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LEJOG rider badly injured vows to complete the distance!

Media tends to brings us all the bad stuff  that happens in the world, this is sad because there are many, many good things going on that are worthy of a mention but, of course, will not sell papers.

A friend of mine posted a story about a retired police officer from Derrington who was riding LEJOG. He was determined to complete the 1,000 miles to raise cash for Help for Heroes when the unthinkable happened, 400 miles into the ride he was blinded by sunlight and hit a curb sending him over the handle bars.

I have seen people come off their bikes in every way imaginable; sometimes I am amazed when the actual get up again and carry on. These types of accidents are normally preceded by a wince and a big ‘Oooo’ from those witnessing it. Other accidents seem very innocuous but result in nasty injury. Unfortunately for Stuart, his accident was in the latter category. He suffered 4 broken ribs, a broken shoulder blade and collar bone plus a punctured lung, which subsequently became infected.

Despite Stuart’s grim injuries, he felt he had let the charity down and was determined to complete the ride when he recovered. I was fortunate enough to avoid an accident on my LEJOG ride (although there was a couple of close calls) but I can imagine how he must be feeling, I felt a big responsibility to complete the ride and raise as much as possible for my charity. If, for whatever reason, I couldn’t complete the mileage I would have been totally disappointed; gutted, I think, is a better description.  Stuart, you have let no one down.

The other thing that struck me was his ‘can do attitude’, he wanted to get back on his bike and get the ride completed once recovered. Raising money and awareness for his charity was clearly of the utmost importance.  Many could take a leaf from Stuart’s book; the world would be a better place. Read his synopsis of the incident on his fund raising page and you will see what I mean.

 

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French Resistance Sportive 14th September 2014

The last few weeks have been saturated with all things cycling, I was lucky enough to see the Tour of Britain come through Wantage with a group of friends, bit of fund raising on turbo trainers outside our local Sainsbury store and then the Wiggle French Resistance Sportive. I have not been riding as much as I would have liked this summer but the flurry of activity in September has almost made up for that.

Phil Tynan and I drove down to Dover on 13h September with our bikes, sunglasses and not much else, we were looking forward to riding in France the following day on what was reputed to be a hilly course over 75 miles. Steve Penny also entered but discovered he was double booked and couldn’t make it (there is always next year mate). Upon arriving at the Premier Inn we negotiated with the receptionist over bike storage, the toss-up was between the laundry room and our own room, we just had to pretend that the subject hadn’t been raised and a blind eye was turned! Nice to see there is a bit of common sense still left in the world.

A quick student wash later we were out on the town, and what a town! Needless to say we kept to the main streets and eventually ended up in Weatherspoons; 2 pints each and 2 steak dinners all for £18, can’t complain at that. We aimed for the hotel bar for one more then got our heads down early, the alarm had been set for 5am.

5am arrived after what seemed like 2 minutes of sleep. All our gear was prepped and checked so we made our way to the check in car park, a 10 minute walk away. The plan was to get riders registered and then lead them via a motor convoy to the ferry terminal.  This worked well and we were queuing at the bottom of the ferry ramp for the 7:35am sailing. One whole deck was given over to bikes, I was glad I had kept my trainers on at this point as the deck looked a bit dicey, plenty of people sliding around in cleats.

I’m not the best sailor in the world and the force 10 outside was messing with my inner ear creating motion sickness in a jiffy. Phil reckoned that it was flat as a mill pond but I beg to differ, the waves must have been rolling to a massive 30cm high; I felt crap. There was nothing for it, I shovelled in croissant and coffee, after a while I began to feel a bit better. The crossing was about an hour and a half; I have no idea how the staff work on board, they must have cast iron stomachs! We picked up our timing chip, made sure we had some cash and our passports then settled back for the remainder of the trip.

Leaving the ferry at Calais was very efficiently managed. Once again, a rolling convey was formed to get the 700 riders to the start point. We dumped our ruck sacks in the secure area and then made our way to the start. Riders set off in small groups; at this point I was struck by how well things were organised and how much I was looking forward to riding in the French countryside.

We left Calais and headed west to Sangatte, the wind was behind us and the high quality road surfaces made going really easy.  At one point we were cruising at 25mph, admittedly legs were fresh and the conditions were helping us but it still felt great. Hitting the right cadence and flying along with little fatigue. I reminded myself that we had a hilly ride ahead to avoid blowing up too early.

The first 20 miles were lumpy but nothing to write home about. The feed stations were located at the 20 and 47 mile marks, usually I am ready to stop at the first one but I was a little surprised when we rounded a corner and there it was! I was still feeling good with no sign of the adductor niggle that had been bothering me for the last month. A couple of Brioche and a banana later improved things no end, we were off again.

The wind and the hills now became a factor, the next 27 miles made for extremely pleasant, rural riding but my tank was beginning to run down a little. The road surfaces were still excellent (putting ours to shame); I can honestly say that apart from one farm track, I didn’t see a single pot hole. The second feed stop was a welcome sight, we got some food down, refilled bottles and got a photo sorted. I wanted to stretch my back before we left so I found a patch of grass. The first attempt found me lying on a lump of something so I shifted over only to find another lump of something else screwing its way into my lower back. The third attempt suddenly saw the light bulb go on, I hadn’t taken my phone and spare tube out of my jersey pocket – wassock.

The wind didn’t really let up but we found a renewed vigour, the realisation that we were riding in France, where cycling is almost religion, added to the enjoyment. The locals appreciated our awful efforts to say hello in French, everything was very relaxed. The only places that appeared to be open were Brasseries and Tabacs; one rider took advantage of this and was sat outside a small Tabac with a Stella in his hand. Sunday is a family day in France it would appear, maybe we should take a leaf out of their book.

I thought the big hills had been done by the first half of the ride but was very wrong about this. Two of the steeper climbs were on switch backs and the last climb toward Sangatte was a long straight one, with the sea on our left, it reminded me of the west coast of the Isle of Wight. I had plenty left in my legs but was slightly disappointed that I could feel the adductor complaining on the climbs. Wiggle’s sense of humour manifests itself in roadside signs or paint on the road, helpful comments such as ‘Dig Deep’ followed by ‘Dig Deeper’. At the top of the last climb we were greeted with a cheery ‘Chapeau’ and the option of a gel which I did take. We both agreed that finishing the ride in good shape was preferable to trying to thrash the last 10 miles for a time. I was grateful for this, I think my back would’ve suffered in addition to making the leg niggle worse.

Despite the headwind, we felt good riding through Sangatte. The town was out in force for what looked like a carnival. I had worried about riding on the other side of the road beforehand but this never seemed to be an issue, almost intuitive. I did make one mistake way out in the country where I turned right ending up on the left hand side of the road. I realised quickly and crossed back over after checking all round, getting cleaned up from behind would have been a school boy error!

Sangatte came and went, we pushed on easily as the end of the ride approached. Small aches and pains melted away as we cruised into the finish funnel and rolled over the timing mat. It would have been good to stretch and get some drink down but the next ferry was ready to board. We collected our medal and finishers t shirt then made our own way back to the terminal. Once again, gale force winds and high seas (Phil’s idea of a mill pond) messed up my sense of balance, but some food soon settled things down. Both of us took a recovery product and kept drinking on the ferry. I have a great picture of Phil with a well-deserved pint of Stella (well it does contain water!).

All in all a very enjoyable day and a ride that I would happily do again. Wiggle’s organisation was superb and I felt the £65 price tag was extremely reasonably (the finishers shirt is really good quality). Phil did all the driving, I know how I felt when we got home just after 10pm on the Sunday, he must have been completely knackered given all the extra concentration behind the wheel.

http://www.ukcyclingevents.co.uk/events/wiggle-french-resistance-sportive/

That is probably that for 2014, bring on the new sportive season in 2015!

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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Tour of Britain, 12th September 2014

The Tour of Britain was coming to town…Wantage Town that is! The event as a whole had stirred up a lot of media and public interest, a fantastic chance to see the great and the good competing on your door step albeit for a few seconds as the peloton flashes past. I was lucky enough to see it and soak up some of the atmosphere.

The week before the Tour, I had spent a few hours on a turbo trainer outside of the local Sainsbury’s raising money for a cancer charity and also a local defibrillator fund, the bikes and turbos were provided by www.bikelux.co.uk, a local company helping with the charity event. Richard from Bikelux explained that, on the following Friday, he would be setting up an awning on Chain Hill to watch the Tour approach and then sweep down into town. There was also a chance to have a go at the quickest 1km on the turbos, this sounded great fun so I booked the day off.

Steve, me and Nobby cycled up to Chain Hill from Steventon to find Sarah and Phil Tynan already there chatting to the TV and radio guys. It’s always interesting to hear presenters ask the questions, they never seem to run out of things to say. Richard did a quick interview too and then it was on to the important issues of the day: finding some food and also deciding where to stand.

Food was easy, bike folk always have food whether it be jelly babies or Spanish omelettes and today was no exception. Personally, I think you can never have too much food so once we had sampled the usual fodder we wandered over to the Umami tent and destroyed his stock of pork pies – they were handmade, full of calories and extremely tasty.

http://www.umami-deli.co.uk/

More people began to arrive, most were cyclists out for ride as well as taking in the Tour. There were a group of riders from Yorkshire who had been touring and had ridden from the Cotswolds to watch the stage. A welcoming message was chalked on the road for the riders and the scene was set; the excitement was building and the weather was being kind, it was hard to imagine a better place to watch a cycle race from.

The road management side of things appeared to be running well, plenty of police motorbikes and race marshals zipping up and down. About 5 minutes before the leaders came through, a car rolled slowly along giving race information over a loud speaker. This was a great touch and helped to build the excitement further; 3 breakaway riders (including Alex Dowsett) nearly 7 minutes ahead of the peloton….we waited.

The TV helicopter appeared overhead, the lead group of three were moving in a staggered line cycling towards us on an incline. It’s difficult to estimate pace but I suspect they were doing at least 22mph – uphill!. Dowsett got a warm welcome and a cheer from the crowd; the group came and went in a flash, all the riders were looking relaxed, as if they were on a Sunday ride-out. The peloton was next.

Finally, a dark mass of riders appeared near the Ridgeway, it swept down the inclines preceded by the lead cars and police bikes. We were positioned at the roadside, within touching distance, as the main group came through at a comfortable pace. I was struck by the noise of the tyres and also the clicking hubs. Cav and Wiggo got a massive shout but the applause and cheering were meant for all, people that ride know the effort required to sustain any sort of pace, these guys were demonstrating that in spades…almost superhuman.

And then it was done, pictures and videos were appearing on Facebook in large numbers, the race had captured the imagination of the town and was well supported. Stage finish in Wantage next time…bring it on!

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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The Ridgeway Challenge – August Bank Holiday 2014

I recently had the opportunity to witness an Ultra Marathon taking part on The Ridgeway; in fact, the race was the length of the Ridgeway, all 86 miles of it.

Simon, a friend at work, has recently discovered that, at the age of 52, he is not bad at this kind of thing. His first ‘Ultra’ was a double marathon back in July, all seemed to go well in terms of pacing which resulted in 2nd place within his age group and 29th overall, pretty good for a first attempt. Encouraged by this, he went into The Ridgeway race with plenty of training and preparation but no expectations, 86 miles, after all, is a bloody long way.

My plan was to park at Burry Down near the A34 at 10pm, this was the 52 mile mark. I had been in touch with Simon’s wife, Liz, beforehand to make sure everything was on track. Liz was the support crew, travelling from check point to check point providing encouragement and supplies as required.

The check point was well set up (staffed by a local running club) with LED lights marking the approach and exit along the Ridgeway. As I looked down the pitch black trail I could see head lights bobbing in the dark, it was difficult to gauge how far away they were but the people attached to them eventually appeared. The runners were treated to a wide range of energy-dense goodies at the check point ranging from sandwiches to jelly babies to hot drinks. Race numbers were noted as runners arrived.

I was amazed at how spritely some of the runners looked as they trotted up to the check point, 52 miles is a ridiculous distance to run and still be looking so good. One chap made the check point, rested his hands on his knees and didn’t say anything until one of the marshals spoke with him. He was obviously out of fuel and suffering but managed to ask for a cup of tea. This did the trick to a degree; he perked up enough to get some food in and then carried on, I hope he finished.

A number of people had dropped out earlier in the day demonstrating how tough the first half of The Ridgeway is, the race starts at Ivinghoe Beacon and moves along westward. The first half is hilly, wooded and the signage can be tricky especially in the dark.

Simon is a meticulous planner, he knew that success lay in pacing and his plan seemed sound, he arrived at Bury Down within 5 minutes of the predicted 10:30pm. He had run every inch of the trail in training to familiarise himself with the route but in marathon-sized chunks. Once I had shaken his hand and congratulated him on getting so far he realised who I was, I was worried that he looked a bit shaky and was certainly swaying slightly as he stood at the check point. I thought he would shovel in a lot more food than he did, I guess there was the time pressure making itself felt at the back of his mind and maybe he just didn’t feel like eating, I’ve felt like that on the bike before.

Ibuprofen tablets were swallowed and gel was administered for his knee, he mentioned that the first part of the race had been hilly creating problems, especially the downhill bits. Liz made sure he was in one piece and had everything he needed; she made a point of saying that she would see him at the next check point at Sparsholt Firs, another 9 miles away. It must have been a comfort to know that there would be a person to meet at each check point especially on the long, dark sections. There were 9 check points in total. Runners were spread out so this was definitely a solo challenge; things must have felt isolated to say the least, especially on the tough sections.

Looking stronger than when he arrived at the checkpoint, Simon left and the dark swallowed him whole…. that was it. A surreal moment which I won’t forget for a long time. Simon has always been supportive of my events giving good council and encouragement, I was very happy to return the favour. I left for the car feeling a little guilty that I would be sleeping in a warm bed in half an hour, Simon still had 35 miles to run.

I checked the race website the following day to discover that he’d finished 15th overall in 18 hours and 56 minutes, I still can’t believe it is possible to cover a distance like that; the numbers just blow your mind. An awesome effort and worthy of note, check the website for more info and stats, it’s good reading.

http://www.tra-uk.org/ridgeway-challenge

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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