a pleasant evening and we had a good time creature spotting. Strangely no deer were to be seen, but we did see a rabbit, frogs, ducks, a badger, sheep and cats.

I repeated the route above again on Wednesday, but this time as a solo effort and during the day. No interesting creatures were spotted this time around and worse still a splatted frog lay where the frogs were seen the night before. Is not often that I cycle before an on-call shift but the sun was shining so bright that I felt really motivated to go out.

The weekend saw me complete 'The Dean', a 307k audax in Oxford. My buddy Ron joined me for this event. I wrote the comments below following the event where my mind and body are not in their usual state. This event should be re-titled as 'The mean Dean'.

Ron picked me up at a most horrid hour - 4 a.m! Luckily I had gotten my bike and kit ready the night before. With bikes loaded in car we reached Oxford in time for me to collect my brevet card and started the event on time at 6 a.m. We were 2 of about 100 riders (Ron had entered un-offically). The start was cold and misty but we were suitably clothed - I was wearing 4 layers. It didn't take long to warm up further as this start was super zoomy for an audax event. Ron and I stayed with the group of cyclists leading the pack but tucked in behind a few others to benefit from a 'tow'. This first section was mostly quiet lanes but there was a few hills and a relatively mean one before control. We had until 9 a.m to reach the first control in Stow, but we were so speedy we had reached it by 7.40 a.m (it had opened only 10 mins earlier). Our stop here was short. I just purchased a bottle of water (for sake of receipt) and ate some malt loaf I had prepared earlier.

Leaving Stow we cycled along familiar paths in Bishops Cleeve, Winchcombe and Tewkesbury. There was lots of hills during this stage and I am suprised the event organiser did not award us with AAA points (I felt he should). Some fast descents put a smile on my face and it was breakfast once we reached Newent! We both had a beans on toast with egg and a big mug of tea for me and coffee for Ron. We both looked quite pooped after cycling only a 100k, a third of the way through our epic advneture.

From Newent to Chepstow we encountered more hills. Hilly menace! To make things worse I had gotten something in my eye. Ron plucked the offending object from my eye - still not sure what it was but looked very much like worm poo. Maybe the gunk was evidence of infection - my poor eye had been watering and itchy for miles. Ron said I should put salt in my eye, stating I should trust him as he is 'a first aider' - now where have I heard that before?! Passing through the Forest of Dean was lovely and we saw a wild pig. This wild pig (boar according to Ron) was dead and appeared to be the victim of road kill - Ron said the locals had killed it and would put it between some slabs of bread if we were not passing by. Reached the control and ate junk for our efforts. This junk was chicken pieces, a pasty slice and more of my malt loaf. (Frequently throughout trip we would munch on biscuits or gels etc).

From leaving control we were faced with another hill almost straight away. This hill was worth climbing as it led to the Severn Bridge which was just awesome. Have now crossed this bridge 3 times on a bike. Again another big hill (at Hawkesbury Upton) had to be climbed before we reached the control in Malmesbury. This control was great as we stopped and ate in style. We both had soup, bread, roll, tea and a slice of chocolate cake. I swear Ron winked at the waitress and was given an extra large slice of cake for so doing.

From Malmesbury we cycled over the Marlborough Downs and 'over' was the fact of it. We had to climb big fat hills. 2 particularly big fat hills. These hills were hard work but the sighs were rewarding. We spotted 2 of Wiltshire's white horses. The second horse was half way up the final ascent and I could hear the horse saying 'reach me and I'll gallop you to the top' or was that Ron? Or even the voices in my head? Whatever it was I reached the top and then was rewarded with a super descent passing sighs to Avebury. It was dark by the time we reached the control in Membury. Both Ron and I were using our Ay-Up lights which are just awesome and in addition I was using cheap lights brought in end of year sales with which I am happy with too. All my kit was carried in my carradice zipped roll bag which I found great too but would maybe benefit with a slightly larger bag. We ate lots here at the control (being the last control before finish) and included was pasty, chocolate and more beverage.

The final slog took us from Membury back to Oxford. It was, of course, pitch black now but we sped along relatively flat lanes and B roads. So awesome to reach the finish. This was the first 300k event Ron had completed and I wonder if he will cycle this distance again? For me, this event has enabled me to reach Randonneur 1,000 status and I could use this event as a qualifier for PBP (ha!). In terms of PBP, I am halfway through the qualifying events, just a matter of a 400k and 600k event to go... Hmm, the mind is willing but the backside says no!

During audax cycled a distance of 190.42 miles at an average speed of 14.5 mph and a max speed of 45.3 mph.

Weekly totals: Cycled 249 miles; Ran for 33 mins.

Primal Level headed Wonder

2011-03-21T01:52:00.000-07:00

This week started off well. SJ, Cody and I ran across the fields of Studley in a cross country style. Cody and I have ran this before, but this was a first for SJ. I like this route as it is quite varied but pretty all the way. The run starts by passing through 'secret' fields leading to a kind of pond with a 'secret' swing and then continues down hill past the sewage works. The sewage works stunk a lot on this particular occasion and SJ said we should name this route ''the stinky route'', so here we have 'Studley stinky route'. After the sewage works we had to jump a ditch and then put Cody on her lead as we trekked across some tarmac and over a bridge. We took a left turn after bridge, passed a cattle grid and then running continued. The run led past a farm house and a semi-vicious collie that Cody likes to fight. After the dog fight, a couple of horses had to be navigated through and then running continued over fields. At about the half way point there was a stream where we stopped to catch breath and watered Cody. The next stage goes up-hill a little and leads past Studley Castle and a Church. Another bridge was crossed and the run finished with an up-hill dart to the finish.

The following day, I repeated the Studley stinky route again, but this time just had Cody for company. As usual, Cody picked a dog fight but didn't fare too well this time. Can you teach an old dog new tricks?! Before the run, I took Scotty out and cycled the Yard route for the first time on said mountain bike. This was a great on-road route for an off-road mountain bike. I experimented using my Carradice zipped roll bag with bagman support. This bag and support worked well and saved me from having to carry my Camelback as all my tools and food etc were in bag. It was great having no weight to carry on my person. Chris Hodge and I are planning (maybe) to cycle coast to coast (C2C) on our mountain bikes in an un-supported manner. I think Carradice bags with support bracket may prove the way ahead. I might invest in a Carradice Barley, as it will offer about 5 more litres of space over my current bag which should be way enough for addition of clothes, food and a few other essentials.

This particular days training finished in style - the day finished with a mosh at a 'Primal Scream' gig. Primal Scream played their 'Screamadelica' album and it was an awesome night. A Scottish band called 'Kassidy' were the support act and they were awesome too.

Mid-week was a rest day. The following day (St Patrick's Day) was another day full on with exercise. Training started with the Studley Stinky route run (in reverse) with Cody. Cody was a bit sluggish today and the collie she usually scraps with was not there today. This run is a little easier going the reverse way around. Following the run, much motivation was required to spend a time cycling indoors on my rollers. Again this days training finished with style as SJ and I went to a 'Levellers' gig which was excellent and had a fantastic support from the 'Wonderstuff'.

No more exercise took place for the rest of the week. Well, it was my birthday! Plenty of time was spent having fun and eating and drinking. Which leads to my concluding remarks. My ever-so-competitive sister Jane likes to walk (pah) and blogs about this activity and believes she is some sort of sports star personality. Her blog is all about her and her walks and she really does believe that her walking is superior to my cycling. She stated that my blog is more like a menu as I tend to write down all the desserts that I consume and take my fancy. Well, (this is for Jane) assuming heart rate is kept in the cardio range (aprox 120-150): Walking = around 400 Cal per hour. Cycling = around 500-700 Cal per hour! Cycling burns more calories and 'allows' one to eat more! Yes, I can have my birthday cake and eat it!

Weekly totals: Cycled 53 miles; Ran for 1 hour and 30 mins.

Milton Keynes Malarkey

2011-03-12T12:42:00.000-08:00

This weeks 'big' planned event was an off road affair in Milton Keynes, organiswd by Evans Cycles, with my buddy Chris 'Orange' Hodge. Last time we cycled such an event, we got lost and only cycled a medium length route, as opposed to the epic hard core route we convinced ourselves we were able to conquer. Before the Milton Keynes event was completed however, a little training took place first.

The first training session took place at 'Doo Little', my little abode. As most would have probably figured, this was an indoor session using my rollers. My legs were tired after last weeks 200k audax but spin they did.

SJ and Cody accompanied me on my next session. We ran around Oversley Woods. Am beginning to think this run is too short. Although this course is quite undulating, we finish in around 20 mins and I would prefer to run for at least 30 mins - maybe we should run around twice?!

My last training session was a double-whamy! I started by cycling on the rollers. This roller session was short and I only cycled half the distance of my usual sessions (ie I cycled 10 miles). This was long enough to warm up ready for when SJ rocked up though. When SJ eventually did rock up, we ran the Studley triangle. SJ doesn't know that this was the fastest we have ran the triangle as a couple. We ran it in 33 mins and 8 secs. We actually ran further than the triangle too, as we ran from and to my front door from the start/finish on the A435. Go us! :)

All the traing outlined above was my prepearation for the Evans Ride It! event in Milton Keynes I completed on the weekend. This was a great event. A collection of memories will be re-told.

I met Chris at the start, of what was to be a really warm sunny day. Chris had gotten new fox forks and I had gotten a new Fizik Gobi saddle which we proudly showed to each other. We both had relatively clean and shiny bikes.

After we had been fitted with timing chips we set off. We opted for the epic route - a supposedly 34 mile off road trek (the short route was 15 miles and the medium 25). Last time we did an Evans event we got lost and ended up doing a medium route. We were going to make sure today we were hard core! Almost as soon as we started, I hit trouble. The track was incredibly muddy and gloopy. This certain gloopy puddle threw me over the handlebars on my bike. If that wasn't bad enough, I bashed both knee's and worse still, I lost a shoe! This shoe took a while to find as I had to fish it out of gloopy puddle. Nice...

Back on track and we cycled a variety of terrain and conditions. Lots of mud, gloop, hard pack, sand, field and a bit of tarmac. Up hills, down hills, across fields, over bridges, over railway lines, past a quarry and through a golf course. Chris was on good form today and powered up the hills and flew down the descents. That is, until he punctured...

We both punctured in fact. Well kind of anyway. Chris had gotten a rather large thorn stuck in his front tyre which we decided not to pull out (and it made it to the end with adequate pressure). Chris's back tyre did not fare so well and required many stops to pump up deflating tube. My rear tyre also deflated. I stopped and removed the tube. A thorn was found in tyre and quickly removed. The tube pumped up ok and so was put back on, rather than replaced. This tube required stops to pump it up too as it was deflating, but slowly. I think the valve was at fault and no 'real' puncture present.

The stops were the usual standard and provided diluted drink and mega tasty cakes. Well, the first official stop had no cake, so I made up for it during second stop and ate 2! We were also equipped with a bar and had some gels too.

We cycled way over 34 miles. Chris said this was to ''make up for the miles we didn't do last time''. The truth was, we got lost again. Am not sure why, but we decided to follow white arrows instead of the yellow ones we were told to follow. Oh well, we made it to the finish and completed the epic route. Hard core we are!

During the Evans event, I cycled 40.46 miles, at an average speed of 8.4 mph and a max sped of 30.5 mph. (4 hours, 46 mins and 27 seconds were spent on my new saddle! No major back ache or bum ache. Am rating this saddle).

Finished the week by cycling another mini session indoors on the rollers.

Weekly totals: Cycled 80 miles; Ran for 53 mins.

Mr Pickwick's March Madness (209k audax)

2011-03-06T13:22:00.000-08:00

Training went well this week. Spent a few hours indoors on the rollers, spent time outside on the mountain bike and even went for a run. This training was the preperation for my 15th audax.

Felt good to be back on the rollers again. Had not used them for a while and finding the motivation to use them is at times difficult. Rollers require not only motivation but concentration as it is easy to fall off. Somehow, I found both the motivation and concentration necessary and used the rollers 2 days running. I thought about my sister Jane doing her gym work as I was rolling to the sound of Muse.

Mid-week I took Scotty out on a solo trip (both Ron and John being busy this week). I cycled the route Ron and I did last week (on our road bikes), namely the 'shortened' 1 hour loop. Like last week, I made up my miles by cycling through Studley village. Was generally a nice trek but was very cold and I have ideas of investing in a new saddle. My current saddle is a Selle Itaia SLR and it's not the comfiest by any means. I might research fizik saddles, especially as I have a number of off road events planned.

Went running with SJ and Cody. SJ provided the motivation as I could have easily have found an excuse not to go - it was cold, I was tired, lazy, etc ... Felt better once we got started. We ran around Oversley Woods in the dark. After the run, SJ put me to shame as she completed a great number more sit up's than I could ever imagine doing. Show off!

Had my Brevet card returned from the Willy Warmer audax I completed in January, which was nice. However, the card was returned with a letter from the event organiser which made sad reading. I quote ''one big downer on the day was the loss of a bike... some opportunistic scrote made away on a very nice blue Ribble bike... The lightest cheapest cable lock will deter rideaway thieves''. With the advice of this organiser, I might invest in a lock!

During the weekend I cycled my 15th audax, namely the 'Mr Pickwick's March Madness' event. This was a 209k audax starting and finishing in Tewkesbury. The event was quite a hilly affair and earned me 1.75 AAA points.

The event startd early, at 7 a.m, on a cold and misty morning. I was pleased to try out my new front and rear lights which I had just gotten on the cheap in an end of year sale - they worked fine. The first stage was a 46k affair that took me to Bromyard. The road surface was generally fine, but patches of frozen water were encountered here and there. I was suitably kitted out wearing 3 pairs of gloves, which might sound extreme, but it kept my digits warm! My feet were toasty too - I wore wooly socks and my overshoes. My overshoes are rubbish to be fair, they rub against my heel (painfull after a while) and squeak as they rub against the pedal arm. This squeak makes folk think I have a mouse in my pocket, or rubbing brake blokes. I figured I'd put up with the squeak rather than cold feet. Hills in this stage kept me warm too. A big fat hill that hair-pinned it's way up to Malvern base camp made sure of that! Awarded myself with beans on toast once I reached the first control.

Left the control and started cycling a 56k trek to Soudley. It wasn't long to 'Bananaman' caught me up (a cyclist wearing bright yellow). Bananaman and I stuck together all the way to the control. We chatted quite a lot about random stuff and when we weren't chatting I was following his wheel. This stage was quite undulating in nature and was mostly an uphill gradient. The control was within the Forest of Dean, being at the Dean Heritage Centre. At this control I ate more beans, along with sausage and egg.

Stage 3 was a long slog, a 75k affair to Saul. This sort of slog was like the stages I remeber from my 300k event last year. The trek started off within the confines of the Forest and a couple of deer ran out ahead of me which was pretty neat. I was riding mostly solo until I caught a chap up in Wales (he had taken a wrong turn). I recognised this chap from a previous audax (not sure which one). We cycled as a pair and crossed the Severn bridge which was truly awesome. This chap made the mistake of allowing me to continue navigating. Sure enough we got a little lost, but some kind horse riding girls set us back on track. In the distance ahead we could see a group of cyclists - I pulled myself and the chap along till we joined said group (it was real tiring on my behlaf but the chap thanked me for my efforts). The group we were now cycling in contained 7 cyclists in all and I was pleased to stay at the back all the way to the control. The control was situated next to the canal which was real pretty and although I had been pulled along for the last so many miles I felt whacked and was glad of a stop. I devoured a peanut butter slice and a twix here. When the group were about to leave, they and asked if I wanted to follow - I declined, preferring to drink a cup of tea before I set off for the last section.

The last stage was only 30k. Only 30k that is, if I hadn't gotten lost. Maybe I should have skipped the tea and went with the group?! The trek started off well, following a canal tow path (good surface here) for some miles until reaching docks in Gloucester. It was at these docks I got lost. Didn't matter too much, I had found Gloucester and that was real pretty. Funny thing was I asked folk where College Street was and I was standing right on it. Being back on track I cycled along the A38 back into Tewkesbury and to the Arrivee marked on my route sheet. There was no one at the Arrivee?! I went to the car park and met some others who had finished - they informed I had an old route sheet and pointed me to the 'proper' Arrivee. I reached the Arrivee at last. The event took me 10 and 3/4 hours to complete and I was pleased with that time and I cycled a distance of 131.42 miles. The event on the whole was great - good to cycle roads, tow path and across a bridge and nice knowing I had gotten to Wales and back. The sun didn't shine so much, but it didn't rain and I returned with a relatively clean bike. The last 12 miles were cycled on real tired legs, but I had completed another 200k audax, gotten 1.75 AAA points and could use this 200k as a qualifying event for PBP (ha!).

Weekly totals: Cycled 187 miles; Ran for 23 mins.

The not-so-hard Yard route

2011-02-28T08:56:00.000-08:00

After a long abscence from the exercise scene, I got back in the saddle and clocked a few miles. My bug lost the fight in the end, which was awesome, because it meant that I was on the mend. Training recommenced!

My first trip out was with Ron. Unexpectedly, we went out on our road bikes and starting cycling the '1 hour loop'. The lanes were wet and quite muddy in places so we took a short cut to avoid the ford in Coughton. I skirted around Studley village after I left Ron just to make sure that my first trip out clocked at least 15 miles. It was good to be back on the bike.

My second trip out was route 9, from the book 'Cycle Tours, 22 one-day routes Around Birmingham'. This route started from Yardley Wood train station, but I cycled to the official start from Studley via country lanes. This ride passed many ponds, lakes, canals and reservoirs. Initially the ride started well, following good roads and passing scenic places. The middle section was awfull and not suited for a road bike at all. The route took me down a 'No Through Road' (Hill Lane) which turned into a track at the bottom. This track was incredibly muddy and full of pot holes. This would have been great fun on a mountain bike. Following this muddy section it became a little hilly and between Gorcot Hill and Forhill the road surface was real bad - lots of clay and mud in places. It was funny that my route to the official start was re-ridden in many places after this middle section. From Kings Norton back to Yardley Wood train station the roads were all fine again. I repeated the route back to Beoley church before turning off and heading home again. I do not plan to do this route again on a road bike, but think it would make a good mountain bike trek. Plan to do this trek again using Scotty and starting in Weatheroak, just past Beoley Church. Will make this route my own and shall name it the 'Yard route'.

Like a good boy, I cleaned my road bike after she had been down all those dirty, muddy and wet country lanes. What a good job I did! Whilst cleaning her, I discovered that several of the spokes on the rear wheel were incredibly loose. Wheel was taken to Speeds Cycles and quickly fixed.

Had been using my Carradice zipped roll bag this week. I rate this bag. It only has a 2 litre capacity but is big enough to carry all I need and has room for more. It was made by some woman called Sue - so many thanks Sue! Have been using the bag as a handlebar bag but think I am going to attach it to the saddle instead.

No other exercise took place during the week. Well, I guess you could add my little jig at a Mogwai gig. Further to that, I did go to a galaxy far, far away ....

Weekly Totals: Cycled 70 miles.

sNOw drop Express

2011-02-18T05:50:00.000-08:00

This has been an awfull week on the cycling front. No exercise at all has taken place. Worse still, I will not be joining Andy, Si, Clive, Ron and Dave in the Snowdrop Express 123k audax in Hartlebury. I got hit by a bug and it's still fighting.

A mighty creature is the germ,
Though smaller than the pachyderm,
It's customary dwelling place,
Is deep within the human race ...

This will be the second audax I have dropped out of this year. Still, I have manged to cycle at least one 200k event this year (in fact for the past 4 months) and now have an actual goal planned! I plan to get a Randonneur Round the Year (RRtY) award. To qualify for this award I need to complete a Brevet de Randonneur (BR or BRM) in each of any 12 consecutive months, cycling a minimum 200k in a single event each consecutive month. On a brighter note, I have already qualified as a Randonneur 500 this season.

My next planned event is the Mr Pickwick's March Madness 209k audax (AAA 1.75) on 5 March 2011. I have a good couple of weeks to train for this event. In the mean while, well wishes to Andy, Dave, Clive, Ron and Si for the Snowdrop audax tomorrow!

Weekly totals: Nil

Cotswold Corker (106k audax)

2011-02-12T23:44:00.000-08:00

Started the week with a cycle ride with John and Ron. We started cycling the Reed route (cutting across the corn fields at the start) but it wasn't long before Ron wanted to do something a little more technical - we were heading for the woods in Sambourne. I didn't want to go through these woods for a number of reasons that included the fact I was wearing spd's which continue to give me the fear, my legs were really tired from last weeks audax and because I have injured at least twice in these woods. These were the very same woods where my pedal and crank arm fell off, and the woods where I landed on that barbed wire fence and cut arms, belly and leg. I call these woods, the 'woods of doom'. With all this in mind, I changed plans and we turned off before said woods and climbed an off road track to Astwood Bank before going through naughty woods till we got to Alcester. There were deep ruts during this off road trek and poor John fell off at one point and bruised his ribs. It was a wise decision not to tackle the woods of doom! We picked up the reed route and followed familiar tracks back home.

I changed my pedals back to v8's before I went out on my bike again. My spd's are pedals that lock foot to pedal and help transfer energy directly to the pedals. I like to use these pedals in very wet and cold conditions when I am not cycling technical stuff off road. My shoes that I use for the spd pedals are quite narrow and allow me to wear comfy, warm and waterproof overshoes. With my preffered pedals (DMR V12's or V8's) I wear a kind of bulky skate shoe. These shoes are just comfy and don't give me the fear as they are not locked to the pedal at all. The pins in the DMR pedals are great at keeping a shoe in position (but tear a shin to shreds should a pedal slip). Only real down fall with this shoe and pedal combination is the fact they are not waterproof.

Ron and I went out and started to cycle the deer route for our second trip of the week. We soon turned off the deer route and climbed to the cart (which is no longer there?!) off road before joining the deer route again and took the first off road path to Coughton Ford. My fear had gone - go DMR's! We cycled home choosing an alley in Studley we had not cycled through before, just to be different.

Ran twice in the week with SJ. Our first run was the Studley triangle and we improved our time again. The second run was concocted by SJ and was a loop in Worcester. The Worcester run was shorter but was on an uphill gradient from almost start to finish - maybe we'll run it in reverse another time?!

Completed my 14th audax on Saturday. This was the Cotswold Corker. The event started in Bishops Cleeve and a whole bunch of cyclists participated in this event. Unlike previous recent events, I was here on time and was able to cycle out with the whole group. The first hill was encountered almost straight away and was a real menace at a 25% gradient. This hill started at Bushcombe Lane and climbed and climbed. Folk said I would never make this hill without a triple chainset, and ... they were right. With disappointment, this hill beat me and most other cyclists too. There was a long line of cyclists pushing bikes. This event was not called a 'corker' for nothing! The next corker of a hill was in Winchcombe - I made this one (and all subsequent hills) which made me feel much better. I hadn't done a lot of hill climbing for a while and almost forget how power draining it is, not to mention the fact that your lungs feel like they are going to split open. Passing Turkdean, I reached the first control at the Westwoods Centre. This was a nice control - they were dishing out free food. This free food was all cake based. I left a donation and took a jaffa cake, a jam doughnut and a slice of cake and washed it down with a cup of tea.

The second stage was not as gruelling as the first and the scenery was stunning. Hills were still encountered but these were more rolling than major climbs. I chased this goblin on a bike for a while which provided much amusement (this was a cyclist in tight green leggings and a bobble type hat). Passed Daglingworth and climbed a hill that I had climbed before on a previous AAA audax event. Reached the control at Sapprton Village Hall feeling good. The food at this control was awfull. I had pasta which had been cooked (allegedly) by some young army cadets. This pasta was cold and after eating half a plate (too much), I decided to bin the rest. I topped up my energy by eating a snickers bar that was in my pocket.

The next stage was awesome. The sun was shining and I was feeling on form. A lot of this stage was spent chatting to other cyclists and it was good to hear and share stories. A big hill was encountered here, it was called 'Hilcot' which kinda gave it away. Some of the roads were real bad - major menace pot holes and lots of mud. At one point, my rear wheel skidded some but fortunately I was able to keep control. At least 2 cyclists came off during this stage. In previous years this event has had much ice and conditions far worse. Reached the last control feeling great - I knew there was only 10k left to cycle. Took a longer rest stop here at the Andoversford Village Hall and ate 3 cakes with a cup of tea before heading off again. Apparently the cadets had made these cakes. Cadets make a great cake but a naff pasta!

Cycled the last stage with 2 cyclists I was chatting with from the stage before which was nice. We passed Belas Knapp (a pre-historic burial chamber), which I had visited many times before. The hill down from Belas Knap was great - I had ridden up it many times before on my mountain bike. The last hill was Cleeve Hill and to be fair was an easy climb. Once climbed, a quick descent followed to the Arrivee at Woomancote Village Hall. This audax was great and oh, so much better than the previous weeks!

Cycled a distance of 65.2 miles during audax, at an average speed of 12.9 mph and a max speed of 40.1 mph. I spent 5 hours, 2 mins and 36 seconds in the saddle and was awarded 2 AAA points.

Weekly totals: Ran for 1 hour; Cycled 101 miles.

Mr Pickwick Takes Flight (206k audax)

2011-02-06T00:57:00.000-08:00

Mr Pickwick takes flight ... and if I had a choice, I would have took off too! This was a tough, gruelling audax. Note to self - I hate cycling 50 plus miles into a head wind!

Menaces were at work prior to the event. The day before the audax, whilst readying my bike, I found that the rear brake was not working. My mechanical skills were poor and I couldn't fix said problem. A trip to Cult Cycles saved the day. They replaced the brake cables and cleaned the brake mechanism.

On the day of the event, I turned up a few minutes late and missed the mad exodus at the start. It took me a good 16 miles before I caught anybody up. This first stage was pretty fine and passed through Bidford (a familiar place to me) before reaching the control at Stratford-Upon-Avon Gliding Club Cafe. The voices in my head were calling the guy who ran this cafe an idiot, amongst other obsceneties. He was expecting 30 plus cyclists (being for-warned by the event organiser) but only had 1 can of baked beans. With no beans on offer, I ordered a sausage sandwich and a cup of tea. Payment had to be made for each item seperately - which worked out fine, because after waiting over 30 mins, my sausage never arrived and the voices told me to take flight. Maybe the guy was stressed because it was very windy and none of the gliders could take off.

After leaving the first control, I found a general stores and purchased 2 sausage rolls - which is really a sausage sandwich in a different form. This second stage took me to Turweston Aerodrome (another gliding club). The route was nice, it passed through Hampton Lucy and Wellesbourne - both places I knew quite well. It was during this stage though, that my bike computer died. This was a real menace because I couldn't count the miles travelled and had no idea how fast (slow) I was going. Oh well, not to worry - I reached the control within good time. This control was a lot better than the first. Nice folk in this cafe - who were able to provide me with the beans on toast I so wanted!

Stage 3 was horrible. Not much fun at all! All the way from the control at Turweston to the next control in Chipping Norton was battling a very strong headwind. This wind was so strong that my bike was hardly moving forward at all. Some hills were encountered too and the voices in my head were telling me to pack. At one stage, about 20 deer ran across the road in front of me. These deer were awesome, they were all different sizes, some had antlers, and beat this - one was white! These deer provided a neat distraction for a while. Reached the control, the Old Mill Cafe, in quite a state - I was exhausted and was hallucinating again (I saw a tree, I thought was a standing stone). I had a hot drink here and 2 slices of short bread before gritting my teeth and heading off again.

The final stage was horrible too. It was still windy (admittedly not so much) and now it was dark too. Peter, a fellow cyclist, lent me a rear light so I cycled with him to the finish. The hills here were frequent and required much energy but the super fast descents were a delight. Passed through Winchcombe before finally reaching the Arrivee. Yay, job done! Would I repeat this particular audax - I don't think so!

Cycled 128 miles during this audax. Have no idea what my average or max speed was but completed the event in 11 and a half hours.

Weekly Totals: Cycled 160 miles; Ran for 63 mins.

Sorry Emma

2011-02-04T04:37:00.000-08:00

An earlier blog entry this week, as I have a few things to shout about.

Training wise has been ok on the running front and not so good on the cycling front. Started the training week with a run over the fields of Studley with Cody. Cody's performance was quite poor - alas the vet continues to monitor her weight and says she is still over. Later in the week, I ran the Studley triangle with SJ. SJ's performance was quite ace - alas, not only was this her first run of the triangle, she needed the loo too! Maybe this explains why we ran the triangle so fast!

Missed out on cycling with both Ron and John in the week as I opted to go to the cinema instead. Watched 'The King's Speech', which was good but not necessarily a film I would shout about. Anyways, did manage a lap of the Deer route with Ron later in the week. I repeated this route in reverse the following day and now call this route the Reed route (can you see what I've done there?!).

I hope this limited amount of training is enough to make the planned 'Mr Pickwick Takes Flight' 200k audax tomorrow a nice enjoyable, not-too-painfull experience. Time will tell. Will blog about this said audax soon enough.

Received my Audax Uk Handbook (2011) this week. Was pleased to see that my name had been entered twice in the 'Audax UK Brevet and Randonneur Awards' section. I am officially a 2010 Randonneur 1,000 (1 of 169 AUK members). My second award was the 2010 Brevet 500 (1 of 315 AUK members). In addition to this, my name was also printed in the 'Arrivee' magazine (no.110, Winter 2011) as a New Randonneur. I was 1 of 249 members to be welcomed to the rank of AUK Randonneur - this was for cycling 200 km or over for the first time in the 2008/2009 season.

Talking of Randonnees, this brings me to my next sponsored challenge. I have signed up for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) 100 mile South Downs Way Randonnee on the 30th July 2011. This will be a tough event as it's all off road and hence I'll be using my mountain bike. All sponsor monies raised will be to support the BHF. Please sponsor me here: http://original.justgiving.com/doomadoffroad100milebikething.

Many thanks to those who sponsored my last challenge - 'Help for Happy's'. Lots of money was raised and we were able to buy a number of wheel chairs for poor disabled orphaned kids in South Africa at Happy's School. I have just booked tickets to South Africa and will be visiting the project at Happy's this year, God willing.

No Pain but Melanie Pain

2011-01-31T10:02:00.000-08:00

This update has been posted a day late due to work demands. Work often gets in the way of fun. Am sure there is more fun to come.

Ran on 2 occasions during the week. The first run was around the Studley triangle. My second run was with Cody and we ran over the fields of Studley. England remains very cold this time of year and running requires great motivation.

Only cycled on 2 occasions during the week too. The first trip was a spin around the Deer route with Ron. My second trip was a cross country trek over fields in Astwood Bank and heading back into Studley via the castle.

Not a great amount of activity but the week finished with an awesome Melanie Pain gig. The pic below from left to right is Myself, Melainie Pain, SJ and Paul (an accompanying musician). Next week I may encounter a different pain as another 200k audax is planned.

Weekly totals: Cycled 35 miles, Ran for 1 hour and 8 mins.

A new beginning and a Willy Warmer!

2011-01-23T10:36:00.001-08:00

After ending this blog and starting a new one, I felt major withdrawal symptoms - so much so, that I decided to resurrect this blog. My 'new' blog messed with my head too much, was too technical for the likes of me. This was a tried and tested blog that had just one major drawback - folk couldn't comment on here unless they had a google account. Folk still can't comment on here without a google account. Oh well ... This old blog is now officially my new blog and all adventures and the likes will be recorded here.

Ok, a quick update from the beginning of the year. Well, will actually begin with yesteryear. This blog mostly records my cycling stories and in 2009 I was able to record that I had cycled 3,160 miles. Last year I cycled 5,287 miles. This year, I don't know how far I'll cycle, but rest assured I will record the mileage.

Started the year reasonably well and have cycled Scotty (the mountain bike) on numerous occasions. Scotty hasn't taken part in any planned events as yet, this year. However, Scotty has cycled a fair few miles and has been out with both Ron and John.

Cayo (the road bike) has done reasonably well too. She has led mostly a sheltered life this year, being ridden indoors (on rollers) due to the horrendous wintery conditions. However, Cayo took part in a recent audax event which I will post details about shortly.

In addition to cycling, this year has seen me play badminton and run too. Thus far have played 2 sessions of baminton with my girl friend 'Sarahjane' (SJ). We are both quite naff at the game but have enjoyed playing and hope we will both improve with time. Match results have always been close. Running has been fun too but requires a little more effort. The first run of the year was with SJ and Cody (my fury minion) around Worcester race course. We were all pooped, but it felt good - so much so that I have continued to run with both SJ and Cody, and to top that have completed a couple of solo runs too.

So this year has been kind to me thus far and has seen me play badminton, run (road, x-country and trail) and cycle (road and off road). This week witnessed me walk, run and cycle too, which was all good preperation for the Willy Warmer 213k audax in Chalfont St Peter. This was my first audax event this year and my 12th such event to date.

After spending the night at my sister Jane's house, I rocked up to the Chalfont St Peter Community Centre ready for the start of The Willy Warmer audax. It was a wet and chilly morning. I was running a little late but met up with my buddy Chris Hodge just in time to make the 7.30 a.m start. We were virtually the last to leave and missed the brief they always give at the start. Chris was well prepared, donning a full waterproof kit - I just had a waterproof jacket and overshoes.

The first stage of this event was relatively easy going despite the rain and chills. Chris and I chatted mostly and followed other cyclists so that we wouldn't have to navigate. We had a lot to catch up on and it seemed the more we chatted, the more we had to catch the other cyclists up! After a while we were alone and had to require on my navigational skills. It was soon apparent that we had missed a turn and so had to back track a wee bit. Once back on route we spotted a orange nosed reindeer and had to stop to take pics (as Chris loves his orange) and eat Chris's home made flap-jacks which just getter better each time he cooks a batch. After this stop we sped on and caught up some other cyclists, passed them and hit the first control in Pangbourne. Suitably named I thought, as I had hunger pangs. This control was the Lou La Belle Cafe and they took forever to serve us our beans on toast and tea. The beans were delicious however and the tea came in a massive tea pot - I must have drank at least 3 cups and Chris 2 and there was still lots left. In the cafe we spotted a number of funny looking cyclists and joked to ourselves about same.

The next leg required me to navigate some more. This was a bad move as I took a wrong turn (or possibly missed a turn). I felt a little better once Chris's Sat Nav made us repeat a complete loop. The rain would stop and start and on occasions and we both felt a little chilly but on the whole we felt good and the scenery was stunning. We spotted a rainbow and some ferrets amongst other things whilst cycling. Lots of Ministy of Defence places were passed and shots being fired could be heard (actually clay pigeon shooters). We got to the control in time for a well deserved lunch. I ate sausage, beans, egg and chips. As we left this control - The Tutti Pole Cafe in Hungerford, we met this German guy on a mountain bike just entering the control. German guy said he was doing an audax in India tomorrow too - crazy!

If my memory serves me correct, Chris and I tackled the next section as a lone pair. We again relied on my navigational skills and to be fair were doing ok. We even remembered to stop and answer the questions at the info controls (an excuse to eat more flap jacks and banana's too). Suprisingly we both still felt good and no major aches or pains were experienced. It was starting to get dark now but we managed to get to the next control without problem. This control was Sainsbury's in Winnersh. I purchased 3 pastie's, a sausage roll and 4 chicken fillets which were shared with Chris. Mmm. At this control I spotted my front tyre had developed a bulge. This was major menace. On a previous audax my tyre had developed a bulge too. Both these tyres were Schwalbe Ultremo's and I vow never to buy Schwalbe Ultremo's again. Luckily, amongst the group of funny looking cyclists we were joking about before were here and were able to sell me a new tyre. This new tyre was a Vittoria Rubino (and cost me £20). The tryre was a menace to get on, but on it went and so did we, as a group this time. (Incidentally, Chris's tyres are also Vittoria Rubino's).

This last leg was in the dark. I don't particularly like cycling a road bike in the dark. Maybe if I had better lights my experience mught be better. I had no rear light (it died) and was only using my Ay-Up helmet mounted lights at the front (which were nearly power drained). I was glad we were cycling as a group, it made me feel safer and was nice to chat with others. We got lost at some point (I was not the navigator) and subsequently Chris was made chief navigator and we had to rely on him and his Sat Nav to get us back to the Arrivee. Chris did a grand job and we were all back at the arrivee safe and sound before too long. Our group didn't make it to the end in time for BRM status, the controller commenting 'you won't be getting to France with this time' (ie could not use this event as a qualifier for PBP) but was still awarded BP or BR status (ie was still a completed 200k audax and could still be used for awards such as 'round the year' etc). All round a good ride and was nice to catch up with Chris (this was his first 200). As for the fate of the German guy, we don't know. An old man was waiting for the German and believed he was only 6k behind (I reckon more like 60k) - I really don't think he'll be cycling in India tomorrow! Oh, and a big thanks to Chris for providing me with the much needed blood transfusion...

Cycled 131.63 miles during audax, at an average speed of 12.3 mph and a max speed of 37.8 mph.

Weekly Totals: Cycled 168 miles; Ran for 1 hour.

2011 Totals to date: Cycled 311 miles; Ran for 2 hours and 16 mins. (Played badminton for 2 hours).