Blood, Sweat & Gears - the ultimate cycle challenge from Lands End to John O'Groats
It all started last year when needing a goal to act as a motivation for losing weight. Reading the newspaper one weekend I came across an article which detailed an assault on the world record for cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats - LEJOG. An idea was born and in May 2010 six foolhardy souls (five cyclists and a much needed support vehicle driver) will be setting off on our own epic journey.
Setting off on Monday May 10th we will finish some 13 days later at the most northerly point on the mainland. 1100 gruelling miles across hills and dales, by lochs and glens before we will be able to say "We've done it"! Apart from Martyn who is the baby of his group and still shy of his 30th birthday we are a bunch of guys at the wrong end of our 40's who believe that we still have the looks and stamina of our youth combined with the maturity that comes with age.
To amuse and entertain you we will be posting stories of our training and progress on our blog -
http://bloodsweatandgears.tumblr.com
- and so log on for the full story and pictures! We all feel strongly that we wish to support a local charity which will keep us focussed and motivated on our ride. We have chosen Nelsons Journey.
Back in 1986, Katie and Hannah Greensmith woke up one morning to find their mother dead in bed. Katie was four years old, Hannah was two. As they were so young, they did not understand death and sadly they were alone in the house as their father was away at the time. The girls were by themselves for several hours and it wasn’t until their father, Chris, phoned that it was realised something was wrong. Katie wouldn’t usually answer the telephone as it was high on the wall, but she had dragged a chair across the room and climbed on it to answer it. It is because of Katie and Hannah’s experience of losing a parent and the anger, confusion and distress that followed, that Nelson’s Journey exists today. The charity was registered in November 1997 to support bereaved children and young people living in Norfolk and relies upon donations to continue its important work.
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.
So please dig deep and donate now.
Some tasters from our blog:
7 March 2010“So the day arrived for the first of the team practice rides – and we were blessed with clear blue skies. We had agreed to meet at a central point to start the ride and amazingly we all opted to cycle there (up to 9 miles for some) rather than load the bikes in the car! An excellent start. After the obligatory admiring of bikes and subsequent photos we set off. Key elements of the ride were to assess our fitness levels, ability to ride as a group, individual pace and targeting a 15mph average.
Three of the four pretended not to know which way to go which left Kevin riding point to start with – he wont fall for that one again – and after a slightly ambitious pace left everyone trailing behind we soon settled into a comfortable rhythm. With the sun shining down it was a most pleasant way to spend a Sunday morning albeit with temperatures hovering just above freezing. We mixed and matched our riding as we made our way from to Reepham and enjoyed a wide variety of conversation from road etiquette to the convincing 3-0 victory by NCFC the day before. We were riding along at a comfortable 17mph average as we arrived into Reepham and turned towards Buxton. This was perhaps the best part of the ride with stunning scenery including the fabulous church at Booton and minimal levels of traffic. Crossing tow main roads we were then overtaken by a couple of fellow cyclists as we ambled along – this brought out the competitive streak and we matched them until they peeled off in a different direction.
From Buxton we made our way to Coltishall and then on to Wroxham where Richard lives. This was the only time in the ride that we encountered any road rage. Despite travelling in single file through Hoveton and Wroxham some cars found it difficult to pass quickly as there was traffic coming from the opposite direction. When we stopped to say farewell to RV we were met with a few beeps and gestures and one moron in a red pick up truck who thought that it would be clever to try and get as close to us as possible.
We then made our way back to with Steve branching off leaving just two of us to cycle back to where we agreed that it had been a great morning that we were probably fitter than we thought and that we still had some “gas in the tank”. However later on the joints were telling me that they had done their bit for the day.
Roll on 21 March for the next group ride!”
And here is how we got on:
“The gods of cycle training are obviously on our side as the sun was shining on a perfect day for the start of spring and our second group ride. Buoyed up by the success of the previous ride we decided to broaden our horizons and attempt a 50+ mile ride. Our route was to take us from home along to Coltishall and then through the villages of Little Hautbois, Felmingham and Bradfield to Mundesley on the coast. From there down the coast route past Bacton and Walcott and then inland via Dilham, Smallburgh and Wroxham and then back home to . As the sun was shining we were resplendent in our Lycra shorts and sun shades and cut a dash (we like to think) as we raced through the glorious countryside.
We kept up a good pace as we passed through villages with much of the conversation reflecting 1) the sunshine 2) how beautiful is 3) The “Million pound bike ride” programme in aid of Sport Relief. Steve was so inspired by the programme that he watched it twice! We all agreed that it was a great motivational video for us and whetted the appetite for what we had in front of us. We wondered if we could best the top speed of Patrick Kielty at 45mph and what would happen if we came off at that speed! Two other interesting facts from the programme were that the challenge is equivalent to climbing – twice – and you use up 120,000 calories! We could see Richards’ brain working out how many pints of real ale this equates to!
We arrived in Mundesley in good heart and hardly out of breath. This was the time to break out our scientifically calculated refreshments which amounted to some fruit pastilles, Cadburys mini eggs, orange segments and Kendal Mint Cake. We agreed that this is perhaps an area which we will need to take more seriously on the ride! After a detour to find working toilets in Mundesley we were on our way again down the coast road. This is where Steve decided that our 15-17mph pace was way too slow and upped it to 20mph with the inevitable result of a “string” of riders struggling to keep up with someone who is as thin as a whippet and fit as a butchers dog. However we cruised on to Wroxham when we suffered our first puncture. A deep pothole resulted in an impact puncture for Kevin just outside ’s. Between us we had the required kit and “Formula 1” Steve swung into action with a record breaking repair to a rear tyre. Ten minutes later we were waving goodbye to Richard and making our way back to . Carl and Kevin took it in turns to ride point as the legs started to tire and conversation was somewhat in short supply. 55 miles later we were back home with a self satisfied feeling at completing a lengthy ride in good time. This was a good practice for what will be an average morning on our trek. 50 days to go!”
1 April 2010
I have rediscovered the art of “tinkering”. Since buying my new bike I have enjoyed pulling it apart to clean, mend and improve it. It takes me back to Saturday mornings as a teenager when “messing about” with bikes was a normal activity for our group of friends. The joys of getting greasy hands, seeing something that you have done work well and generally whiling away an hour or two are not to be dismissed. A great stress reliever too.
As we get closer to the ride (less than 6 weeks to go) there is an element of mild panic as I start to fret about training, stamina and sundry other matters. I am sure that this is a common fault but riding the length of the country is now a very real prospect and I feel very guilty if a day goes by when I haven’t either been out on the bike or in the gym. The consoling thought is that as a group we will support each other and there is no doubt that riding in a group is much easier than solo training slogs.
The fundraising is most encouraging as we near £2000 with plenty of time left to extract some more pennies from our supporters! Thanks to each and every one of you who has donated – it is much appreciated.
