Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all that have followed my Blog in 2012. At the start of the year I had been inactive on the sporting front for around two years, my football career had come to an abrupt end at age forty and I felt the onset of mid life and the little Buddha belly that goes with it. If anyone had said you were going to take up cycling and finish the year with the goal of London to Paris in 2013 then I would have called them crazy, but lets look how 2012 turned out.
March - took to the bike for the first time since seventeen years of age.
June - Cycled 62 miles in the Wickes big ten cycle challenge.
September - Cycled 58 mile in London Bikeathon.
October - Purchased new road bike as I got a bit more serious.
November - Signed up to London Paris 2013.
Cycled a total of 1,400 miles since March.
Raised in excess of £500 through my cycling for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.

So what now for 2013, Well the big one is in June, 460 kilometres in four days from London to Paris. I have committed to raise £1,000 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and will be asking all and sundry to help me on my quest. Blood cancer is still a major killer of children and adults alike and every penny raised helps us find a cure. My blog has a link to my just giving page and I would ask all that take time to read my blog to find it in their heart to give what they can afford. I in return will train hard and share my experiences with you to hopefully entertain along the way. This is for me my greatest sporting challenge and I still sit and contemplate what I have let myself in for. So please be generous and I hope you all have a happy and prosperous New Year.

Roll on Paris.

It must be Christmas we had rain deer!

 I hope everyone had a good Christmas and are looking forward to a happy New Year. I have been quiet for a couple of weeks as far as blogging goes, but I have still been out on the bike. We spent Christmas at mums, like every year, when you have the best cook in the world as a mum it would be unthinkable to do anything else. So plans were for me to cycle, only fifteen miles, and meet my wife and son there who would drive (very sensible). Over the last few weeks like everyone else rain has become the norm and seeing wet ground and only a few drops falling from the sky I was undeterred. How wrong can one man be? I set off on my normal route without a thought of the torrents that had fallen

over the last couple of days, this was a big mistake as two miles in I use a road called "Watery Lane" a big clue you would have thought, and yes you know it, road closed flood. I'm on a bike I thought "I can ride through a flood" so going past the closed signs with a sense  of adventure and feeling brave I turned the next bend to where the flood began. Looked OK to me, so off I set holding to the right where it was shallow, I new where it usually flooded and was anticipating that after this next bend it would be clear. Not this time, after the bend the water went as far as I could see and as the water became deeper my bravery dwindled. Managing to turn around without taking a swim I decided the detour was probably for the best. I was soon back on track and enjoying the ride when the heavens opened. Now it was Christmas and the normal way of things are for Jesus to be remembered, today I would probably have been better off with Noah. I have seen it rain but this was biblical and the roads soon run with water. The lanes to Billericay started to resemble rivers and dodging puddles became impossible, I was wet anyway so onward I ploughed without a care in the world. Thing was there was this Range Rover driver with the same attitude and while traversing one rather large flood across the road he thought it would be in the spirit of Christmas to speed up past me, while creating a bow wave  a power boat racer would have been proud of. I thought I was wet before, dream on. I must be a bit sadistic as I was still enjoying myself and finished my journey with a broad smile on my face. Christmas was great with the family and I am excited by the prospects 2013 hold, Roll on Paris.

Squirrels and Alcohol !

It has been a strange week with the Beast from the East threatening to obliterate East Anglia with snow and ice, only to change direction and leave its tail to whip us on Tuesday. Yes it was very cold and icy and a few snow flakes caused chaos with grid locked roads. Work and social commitments on top of this had meant a week of inactivity on the bike. Now I am not the fittest of forty two year old but by far not the worst. So when Saturday came and an opportunity to get out for a few miles arose, I was eager to get back in the saddle. Wet and windy did not put me off as the temperature had now risen to a balmy 6 degrees C, so off I set towards Billericay with the prospect of a cuppa at mums about fifteen miles in. Now the social activities that I mentioned earlier came into play, you see late nights and excessive alcohol in my twenties and playing football was not a problem. Problem is I am not twenty anymore, when the hell did that happen, and so with some shock my legs felt dead and hills became mountains before my eyes, why did I have that last glass of wine? Now you see people say Essex is flat, not quite and I had probably decided to cycle, to my peril, one of the hilliest (mountainous) routes around. It was hard work in that first stint as it was all up hill on the way out, at least the homeward stint would be of some relief. The roads in the country were still very wet and the water was running from the fields from yesterdays down pours,  

twice I found floods that crossed my path and gingerly I cycled through six inches of water. Reaching mums I was now hot and bothered, sweating more than normal and looking forward to a cup of coffee and a chat, as normal I was spoilt with a new packet of shortbread freshly opened just for me, don't you just love mums. Refreshments over and an easier ride home I set off for the lanes that on a Saturday morning I new would be deserted. Peace personified, I was in a world of my own when out he came, a kamikaze squirrel with a taste for cyclists. Slamming on the brakes on a greasy lane with fallen leaves, for a split second my heart was in my throat. I saw the whites of his eyes as he approached the spokes of my front wheel and then with an agility of a ninja he turned and I'm sure with a wink disappeared back to the trees. It was with an increased alertness that I continued on my way and was on full squirrel alert until I exited the woodland that I was cycling through. The rest of the journey was completed without any further eventful activity and back at home I made a pledge no more excess before training, well maybe after Christmas. Roll on Paris.

 

A ride of two halves.

It's been a week of changeable weather with snow and ice in abundance for the first time this winter. However I did get out on Tuesday before it all began. It was a chilly morning but with blue sky and sunshine, very inviting. The forecast showed showers in the afternoon and a freshening wind. Being out early I thought I may miss the worst. So rapped up well I set off on a thirty mile route. How great did I feel, cruising along at a great pace, everything was good and I was thinking I could go all day if I wanted. My destination was again Wallasea Island and wow did I get there quick, averaging close to seventeen miles an hour I was feeling pretty chuffed with myself. Turning for home I had a big dose of reality, that freshening wind had obviously freshened a bit earlier than forecast and boy did I feel it. Life had just got that bit harder and I was now facing fifteen miles of graft into a wind that had been my friend till now. Muscles started working far harder and great speed became a thing of the past, while I was now feeling that giving up was  the better choice to going all day. Getting home was filled with satisfaction and an average pace still over fourteen mile an hour, I was still chuffed. Roll on Paris.

Its cold outside

Today was one of those days, not at work, need to train but any normal person would look outside turn the heating up and have some hot porridge for breakfast. Problem is I have rarely been described as normal so out came the Lycra and bike and with the temperature reading -2 I got myself ready for another twenty miles. Not having been out in such temperatures before the obvious choice was the mountain bike and plenty of layers. To be fair the roads were not that bad, I thought that the frost may have caused me more problems but apart from being cautious on the bends they were pretty good. The same could not be said about my hands, my gloves on all previous rides had stood up to the elements however with sub zero temperatures I started to feel the cold. About five miles in feeling the gears when changing them became a problem and I might as well have had hooves instead of fingers, at ten miles I was struggling to feel the handlebars full stop. While at this time the temperature had risen above zero, I needed to do something about my now completely numb hands. I stopped and spent the next ten minutes shaking and rubbing my hands together, I was glad I was in the middle of nowhere at this point as I'm sure the sight of me in Lycra shaking arms and jumping around was made for you tube. What ever it looked like it worked as the circulation came back and the rest of my ride was done in relative comfort. A new experience cycling in the cold and some research needed into new gloves, but all the same I still enjoyed the ride. Roll on Paris.