London Nightrider Archives - Phil Cox

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Category Archive: London Nightrider

  1. Chilly ride in preparation for London Nightrider 9th June 2013

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    An old cricketing mate of mine asked if I wanted to support Breakthrough Breast Cancer this year by joining his London Nightrider team. This sounded like a great idea: no organising to do, nice ride through the capital in the dead of night, good bunch of people to ride and chat with plus the chance to raise a few quid. I declared myself in and we planned some training.

    The first Sunday morning ride was on a freezing cold Sunday in January. The start point was Best Mate’s statue in Ardington, the intention was to ride as a group and put in about 15 miles. Not a bad training goal for the first ride given the spread of fitness and the distance of 100km to be achieved on the night. All those intending to come arrived in good time (one from Uxbridge) and we set off together.

    It soon became clear that riding as a group might be easier said than done, the field spread out very quickly and we found ourselves regrouping every now and again. Ardington is very picturesque so we stuck to large circuits of the village, the occassional incline adding a little interest. This served as a good indicator of the amount of work individuals would need to do to ride the distance in comfort.

    The second ride on Sunday (24th February) saw the same low temperatures but a little more cohesion from the group. This time we started from Abingdon and rode towards Didcot. The pace was measured but I think we had a good ride considering one poorly adjusted bike that had broken gears! I think I was actually pleased to see the McDonald’s at Didcot for a coffee; the issue with riding steadily is the lack of generated heat, my hands and feet felt the cold and didn’t really warm up all day. That said, everyone put in a good effort and it was great to ride with old friends.

    Our fundraising page http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserPage.action?userUrl=bbcnightrider&faId=261752&isTeam=true has more information, alternatively, you may wish to join us at Challow Cricket Club on 9th March for a night of horse racing fun! Proceeds from this will go to our fundraising pot.

    Roll on spring!

    Further reading…..

    If you liked this blog please take a moment to check out my book describing the solo Land’s End to John O’Groats ride in 2012, all profit from sales to www.criduchat.org.uk

    Please click the cover image for the Kindle version or click here to order a paperback copy. Thank you!

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