I'VE DONE IT! I SLAMMED THE CYCLE! What an amazing, amazing experience. I feel so privileged to have been part of it. There were so many highs I just don't know where to start.... The official website has been updated with lots of pictures, stories and videos, have a look:
http://www.dallagliocycleslam.com/gallery/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sportrelief/news/040310_dallaglio.shtml
http://www.dallagliocycleslam.com/blog/
I got back to London on Thursday night at around 9pm. The bus dropped us off at Twickenham in the same car park that we departed from just four days earlier. It seemed like a lifetime ago. My legs are ruined. I'm physically, mentally and emotionally drained - 440kms, riding eight hours for five consecutive days. It is single handedly the hardest thing I have ever done in my life, unbelievable
I thought the Surrey Hills had been a good training ground but they were nothing in comparison to the Welsh Hills which presented 10% gradients, 3000m climb in one day and half hour grinds to get to the top - of one! We got lost, had a few punctures, enjoyed a few pub lunches, toured the countryside of Wales, had a few drinks but cycled incredibly hard at the same time.
I am so proud of myself and of my team for our valiant efforts in what has now become known as some of the hardest days of the slam so far. Thank you to everyone for your generosity. The thought of your donations and the thought of those suffering with EB (http://www.debra.org.uk) is what made me ride to the bone. I put my everything in to this event and I really hope I make my £4,000 fundraising target.
Thank you to everyone for supporting me - it's been emotional! xxx
Day 1 - 46k Twickenham to Charvil
A nervous group of 38 cyclists gathered at Twickenham stadium wondering what they had gotten themselves in to. The rain was coming down outside and the marquee stank of stale ale from the England Ireland game the night before. A quick glance around confirm that there were only three other girls - oh dear. A few hot chocs to settle the nerves and then Emilie turned up to wave me off. It’s amazing how a friendly face can help calm everything down. Thank you Emilie, you are a star.
I was allocated to Greg Sims team with Elizabeth, Michelle, Tom, Matt, James and Paul. The first day was a fairly easy ride just a few hours over to Charvil, a couple of beers, dinner and lots of talk about the next day 126k to Old Sodbury. A daunting thought!
Day 2 - 126k Charvil to Old Sodbury
Breakfast call at 6.45am, bikes ready at 7.15am and set to go at 8am. Lots of nervous tension around the camp as we contemplate the next 8 hours in the saddle. Greg tried to calm us down by saying "och, c’mon it’s only three lots of what we done yesterday". Eh? Is that supposed to make it seem easier??!
So, we’re off. Weaving through the morning traffic of Mums and Dads doing the school run and people commuting to the office. Half hour or so in and one of the guys misjudged a roundabout. Ended up on the bonnet of a car and smashed the windscreen. Nightmare. Thankfully the guy was ok and after a half hour or so we managed to get a hold of the support vehicles to come pick him up and take him to hospital. Then, we took to the road again. Michelle got a puncture and Tom aka Puncture Man stepped in to save her. A couple of the guys were struggling but the thought of going slower made the day seem even more unbearable so I pulled a couple of the others on and we attacked the hills. There were supposed to be balloons at each junction to mark the route and just as the three girls were about to turn right instead of left Ali the guide turned up and saved our day. We were exhausted and searching our pockets for some food, the calorie consumption on this event is unbelievable. All you can think about is food and when the next pit stop will be. Just as we were about to fall off our bikes with hunger we saw the glorious sight of two black Range Rovers with the boot open and an array of Maryland Cookies, Haribo, sandwiches and soup. We whooped our way in and gave Jo and the girls the biggest cuddles ever. We were sooooo pleased to see them. We fuelled up, had a quick pee by the side of the road and then Ali said he’d take the girls in. Just as we saddled up Greg and the boys turned the corner. I was worried that we’d get in to trouble for charging ahead but it turned out that he was proud of his Angels for storming on.
A few hours later and it was getting really cold and the sun was starting to go down. It’s pretty soul destroying when you think you must be nearly there and then you start shivering with cold, turn the corner and see a hill in front of you. What goes up must come down though and then we saw the red finish line banners. Whooping over the finish line was just the best. It wasn’t so much a hard day but very very very long. Elizabeth (my roomie) and I headed for a bath and then at dinner I received the Fuhrer award for saying "if they fall behind fck ‘em, let’s carry on regardless!". Lawrence took great pleasure in making me down a sambucca and as I challenged the fact that I didn’t ‘really say that I actually said "I don’t want to go slower, I’d rather go faster" it was quickly pointed out that was just a polite way of saying “fck ‘em”!
Day 3 - 81k Old Sodbury to Cardiff
We started day 3 on a high. The longest day was behind us and the sun was shining. The ride was glorious, weaving through the gentle hills and then we crossed the Severn Bridge. It was such a stunning moment. No traffic, no people, no houses. Just the bridge, the Severn and the sun shining. We had picked up an addition during the morning. A big guy who was struggling to keep up with Lawrence’s team heard that we’d be stopping for a pub lunch so he tagged on. We were all starving, again so started asking Greg when we could stop for some food. We had cracked 50k and need to recharge. We cracked on for another 20 minutes and then spotted a lovely pub on the side of the road – dinner time! In at the bar and we ordered five packets of scampi fries, wine, beer, cider and steak and ale pies all round. The waiting staff started to get a bit excited over the guy who had joined our team. Then he went to the loo and I had to ask the others what the fuss was about. Apparently he’s a big deal in the world of cricket... Freddie Flintoff.
We cycled on and again the second part of the day seemed to never end. We pulled over by the side of the road and I asked Greg if we were half way from where we stopped for lunch to where we had to get to. We then heard a very strong Lancashire accent shout HALF.... WAY??? HALF.... WAY??? At which point we all fell about laughing and shouting GARLIC and BREAD? CHEESE and CAKE? Good times.
We weaved on through the Welsh countryside Greg, Michelle, Freddie and I stream lining up to 22mph. It was glorious. The winds picked up and Freddie acted as a good shield. Then we saw the Holiday Inn signs and the red finish banners – we were there! The whole team were waiting for us. They were all showered and after shaved up ready for the photo shoot at the Millennium stadium... we rocked up sweaty and slightly jaded. It was an amazing experience though to tour in to the stadium. The guys started singing Swing Low Sweet Chariot, it was a big moment.
That night we headed out to Pizza Express and then on to Revolution. Cardiff were particularly excited to see Lawrence and Freddie and some others but I’ve forgotten their names.... All of a sudden it was 230am and Elizabeth and I thought we better get off to bed given that tomorrow was to be a biggie....
Day 4 - 113k Cardiff to Carmarthen
Day 5 - 73 k Carmarthen to Fishguard
The final day but still a long long way to go. We took to the roads and yet more hills. They were unbearable at times and all you could hear was shouts of come on, we can do it, dig deep, let’s get there together and Matt singing "everybody hurts, sometimes..." Too true. Hill after hill after hill and then Tom spotted a sign for Carmarthen.... had we just gone the wrong way? Panic set in as we realised we had missed a balloon and added another 10 miles on to our journey. We were seriously up against it as Greg and Freddie had to make the ferry for a 2.30pm crossing. Tom, Matt and I were absolutely gutted. The organisers had said the night before that if anyone falls behind on time they would need to be picked up by the support trucks as the guys could not miss the crossing – there’s only one a day at this time of year. We were all so hungry. Again scouring our pockets for anything to eat, to fuel up with, to get us through the last bit. We saw a garage in the distance and pedalled on to pick up some food. By this time is was 12:45 and we still had 20 miles to go.
Kevin (who had joined our team as we were clearly having the best time but perhaps the biggest challenge of all the groups) stepped up to the front to help streamline the team to the finish. It was time to get the head down, dig deep and push push push to the finish. We all had knots in our stomachs and the wind whipped up making it doubly hard to pedal through. Freddie and Kevin acted as good shields for the girls but every time we got to the top of one hill there seemed to be another. Surely if we were going to the sea then we had to start going down at some point.
Then we saw it, the sea. We whooped and cheered and thought maybe we’ll make it after all. We all tucked down and picked up pace as we glided down the last hill to the port. The black Range Rovers were waiting for us shouting and shouting fro Greg and Freddie to drop their bikes and run. We all jumped off our bikes started cuddling each other and crying as our journey came to an abrupt end. We didn’t want to let go of the guys but the ferry was blowing it’s fog horn and the support team had panic in their eyes at the prospect of the guys not getting on the ferry. So they had to run and pretty much jump the ramp to get on board. We were left on the tarmac slightly stunned, exhausted and all of a sudden frozen. Thankfully we had Tom, Matt and Kevin to look after us. Every Angel needs a Charlie.
The aftermath
And so, it’s back to London we go. Time to reflect and realise what we’ve accomplished and celebrate with a few bottles of champers. What a life changing experience. It really puts things in to perspective, makes you realise what’s important and what you shouldn’t need to tolerate in your life.
When you surround yourself with good people, those who make you laugh, make you smile and make you believe in yourself you really can achieve anything.
