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rich birley is raising money for SCARBOROUGH HOSPITAL (F.I.S.H)
Participants: richard birley, ken ferrie
Story
Friends Rich Birley & Ken Ferrie are trying to raise funds for a new children’s unit at with the help of Helen King, who has been giving the task of trying to raise over £300,000 for the first stage of the build, with over £3 million expected to be required for the completed project! This is what we plan to do, we hope you enjoy our little blog!
Rich & Kens Story:
Rich & Ken have known each other for over 30 years now. Having become firm friends they have always tried to keep the “blubber man” at bay through various methods of training!! Ken normally rings Rich after he has read or heard about some crazy training method and off we go to try to see if it works whilst losing weight!
Most methods have provided results but then we go back to our daily routine and the weight creeps back on. So this time it is serious - no more sweets, chocolates or wine – well maybe some as we have to keep the energy levels up?
So Rich gets the usual call from Ken. “Now then tubs”- he can be affectionate with his words. I have found a way for us to lose weight, get fit and raise money for charity. It is a coast to coast bike ride of around 150 miles! “Great” I told him “I still have my old vespa sat at the back of the garage so we are sorted”!! “That’s good” he replies “I can sit on the back”! Not sure if a vespa would take the weight of two men who have seen lighter years?
The first thing is to set up a meeting. Now, how many of you have decided to get fit with your mates and so you agree to meet to sort out the training- in the local pub!! Be honest? Crazy I know and the thing is the planning took many meetings over many nights to get fully into place!!!
So the training begins!!
We had a good look around what we have got in the garage: Old bikes with flat tyres and with spiders living in them all, pumps with no nozzles, 2 helmets (both for skateboards), a rusty bell (well Ken is pushing over 50!), a 10 year old repair kit with dried glue and an old water bottle which is full of blue bottles!! I think we have everything we need?
We have now started our training for the event which takes place on the 3rd/4th/5th September. We will keep you updated with our training blog but for now, help where you can so we can get the children’s unit up and running.
Whatever your day feels like, keep smiling, it really does work.
This is it. Training has finally arrived and we are kitted out in full safety gear which Ken has found. He has a yellow work jacket saying “foreman” and he has found me a yellow work jacket saying “lollipop man” so we are ready! After 10 minutes sweat is pouring from Ken, he feels nausea, dizzy and needs lots of water- all this just from pumping the tyres up in the garage!
Off we go at last and it feels great having the wind in your hair, the flies in your teeth and cars hurtling past you at what feels like 200 miles an hour just inches from you.
We decide to tackle a 7 mile incline to a local land mark to get us right into the feel of this ride – not recommended for your first ride out!! The bikes have only 6 gears between them, my front brake is broken and stuck to the wheel and the water bottle on the handle bars keeps hitting the front forks! But we get there and it is a free wheel home to a long bath, chocolate bars and a nice cuppa!
The buzz has hit us now and Rich is up at 5am and wanting to be off!! He gets the bike out, sits on it and……OUCH!!!! The pain in my rear end, my backside feels so tender and that seat feels like a brick with very sharp edges. What is going on? Tenderly I start to peddle and it is a while before I can sit down – abit like slowly putting your rear into a hot boiling bath. It’s not long though before the iPod kicks in-the music certainly takes the pain away and off I go into the lovely morning sun full of energy and singing to the birds!
Ken got away later in the day and said it was also tough. He felt like his rear was on fire and that the bike felt like it was ten times heavier than yesterday? He wanted to put some lolly sticks into the spokes to make his bike sound like a car but I said it’s maybe not a good idea at his age!
We decided to have a break for a day and go to the gym to recover- sounds great but the gym Ken goes to has a spa and so it’s not long before he is sound asleep in the sauna dreaming of being 4 stone lighter with a washboard stomach. Rich decides on some cardio training and it all seems along way from getting super fit- why don’t we just accept our fate and live a happy life on beer, pizza and sweets?
We’re back in the saddle and raring to go-honestly!! Ken’s arrived at Rich’s house and we decide on a route with fewer hills but more miles on a busy road! Great ideas until you try it! We set of full of beans and energy racing each other like little kids chasing home for the last cream cake! Along a busy road we go soon encounter cars, lorries, buses and motor bikes all wanting to get past! Some beep their horns and we wonder if this is in support of us or if they are telling us to get out of the way!! “A two fingered salute” from them tell us that they are giving us their support!
Meeting at Ken’s house I notice he is smiling and has a sort of smug smile on his face and a confidence to match? “Ok mate” asks Rich? “Yea fine, let’s go” replies Ken and then he opens his garage door? He appears fully kitted out in all the gear- soft pants, goggles, Speedo, mini satnav, indicators, glucose drinks and a new bike!! He tells me “look tubs, if we are going to do this we need to do it right”!! “I have spent hours reading on the internet about what we need to do and so this is how we do it from now ok?” “Yes sir”!!!!! We set of and all Rich gets is “keep up tubs, come on, take in fluid, keep the gears low, keep the glasses cleaned”!! He is off like the clappers and my old bike with one brake and faulty gears is no match for Ken and his new stream lined gear! We target the same hill climb as the first night and we agree to meet at the top. He is flying and is away and in no time at all is at the top-helmet off, drink in hand and waiting for Rich- miles behind and feeling like he is pulling a caravan!! We agree Ken is right and so it is too the bike shop tomorrow to see what they can do. Anyone want a trade-in?
After seeing Ken wish away into the sunset yesterday Rich was determined to keep up and so YIPPEE!!!!!!!- Rich has a new bike!!! Ok, ok it’s not exactly new but it’s a bike and what a machine it is! at Bike It has agreed to sponsor us which is great and so my pal gave me a bike to try which his late Dad owned and used all the time. It is apparently a collectors item but in mint condition and so serviced it and said be careful-it is worth a fortune!! Oh, oh, I am now worried on two counts and call my pal. He tells me to try it but says it is so valuable it is best not used for the actual coast2coast as you will damage it! So I went out today on it and I tell you it was like riding something with an engine on it-really it did!! It is smooth, with easy gear change, slick tyres, titanium body, this thing is the business and I can’t wait to race baldy and show him whose top dog again!! So out I go on the main roads with my mean machine and cover around 20 miles in record time. All I can think of is I reckon I could win the Tour de France on this!!
Ken was unable to train with me today due to a busy work schedule but he has assured me he will be putting in the training at some point and reporting back- so watch this space for any news.
The following weeks have been fantastic to train in and we have had some great training days. We have increased our daily miles and added hills and the benefits are starting to pay off. Ken is subscribing to all the bike mags and he is as keen as mustard. So we decide to tackle our very first major hill climb and see where our energy levels and fitness are?
We are well prepared now and set off in unison knowing big hills beckon and we must conserve our energy. The hill climbs although still tough leave us feeling fantastic and we both feel we have come along way from the first day- until double disaster strikes!!! As we get to our for a break, Kens new bike decide to play up and the gears are all over the spot. The bike is making a racket, he can’t get the balance and is feeling totally dejected that his new bike has a fault. At least it’s in training and not the actually Coast2Coast so it’s back to the workshop tomorrow to be fixed. Rich pokes fun at Ken but, because he is wearing these shoes which fit to the peddle cannot get off the bike and so as he tries to stop simply falls over onto the grass- in front of a parked bus with his feet stuck to the peddles! It gets worse as on the way down (free-wheeling) Rich follows Ken’s bike to see if he can spot the problem but gets too close and bang, straight off the bike into the hedge!! You see, never mock anyone- it always comes back to bite you!! So we limp to the finish line and this time that bath feels like heaven- job done for now!
IT’S HERE- HEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!
The day has finally arrived when we are actually here in Whitehaven all ready and hopefully prepared but not really knowing what lies ahead!! After a full English and plenty of toast we make our way to the C2C monument and dip our back wheels in the sea and away we go, following route 71 then 7 (we hope!!). There are lots of riders and everyone is helpful and informative as we make our way up a 17 mile hill climb which is ok and we are thinking “this is easy” when….oops!!!! In front of us is our first test - a massive hill with riders strewn all over it struggling to ride it and out of breath!!! Here we go and we tell each other “first to the top” to give us some belief!! We made it a few hours later and the rest of the journey follows a similar pattern of steep inclines, rolling hills with plenty of sheep and brilliant descents into picturesque villages and lakes. The scenery is breathtaking and we are smiling all the way down to our point of rest- a pub!!!
On the last day we are told that we only have to negotiate a 4 mile steep hill climb first thing and then it is all down hill to Roker beach in . We think that’s mint and set of excited that we are on the last leg of an epic challenge (for us anyway!!) and soon reach the top of the hill climb. However we have a slight problem as the bike I am on is a racer and the track we can take is slate shale so not suitable for me. A gentlemen who is experienced in the ride tells us a safer route and so we take it and all is going great until we reach Consett. We see a sign for the town centre and feel elated as we start what we believe is a slight hill incline to the centre of town- wrong!!! It is a hill which is so steep I swear we saw Fred Dibnah coming down it!!! It went on and on and up- and on and on and up-and on and on and up and I felt sure my legs were going to burst along with our lungs!!! Fore those of you who know the area we think the hill is called Blackheath? Our competitive edge gets us to the top without stopping and we are delighted. From here it really is plain sailing all the way into Roker beach where we are greeted with the which is a wonderful sight!!!
We did our front tyres into the sea, have our photos taken with the C2C monument then it is off to the pub for a Sunday Carvery before heading home back to Scarborough- JOB DONE!!!!
Ken and I would like to thank everyone who has donated to our chosen charity, either through this website or directly with us. We know times are difficult but we have been amazed and humbled by the kindness and generosity people have shown. Thanks also to the companies who provided essentials to make the journey possible.
Our final thanks must surely be saved for a special person- Bo- who stood in at the last minute as a support driver. Without you Bo the trip would not have been possible as you stopped at any possible location you could and kept us topped up with fuel and provisions throughout the trip. You really were a star so thank you, thank you and thank you xxx
So that’s it folks, all done and dusted with cash for the hospital, fitness levels high for me and Ken and two very, very red backsides!!!!
THANK YOU
(Maybe until next year!!)
Rich & Ken