Title TK

A great training week. With the Tour de France finished there was little excuse to stay in and watch TV and not go out cycling. Happy days.

Took Scotty out for the first time in ages this week. Scotty is a truly awesome bike and it felt great to ride her again, even though she started to creak in places. The first trip with Scotty was my 'naughty' cross country trek across fileds in Astwood bank, looping back round to Studley passing Studley Castle. Just before the mighty up and down section, a deer jumped out of nowhere and I watched it jump away into the distance. The last time I did this trek my legs were itching like crazy from all the nettle stings and brambles - this time I had taken precautions and was wearing leggings which had the desired effect.

Scotty's second trip was with Ron. Have not cycled with Ron in a while either. We bombed around old routes, this time was much speedier due to the ground being rock hard and our improved levels of fitness. Scotty shook, rattled and rolled my bones! We passed Burial Lane and Dog Butt Lane which continues to make me grin and succesfully climbed this technical off road track up into Astwood Bank (have attempted this climb before but never completed it - Ron promised me a mars bar if I made it, am still waiting..).

Next week Ron and I are taking our mountain bikes to the Cotswolds and are competing in the Evans Ride It! Off Road (long distance) Sportive. This will be my first sportive ever. Am hoping Scotty will love it. Everyone loves a Scott!Cayo, my road bike, saw enough tarmac this week too. Took her out on variations of the Henley Loop and Ron's 1 Hour Loop at the beginning of the week and once again at the end. During the weekend, Ron and I cycled a good 'hunting for hills' trip. We conquered a number of hills including Cobley, Scarfield, Rose, Callow and Buntsford Hills. This was a nice tougher trek. Ron said 'it's always nice to finish a trek by spinning', I said 'a nice trek is best finished with a beer', so we did both!

Decided against a commuter bike in the end. Number of reasons why, including limited choice, menace stores, no funds, etc. With bikes as nice as Scotty, Cayo (and The Specialized), who needs another?

http://www.justgiving.com/le-jog-2010/

Weekly totals: Cycled a distance of 142 miles.

A woman without a man is like a fish without a bicycle

Very leisurely week this one. Didn't train too hard. Had paralysis of will at the beginning of the week.Thursday was the first day I managed to push myself and get out. Was a nice evening and I cycled the Henley loop. Weather was most favourable and a nice tail wind pushed me along.

Have fallen out with Halfords, again. We all know that Halfords are rip off merchants anyway, but I was hoping to purchase a hybrid bike from their Boardman range. Have had better thoughts and am staying clear of them. Halfords are more leisurely than my training and as reliable as a punctured tube. Looked at a few hybrid bikes from the Focus range but have decided to invest in a Kona phd. Nice.

Gary the Cobler (L2G friend) made contact with me this week and informed me that he has climbed the Col de la Faucille - twice. That is great going - he told me he was going to do it but I had my doubts. I hope he didn't find my lack of faith disturbing. Anyways, Gary the Cobler has asked me whether I am up for cycling the Etape next year with him. The Etape is the toughest stage of the toughest bike race in the world. A chap recently wrote in the Guardian 'that's the toughest amateur cycling event in the world... People spend years preparing... People die...'. Sounds great, watch this space!

As I promised myself last week, I went hunting for Callow hill. It was easy to find and proved no major menace at all. In fact, I was quite disappointed that it was neither too long or steep. I might hunt for a hill each week until I go to Beautiful Days festival, the week before my LEJOG trip. I need to push myself and start training hard.

Each time I blog before my LEJOG trip, I will end with the link to the JustGiving website in the hope that folk sponsor the 'Help4Happy's' project. To those that have sponsored already, many thanks.

http://www.justgiving.com/le-jog-2010/

Weekly totals: Cycled 40 miles.

Please sponsor my next challenge

http://www.justgiving.com/le-jog-2010/

On Aug 28 till Sept 5, myself and 8 friends are planning on cycling nearly 1,000 miles in just 9 days, from Land's End to John O'Groats. This is a sponsored cycle for 'Help4Happy's', a group who raise money for a disabled children's school in South Africa.Many of the children in the school have been orphaned at a young age and at often times this is due to the culture in African countries where a physical disability is sometimes seen as a curse.

My friends and I aim to raise money to enable 'Help4Happy's' to purchase around 32 wheelchairs that are desperately needed for these children. Your help in sponsoring 'Help4Happy's' in any way possible would be awesome.

http://www.justgiving.com/le-jog-2010/

Hunting for hills

An easy week following last week's audax. Easy or lazy? Maybe both...

Did not cycle until mid-week and only cycled on 3 occasions. The first 2 treks were my familiar Henley loop. The last trek was a little more interesting. I started out on the TROAD route but decided I would miss out Cobley hill and go looking for Callow hill which I thought was in Alvechurch. Found Alvechurch and started to follow Callow Hill Road but this led to Coopers hill and not Callow hill. I continued to follow this road, which was a pretty country lane which undulated and passed through stones bridges. The road didn't lead to Callow hill, it led to a T-junction. I turned left and headed for Redditch, and by chance as I passed Morton Stanley Park on my return home I passed a sign which read 'Callow Hill'. I will hunt for this hill next week and conquer it!

Am commited to cycling LEJOG again this year. Purchased my train ticket to Penzance. My LEJOG trip will start 28 August 2010, all being well. Am cycling with a small group (8 of us in total) and we are all raising money for a project called 'happy's', who are in need of wheelchairs. Am not too sure about what Happy's project is but I believe it's in Africa and they help children with disability. I will blog more about Happy's and hopefully add links should they become available. Fell out with Halfords in Redditch, but hope to pick up a new commuter type bike from Stratford this week.

Weekly totals: Cycled 58 miles.

Mr Pickwick's Tour of the Cotswolds (300k audax)

Had to get up at silly o'clock (4.30 a.m) to get ready for 'Mr Pickwick's Tour of the Cotswolds'. This tour was my first ever 300k audax. The start was at 6 a.m and I made it just in time.

I left my house in the morning, not fully awake. Just before I reached the start, I remembered I had forgotten to bring my water bottles. Oh no, this was a major mistake as today was going to be very hot, and I woiulb be cycling more than 190 miles. The voices in my head told me not to panic. A local garage sold bottled water, and this would have to suffice. At the start were about 24 more cyclists. The event organiser handed out a bottle of lucozade to each participant, which was nice. After a brief briefing we were off.

Stage 1 took us from the start in Tewkesbury to Warwick services. Within the first mile, my bottle of lucozade ejected itself from the bottle holder and I was down to 1 bottle of fluid. This first stage was quite fast paced and we cycled as a big group (like a Tour de France peleton) and passed through places already familiar to me including Pershore, Pinvin, Inkberrow and Sambourne. Just after Pinvin we had to cross a ford - a cyclist in front of me attempted this and came clean off his bike and got suitably soaked. The rest of us decided to take the foot bridge option. Suprisingly and super for me, the route passed through Studley village, my 'home town'. I took a quick detour, went home and collected my forgotten water bottles. Yay! Happy days. I then raced to catch the group again, doing so near Hampton Lucy. We passed through Wellesbourne and finally reached the Warwick services. This control was at the 50 mile mark, quite a trek I thought, on shorter distance audax's the first control is around the 30 mile mark. This first control did not open till 9 a.m and we got here at that time - super zoomy. I treated myself to 2 Burger King breakfast baps here.

Stage 2 was pretty fast paced again, but the group was heavily broken up now. I teamed up with 2 other guys and we chuckled as we passed certain place names like Wormleighton and Fenny Compton. The scenery here was awesome and some of the roads reminded me of France as they were long and mostly traffic free. A suitably long hill had to be climbed during this stage before reaching Radway and passing on through Tysoe, Sibford Gower and finally reaching the control in Chipping Norton. I ate beans on toast here and it felt good that 100 miles had been eaten up already.

More hills to negotiate in stage 3. Although there was hills, there were super descents too. For the most part this was a solo stage for me and I passed through Foscot alone, only meeting others just before the control in Cirencester. At this control I fuelled up on pork pies.

Stage 4 was interesting. I experienced highs and lows here. We cycled as a team of 4, taking turns at pulling the group and then slipstreaming. I was at the back taking advantage of this as I started to feel real pooped, before I found some energy to help out. There were times when I was overtaken with extreme tiredness and kept yawning, wanting to stop. The voices were telling me to continue, and continue we did. It was during this section that I reached another milestone - I had cycled over 135 miles, this is the furthest I have ever cycled in any 1 day before. We struggled past Great Somerford, Upper Seagry and finally reached the control at Leigh de la Mere. I ate a sausage bap here and took a bit of time to rest. I think others may of noticed me struggle a wee bit as a certain cyclist came over and gave me an energy bar and gel and another gave me a bottle of water.

Stage 5 was awesome. I don't know whether it was the rest, the food, or the energy bar/gel but I had new legs here and felt great again. There was big climbs as we passed through Norton, Easton Grey, Tetbury and Cherington but these proved no major problem. There was also one awesome super zoomy lenghty descent which brought us down to Staverton - so zoomy in fact, I nearly reached 45 mph. It was great to reach the finish in Tewkesbury. The event organiser said I had a really good time (I finished at 8.50 p.m), especially considering this was my first 300k, which was nice.

I cycled a distance of 191.12 miles, with an average speed of 15 mph and a max speed of 44.5 mph.

Weekly totals: Cycled 239 miles.

Rule of 3

Hot sunny days. Plenty of time away from work (but still not enough). Two awesome bikes. All added up to a good weeks cycling.

Cycled 3 training sessions in the week, preparing for my 300k audax on the weekend. The first and last of these sessions was my Henley loop - an easy, fast paced loop, good to just get the legs spinning. The second session was more like a day out. Kirsty menace and I took our mountain bikes around Arrow Vale lake and on to Bordesley Abbey and finally to Redditch crematorium (we paid our respects to my nan, who passed away 7 years ago). We then turned around and cycled a pretty similar route back home.

''Must not talk to myself. Must not... dammit''

A kind of funny week. No mass participation cycling. No foreign speaking folk encountered. No long quiet traffic free roads. And, not a mountain in sight. Yeah, back in the UK with post challenge blues.

Have not been on my road bike since Geneva - indeed poor Cayo still needs putting back together. However, have taken Scotty out on 2 trips this week. Went out with Ron on the first trip and we did a lot of off road cycling through 'naughty' woods and paths. This was a pretty awesome trek and we found a super off road down hill section not too far from Studley Castle. My second run was a solo trek and was similar to the fast, only I added a whole bunch more miles around fields in Astwood Bank. Crops are growing high right about now and as I passed a certain crop field a deer jumped out in front of me, about 3 feet ahead! My legs have suffered following these 2 rides, not with muscle ache but with seriously lots of nettle stings.

Took a run this week too. My first run in a long time. Ran the familiar extended Studley Triangle. I forgot how tiring running was.

Tour de France started yesterday which is awesome. I hope this proves to be inspirational and motivational for me. I have a huge challenge planned for next week - my first 300k audax! Plans are coming along nicely for my planned LEJOG 2010 trip too. There is a chance I will invest in a commuter type bike this week which would hopefully help me clock up miles by cycling to work (the Specialized needs to retire).

Weekly totals: Cycled a distance of 37 miles; Ran for 40 mins.

The Giants of Geneva

What a great couple of weeks I've had cycling. Last week I completed my Paris to Geneva challenge, and the week before I completed my London to Paris challenge. All in all, this means I have completed my London to Geneva (L2G) challenge and hence finished what I set out to do. The purpose of this blog was to record my training, goals, stresses, ramblings and of course my L2G challenge. So what do I do know? That is a question a number of folk are asking me. Whilst I consider that question, let me provide some statistics.

Cycled 317.95 miles from London to Paris in 4 days.

Cycled 345.98 miles from Paris to Geneva in 4 days.

Therefore, cycled 663.93 miles from London to Geneva.Thanks and praises be to God for keeping me safe, providing me with the strength I required. God blessed me with senses that enabled me to see the gorgeous countryside, hear incredible noises and sounds along the way (plus the groans and moans of others), taste the delights of the chefs cooking, smell many sweet flowers and odours and generally feel awesome (with the minor ache and pain).

This challenge enabled me to help others too. Thus far I have raised £363 for the Christadelphian Meal-a-Day Fund (CMaD). It's not too late to sponsor me either should you so wish, please visit my JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/london2somewhere2010.

Ok, so what next? Well I have already cycled a further 17 miles on Scotty my mountain bike, so cycling is not going to stop. I think I will continue this blog and record my next event, however big and small and hope that some challenges take shape. I have a vague plan of completing my second LEJOG trip this year and hope to compete in a duathlon using my mountain bike. Clive the Dr has sent me to a link of a challenge in the Alps where one has to climb through something silly like 98 hairpin bends (let's hope he was joking). I guess there's always the Paris-Brest-Paris 1200k audax?! My next challenge is less than 2 weeks away and is a 300k (190 mile) audax event. I have never cycled this distance before, but let's hope I can report back and say that I have.

To all those who have followed my blog thus far many thanks. Big thanks to all those who have supported me too. And thanks again to all my sponsors, it's us working as a team that brings about change.

Weekly totals: Cycled a distance of 362 miles.

P2G Day 4 Lons - Geneva

Today started early again after a basic french style breakfast. Was eager to get started so set off with Richard the surgeon. Only minutes after leaving the hotel we encountered the steepest hill of the P2G challenge. To be honest this was the steepest hill encountered during the whole London to Geneva challenge. Sweat was dripping down my face and into my eyes, and my nose was streaming too. Am not sure what my heart rate was but a beating like a woodpecker pecks could be heard inside my head. With sheer determination I made this climb without stopping or putting a foot down. Even Dennis the Stiglet described this hill as a 'wall'. Craig beat me to the top of this climb but I passed him soon after. Feeling strong and pleased of my hill effort I sped on to the first water stop and reached there first. It was a pretty spot and looked over a big lake with the mountain I was to climb visible in the distance.
I waited for Richard the surgeon to leave the water stop with me, but I waited too long as he had already gone! Not to worry, I soon caught him and sped past him zoomy style. This road was an unexpected fast descent and I flew down many miles going straight past a bonus second water stop, ie Jo's Cafe. Luckily DA shouted at me as I flew past, so I was able to back track and take my break. I treated myself to a coke and got ready for the menace that lay ahead. It was clear that a menace lay ahead as even the sign posts were taunting me!
The menace ahead was the start of the mountain climb, namely the Col de la Faucille (which is to feature in this years Tour de France). I set off with Richard the surgeon but lost him after a little while. This climb was absolutely awesome. Probably the best climb ever! The road was bending and winding like a long piece of spaghetti and at times the road would switch back with many a hairpin bend. The climb went on forever and ever! I really enjoyed this climb and views got better the more I climbed. At times the road travelled could be seen beneath the same road as I travelled higher and higher. At some points the road would pass through tunnels.

About 3 miles from the stop for lunch (about 1/2 way up the mountain), David my room mate from the L2P challenge caught me and we cycled together. He looked beat and was completely covered in sweat. As we neared the lunch stop we could see the chef's in the distance. I asked David if he wanted to race, he replied 'I think we should come in together'. I respected his wishes and cycled alongside him, though I made sure my wheel reached the stop first. (Please note that my rims were rubbing on a piece of trapped grit for the past couple of miles too!). The chefs welcomed us with cheers and shouts. Dave the chef (who was previously a professional cyclist) said he had his money on me reaching this stop first. Good ol' Dave.
After a quick lunch stop, I was itching to get going again. Richard the surgeon and I set off together again, and again I lost him pretty early on. This second major climb to the summit was not as hard as the first half. For a moment I thought I had gotten lost as another speedy descent appered which went on for like 3 miles with fast switch backs before climbing resumed once more. A long beautiful climb to the top on a spaghetti like road. Eyes were sore still from sweat, salt and tears. Parts of the road had been resurfaced, which was a real chore to cycle through. Before I knew it, I reached the summit! I passed a sign which read 'Col de la Faucille alt. 1323 m'. Yay, I was the first cyclist to combat this mountain! Job done, well nearly!
Waited at the top of the summit for all the cyclists in the group to rejoin. Had to wait hours for the last cyclist to rock up, but was nice to see everyone (save chunky girl and her boyfriend) make it. We were all awarded with challenge T-shirts at the top. Somehow I managed to get a splinter in my hand. I asked madam Jo for a needle to remove said splinter, she replied `I have one, but I'm not going to give you one, they're too expensive'.
After we had all regrouped we set off for the final descent. This descent was awesome! If Clive the Dr was on this challenge he would have described this as a 'white knuckle ring twitching roller coaster of a ride'! It followed a similar patttern to the climbs, in that the road twisted like a piece of spaghetti and had many a hair pin bend and numerous switchbacks. I was by no means the fastest descender and saw Ian fly past me at an amazing speed. My hands were on the brake levers from top to bottom and I reckon I must have stretched my brake cables! Despite my constant braking I flew down this descent which seemed to go on forever. When the roads flattened out at the end of the descent, I regained my position at the front and cycled ahead to the next water stop.

The whole bunch of us regrouped again at this point and we cycled in convoy and passed through the Swiss/French border. Wahoo, I was in Switzerland for the first time in my life. The traffic here was quite heavy but within 4 miles we reached our destination. Our destination, of course, was the beautiful Lake Geneva! The lake was awesome, bright and blue, and a fitting place for the completion of my challenge! Yay, job done! We hung out here for a while and drank champagne and pims and ate snacks. Claps and cheers a plenty, and lots of photo`s taken.
Cycling did not finish here. From Lake Geneva we had to cycle back to the hotel. As soon as the hotel was reached, I had to sadly dismantle poor Cayo. Cayo had worked so hard and in the space of 8 days had travelled over 650 miles with no major menace. I felt quite upset having to remove her pedals, wheels and seat post and bunging her into a big bag ready for a flight home. I will treat her to a service and new bar tape when back in England!

I don`t wish to end this blog on a sad note, so let me tell you that the day ended with further celebrations. Madam Jo gave quite a sweet speech at the celebration meal and spoke a little about each cyclist on the challenge. She referred to me as `speed demon Tim`, which was nice. Good friends were made on this trip, and one such friend was Gary the Cobler. As a special treat, I have managed to get before and after shots of Gary and his bib short wearing style! :) Cycled a distance of 74.97 miles at an average speed of 12.6 mph and a maximum of 36.8 mph. Spent nearly 6 hours on the saddle today.

P2G Day 3 Semur-en-Auxios - Lons

Another totally awesome day today. Big hills, hot sunny weather and fast descents. No major concerns save my poor butt!
The day started with me chasing 2 guys from London, namely Richard and Andy. They set off a very short while before me and I caught and passed them quickly. I presumed they would chase me, but if they tried, they didn't catch me! Was a good first section with mostly flat road and only minor undulations. I felt real strong today and the voices in my head were telling me I was mighty. Reached the water stop first and made sure I ate 2 banana's here as I knew a big hill was not far away.

Set off from the water stop with Richard and Andy but soon left them behind (I think they needed to pee). Fantastic long quiet roads again. I spotted a wild deer during this section and had spotted a bird of prey earlier. It wasn't long till I encountered the hill I had been warned about. This hill was a very long climb, that seemed to go on and on and constantly turned and switched as I climbed. It reminded me of Shap hill and in a similar manner had a super descent once the top was reached. I made it to the top of this hill and could not see anyone behind me. Appeared that perhaps today was going to be a solo ride for me. The descent was awesome, this hill descended for over 5 miles! Such a long descent that it was my arms that were starting to feel the pain now as they pressed down on my drop bars for such a long time. What an awesome hill. Reached the lunch stop in first position again and felt really buzzed up. It was about 10 minutes before the next cyclist - Richard the Surgeon (who completed L2P with me), turned up and a further 10 minutes before Richard and Andy rocked up.

Folk were referring to me as an animal at the lunch stop. Was this due to my cycling or my eating habits I wonder?! Set off from lunch with Josh. Josh is such a strong cyclist and before long I was quite a distance from him but chased him and closed the gap somewhat. There was no major hill after lunch at all and we got to the water stop in quick time. Josh beat me there by a fraction. Jo the DA madam scoffed at me for going so fast and said I should take it leisurely and treat this as a recovery ride. I did not push my self to excess and changed down my gears when I felt uncomfortable. Jo always has something to say, she even told me off for an emergency pee during L2P. She kindly got me some cleat covers yesterday, which was nice. However, she marked the price up 40% which was not so nice. Anyways, back to the cycling..

For the last section I told myself I would take it more steady and set off with Richard the surgeon about a minute after Josh. We caught sight of Josh real soon and the voices in my head told me to chase him. I chased him, caught him, stuck with him for a while but then he left me for dead. This last section was mostly flat again but with about 2o miles to go I climbed this gradient and saw Josh was at the side of the road. I figured he must have punctured and was going to be a good samaritan and let him use my gas. Poor Josh however, had major bike menace. His rear mech had shifted into his spokes and consequently was completely bust and had also ripped his mech hanger clean from his bike. I waited for a while but there was little I could do. Richard the surgeon rocked up soon after and we left Josh and continued our journey. When the next slight decline was reached it was Richard the surgeon who said 'go on Tim' rather than the voices. On I went and reached the hotel in pole position! Fantastic day and got to the hotel just in time to watch England play Slovenia in the World Cup. Maybe I should have a couple of celebratory beers?! (I did end up having Chablis wine last nigh too).

Feel so good today and just hope I feel the same this time tomorrow. I don't have many miles to worry about. I think it's about 70 miles till I reach Geneva, the end point of my challenge. It's just that the next 55 miles are up hill and I have to climb a mountain...

Aha, as I sign off from this blog, England have just scored!

Cycled a distance of 98.89 miles at an average speed of 16.3mph and a max speed of 36.7mph. Spent 6 hours and 3 mins on the saddle today.

P2G Day 2 Sens - Semur-en-Auxois

Another great day of cycling today. Weather was awesome. Only menace was the many bugs that got stuck to my glasses.

Started day feeling pretty good and kept a good pace up for most of the morning, averaging a speed of 17.2mph. Long quiet roads undulating in nature but some super descents to keep me happy. Gary the Cobler kept me amused, he has finally decided that bib shorts look way better when under one's jersey rather than having a jersey tucked in. He noticed this as I stripped some layers. Gary the cobler promised me a before and after shot of his bib short wearing style for my blog, but I am still waiting.

After the first water stop I cycled for a long stretch with Dennis 'the Stiglet'. Dennis is my room mate and did the London to Paris challenge with me. He got the name 'Stiglet' because he is like the Stig from Top Gear but in a cycling sense. He rides up-hill, down hill and the flats at the same speed. It's as if his legs don't know what a gradient is. We sped along all the way to just before lunch and stopped at a cafe in Chablis for some coke (not wine, though this was tempting as we passed loads of beautiful vineyards and Chablis is famous for the same). At this stop the locals were moaning and groaning that certain bikes had been propped up against flowerpots - I rolled my eyes and thought they should be grateful that we were contributing to their economy by purchasing so much stuff from this local cafe. It was at this juncture that I noticed transformers were present here too (as pic below demonstrates).
Cycled a little way further to the lunch stop. Chunky girl was already here! Chunky girl had not cycled today and opted for the lift in the van option. Lunch was as awesome as ever and we were in a very pretty part of France in amazing weather. Happy days.

The cycling after lunch was hard going. Not only was my belly full of various delights from the cooks but some big long tasty hills were encountered. I enjoyed climbing this hill and felt in good form. I caught up with Josh at the top who had stopped to take a photo (so I took one too, but was really glad of a quick rest). Then we sped along together to the water stop. There was a cute dog here which reminded me of my beautiful Cody. I hope she's behaving herself back in the UK.
Josh and I powered along together for the final section. This was hard going again and my left knee had started to niggle for the last 10 miles and my right foot had become numb. We found an awesome descent but the road had been re-surfaced and there was loads of loose gravel. I got the fear a little and went down slowly with brakes pressed hard (I still went faster than Josh, but think this was because I was way fatter). Super zoomy Josh (who happens to be a personal trainer) pulled me along almost to the finish. We stopped to take pictures of Semur-en-Auxois town which was just so pretty. We then cycled a few more metres to the finish with me in pole position. What a great day!
Cycled a distance of 82.64 miles at an average speed of 16.4mph and a max speed of 40.7mph. Spent 5 hours on the saddle today.