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From Alex;
Sometime last year, Mike and I had a conversation over a few beers - I'd been wanting to cycle the length of the country for awhile but considered that doing 1000 miles on my own might send me peculiar - despite the peace and quiet.
So I set about convincing Mike to do it also. Initially, being the quite sane individual he is, he declined. Fortunately, it was very rare in being a drunken idea that seemed more intriguing as time progressed and eventually I received a text saying he was 'in'.
This unfortunately meant I also had to do it now. We decided to do it for the charity Combat Stress, marrying my world of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Mike's of being a soldier, it seemed like the most logical choice. We agreed on August and that was essentially it!
We're riding 100 miles a day - fighting midges, inevitable rain and punctures but hopefully not each other.... My rule of thumb with cycling (to make the distance clearer for non-cyclists) is that it's probably the same as running about a third of it. So that's an Ultra-marathon of 33 miles each day, carrying all our kit, for ten days - and we're not the lightest individuals in the world. We are training hard but it's starting to dawn on me that this will be one hell of a challenge!
I'm going to be keeping a blog throughout and taking plenty of snaps. Last time I did something endurance related it was a big motivator to keep going, knowing that it was going to be doing some good long after the suffering stopped, therefore all donations are welcomed whether it's pence or pounds.
We're entirely self funding this expedition so all donations will go directly to Combat Stress.
Mike;
So, I had never owned a road bike up until September last year, but thanks to a very convincing friend of mine 'Alex', after dousing me with a few beers and taking advantage of my 'never turn down a challenge' nature, I was persuaded to join him on a cycling trip from John'O'groats to Lands End sometime the following year.....after a bit of research into a suitable road bike and one that would fit my tight budget I came across a very reasonably priced Merida that was the perfect setup for myself. Since then I have ventured on a few road trips locally to find out what all this cycling malarkey is about, and I found myself enjoying it....bought myself a garmin computer and off I went.
Unfortunately, being a member of the Armed Forces I had to deploy overseas from March to June and was unable to train for the duration, but, I'm back now and I have 7 weeks to get myself to a level that I can attempt this challenge! I went out yesterday for my first ride and completed 48miles, I was comfortable and confident for the first 25 - 30 mile but then fatigue and cramp started to set in and the last 15 or so mile was a real effort, I know it's down to lack of time in the saddle and lack of electrolytes etc. I'll be fine on the next ride out, I hope!
I plan on doing a few more 50mile routes over the next few weeks whilst increasing my weight in my panniers, the real test I look forward to is our meet up on July 6th in Warwick (halfway point for both of us) which will see us completing in excess of 100mile!
Alex and I have agreed to donate all proceeds to our chosen charity 'Combat Stress', a cause that is close to both our hearts and we hope to raise enough that will at least help out a few of our Servicemen and women to make a difference in their lives, they've gave their bit, now it's time for us to give back to them.
This challenge is going to be the hardest and most mentally and physically demanding test I will attempt and I hope to achieve it for such a worthy cause.
