Saturday 27 June 2009:  YES! YEEHAA! WAHEY! I DID IT!

Well done, TS! You did a great job, in spite of all your objections and frustrations. Lots of prayers for my protection (which were taken full advantage of) and hundreds of miles of training finally gave way for THE ride of my life (so far). 730 miles (1175 kms), countless hills and valleys, superb (almost traffic free) rural roads, stunning views, 9 days of glorious sunshine, lots of wind, more food than I care to remember and lots of pedalling finally got me from my home, close to Langley Library (near Slough in England) to Geneva in Switzerland. Having previously withdrawn from this ride in June 2008 owing to a knee injury, I finally made it this time round, thanks to the loving God I serve, lots of encouragement from my lovely wife and wonderful, special friends. Before my training was finished, I was determined that this time, absolutely nothing was going to stop me from going on the ride. I had already suffered a year of frustration from having to withdraw from the ride in 2008. My wonderful friend Karen, who did do the Paris to Geneva ride in 2008, told me when I went to see her off at the start, "John, in just another year you'll be doing the ride yourself." Another year! At the time, 'another year' felt like a million light years away to me. I was cheering Karen on and crying for myself at the same time. I don't remember being torn apart like that for a physical activity ever before. However, you were right, Karen. The year did come round & I did go on the ride. And what a glorious ride it was too. Every second was just so exhilarating for me, including the 'walls' of steep hills we had to cycle up.

To describe this amazing feeling of achievement is very difficult. About the best way to describe it though, is to do it yourself, so you can feel what I mean. There were people of all ages, from men in their late 60's to younger men and women in their 20's and everyone else in between. I was amazed at the number of people who gave so much of their time, money and efforts in order to benefit those less fortunate than themselves. There were challenges that I would have found far more difficult, had I not been prepared for them to the degree that I was, thanks to others who had gone before me. Challenges such as cycling the strain of cycling an average of 85 miles (at least) every day for nine days; cycling 113 miles (182 kms) in one day; incredibly strong headwinds and crosswinds that sapped you of your strength; the challenge of taking the bulk of the day to cycle up a mountain, followed by the Col de la Faucille for the last 6 miles up, which took an hour by itself.

Of course, that all almost pales into insignificance compared to the benefit that Crisis would receive from all the sponsorship. None of this would have been possible without YOU, my wonderful sponsors and friends. It is because of YOUR wonderful generosity that Crisis is able to continue their work, campaigning for homeless people right around the country. Donations are still most welcome via this page, as Crisis is always in need of funds to help people break free of the traps of homelessness and hopelessness. Thank you again so much for all your efforts to help CRISIS. May God truly bless you all.

Hello and thank you for visiting my Crisis Cycle Challenge sponsorship page.

Picture these two typical situations: A man is happily married, has a family with four children, a home, a well-paid job, indeed, he has everything going for him. One day, he goes to work, and gets made redundant and tries for several months, but is unable to find another job. He uses their savings to pay the mortgage, bills and debts, but is unable to clear them all, until finally, the savings are finished. He is then unable to pay any more of his mortgage, bills or debts at all. With all the stress, he ends up losing his home, his wife and family. Now homeless, he is unable to find another job, because he has no address. He cannot get another home to live in, because he has no job. And so the vicious spiral deepens more and more every day.

Or take the case of a young girl who has left home because of sexual or other abuse and has nowhere to go to until finally, she ends up on the streets, homeless. Maybe she feels she can't go and seek help from the council, because that would mean getting her parents into trouble with the law, which she may not want to do. Again, she is unable to get accommodation of her own, because she has no job and unable to get a job, because she has no fixed address.

Then of course, there are all the food, health and other issues, which need to be dealt with on a daily basis. Such as not knowing when or where you next meal or wash is coming from. Then too, there are the weather and cold issues also to be dealt with. But how, when you have nothing in the first place. Similarly, the spiral deepens daily.

These cases are not uncommon at all in the UK. This is where Crisis comes in. Crisis receives only very limited aid from the government for certain projects. Because of this, Crisis desperately needs money from generous people like you to support them, so they can get homeless people back into homes and lead fulfilling lives.

In an effort to transform the lives of homeless people through www.crisis.org.uk I shall be cycling from Slough, England, UK) via London & Paris in France to Geneva in Switzerland, a distance of a approximately 660 miles (1062 Kms) from 16 to 26 June 2009. For this to happen, apart from lots of hard training, I need lots and lots of kind and generous people who will sponsor me. I would therefore like to ask you to please dig deep and sponsor me online.

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Crisis will receive your money faster. In addition, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you. Please remember to check or tick the 'Gift Aid' box.

These cases are not uncommon at all in the UK and this is where Crisis comes in. Crisis is the UK national charity for homeless people and relies almost entirely on donations from non-governmental organisations and the public to fund its vital work. Crisis receives only very limited aid from the government for certain projects. Because of this, Crisis desperately needs money from generous people like you to support them, so they can get homeless people back into homes and lead fulfilling lives.

So please dig deep and sponsor me now! Sooner than later would be better, as it helps me know where I am in my fundraising and more importantly, it means Crisis receives the money sooner. The other reason is that the way the ride is organized, the money is needed in advance. Many thanks for your support. May God truly bless you indeed.

John

Now for the fun!

Training Updates and (fun)d raising events: Special Notes: My bicycle is often referred to as either 'Trusty Steed' or more simply, 'TS'.

Important Notice

I've made a significant change to my itinerary. Instead of starting in Slough, I shall now be starting from outside Langley Library on Trelawney Ave, Langley, Slough, SL3 7UF, on 16th June 2009 and leaving between 10:00 and 10:30. So come along, say 'bon voyage' and see me off. It promises to be quite a bit of fun!

Route:  On the first day, my route will be taking me from Langley to Blackheath in south east London, where I shall be stopping for the night and meeting up with more cyclists. The following morning, we then cycle through the fields and villages of Kent, across the hills of the North Downs and onwards to Dover. After careful thought, I have decided against pedalling extremely fast across the channel in an effort to reach the other side before starting to sink in the water. For some strange and obscure reason, I figured it might not work quite the way I would like.

At Dover, we catch the ferry to Calais, where we shall be stopping for the night. Day 3 takes us to Arras, where we stop for the night. Day 4 takes us to Compiegne. Day 5 takes us to Paris, where we all arrive together at the famous Eiffel Tower. Day 6 is a rest for in Paris. Day 7 takes us to Sens. Day 8 takes us to Semur-en-Auxois. Day 9 then takes us to Lons-le-Saunier. And then day 10 finally takes us through the Jura mountains and then a gruelling ride up the Col de la Faucille. From the peak of the Col (mountain pass), we then 'cruise' down to Lake Geneva where at long last, we finish the ride. Day 11 (26 June) finally brings us back to London.

Did I mention that I was coming back? Oh dear, and you thought you had finally gotten rid of me once and for all. Oh well, you'll just have to get used to me all over again.

Sunday 14 June 2009: Yes! At last! The training is now over.  TS says "And about time too. You've been pushing me hard enough. Maybe now I can get some rest while you go trundling along on them thar hills 'n' valleys 'n' Alps thingies. You've been treating me like a proper work-horse, you have!" Ah well, life is tough when you're an unpaid bicycle. Still, the next twelve days will show how well I've trained. As far as today's ride was concerned though, even TS loved it. Organized by the Lions' club of Burnham, I didn't realise when telling my friends that I was going for a ride in the park that I was going to be doing just that! It literally was a ride in the park, with a small amount on public roads. Even TS said "YES" when he saw the magnificent traffic-free paths and roads on the route that was chosen by the Lions Club.

Thank you Lions Club of Burnham. TS & TheCyclist thoroughly enjoyed the ride today. Thank you also for your wonderful sponsorship! Having registered for a15-mile ride, I missed a turning and then for the simple fun of it, joined a guy doing a 20-mile route. Steve, it was great cycling with you. Thank you for your company. TS enjoyed the challenge of having to exert himself against another great cyclist. Overall, TheCyclist finally rode 28 miles today. And that is absolutely the LAST cycling that TS & TheCyclist shall be doing until Tuesday 16 June. And TS said "YEEHAA! Chill-out time until Tuesday!"

That's it until Tuesday, folks. Be sure to come back often and see how TS is doing on THE ride. Take care and may God bless you tons and some.

Saturday 13 June Late PM: At last, TS is finally fully functional and 'running' like a dream, the way a bike should be. But, so much for finishing my cycling for the day. I had no sooner arrived home than I remembered I need to cycle into Slough to do some grocery shopping. So off went TS & TheCyclist into Slough, only for TS to tell me that he had forgotten my backpack to put groceries in. The two pannier bags I have I knew would not be enough by themselves.

Back home and back into Slough again, do the shopping and back home yet again. Finally, cycling over for the day. Rest at last! 'Ha', he says! Now I need to prepare for tomorrow's ride.  Bring on them thar hills 'n' valleys. They are looking more and more attractive, after all this so-called 'rest' I'm getting. Just one more charity ride to do before THE ride. This one is a 15 mile one with Burnham Lions' Club. Will let you know how it went - or maybe not. You might be sick of all the training I'm doing.

Saturday 13 June 2009 early AM: Wow! Almost there now. To the starting point, that is. :-) So far, not had time to do any packing! Realising that for the last few days my training schedule needed to start reducing, TS decided to demand some attention and get some more exercise in at the same time, much to TheCyclist's frustration. First, a close inspection of my tyres showed that the rear one needed replacing in view of the long upcoming ride. I then realised that the rear wheel bearings were noisy, which then also necessitated the same be replaced and lubricated. So with the help of my good friend Mark, all that was done.

Refitting the wheels and testing them, I noticed that the front large chain ring had a broken tooth and was also worn. Further checks showed that the whole chainset needed replacing. More expenses! I didn't need. So on Wednesday morning, TS & TheCyclist went into London, only to find that the work could only be done on Friday 12 June. I'm starting to feel somewhat overwhelmed now at the time factor. Off to the local bike shop, only to find that they wouldn't have the parts in until end of next week. So that was a non-starter.

So with no  options left open to us, TS & TheCyclist rode back into London yesterday. The chainset having been duly replaced by the bike mechanic, TS and I set off home, only to realise that by the time we got home, the front gears were not changing correctly. So back to London we go today. At this stage, I am getting a bit desperate for a rest from riding, so soon before the ride on Tuesday, to say nothing of my anxiety about the setbacks with TS, lack of remaining time in which to prepare and pack. Watch this space for more news before the ride starts on Tuesday. Take care and God bless you all.

Saturday 30 May 2009: As the saying goes, 'variety is the spice of life', so TS & I went somewhere different today. Having defied attempts by my dear sister Pam to get me to leave home at 5pm so as not to delay them the following day, I spent the next few hours studying a map to work out the best route to get to Tonbridge, which is where Pam & her husband Lester live. Finally, I decided on a route that would be about as pleasant as I could make it and would keep TS out of traffic as much as possible. (While TS can handle heavy traffic, I realised he prefers quieter roads these days) Because I was cycling by myself, I had to take all my security devices with me, in case I needed to 'go places'. All of which meant I had to take a lot of extra kit with me, which weighed about 10 kilos (22 lbs) more than normal. The route we eventually took was via Staines, Kingston, Chessington, Reigate and Redhill, then along the A25, where we would eventually join the A21 towards Tonbridge.

"Nice, smooth, flat roads", TS thought. And politicians don't lie, there's no recession and food prices are coming down. TS has a lot to learn still, it would seem. Oh well, some things are learned the hard way.

"What? You mean there's hills on them thar roads to Tonbridge?" TS exclaimed with horror.
"Aye" replied TheCyclist, "there be hills on them thar roads too."
"But Kent is flat." exclaims TS in disbelief!
"Ye be doing better in preparing thyself for knowing there be hills everywhere,
not just in yonder Alps," says TheCyclist.
So onwards and upwards, goes TS
On his new tour of mystery & wonder
as he seeks to find all these hills
TheCyclist has just told him about

So at 4:45, off we set on the ride to Tonbridge. Being so early in the morning, I put long jeans and a T-shirt with a fleece on. An hour later, the fleece came off, but the jeans stayed on, as I couldn't find anywhere to change into shorts at all, a mistake I was to regret another hour  later.

Passing through Staines so early in the morning, there was little traffic and even fewer hills. And so it was much the same as we passed through Kingston & Chessington. As we approached Reigate, I saw a sign 'Reigate Hill'. I then realised that the hill training was about to start. Only it was in a pleasant way this time - Reigate Hill was downhill and what a magnificent ride it was.

We quickly passed through Reigate at the bottom of the hill and through the town of Redhill, after which I stopped for a break for about 10 minutes or so. And shortly after that the hills started and TS then started earning his keep. Undulation after undulation of hills and dips accompanied us on our way.

Hills steep and hills shallow
Hills long and hills short
TS took them all on with his usual aplomb
But TheCyclist was not of the same mind as he
Struggled with some hills steep and
Sailed through hills shallow
Along the pleasant and seductive scenery of the A25
Making me want to take an hour or so to relax and enjoy
All of the beautiful scenery in the surrounding countryside
But 'twas not to be, for Tonbridge was calling
Onwards and upwards went TS

Eventually, we came to the A21, where I had the choice of going through Hildenbrough or staying on the A21. I finally decided to stay on the latter, as I had no inclination to cycle through traffic and traffic lights and intersections at all. And then, just as we thought the end of the hills were behind us, I found that we were just starting on the l-o-n-g hills of the A21. Those hills were indeed tiring. TS, I forgive you for your reluctance, but it was necessary, believe you me it was. Anyway, after an hour on that road at 11:00, TS finally arrived at the lovely town of Tonbridge in Merrie Olde Kent, where we spent the rest of the day and night with my sister Pam and her family.

While I was there, we went to a BBQ at a friends' home. I was made to feel most welcome by the charming hosts, Gary & Eisha and all their family. Thank you, Gary & Eisha for a fantastic BBQ and the wonderful hospitality you both showed me. I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon with you all.
 
The following day, Sunday, TS & I set off at 5:45 to return home. Although still quite dark, I could already tell the day was going to be another hot and sunny on. Yes, it was still chilly at that time of the morning, but I figured I would rather suffer with a bit of cold for a short while than with the heat for a long while. So on went the T-shirt and shorts. What a good decision that was. Much to my surprise, the ride back was much more enjoyable for whatever reason, even though the route was the same. Reigate Hill was challenging, but TS stepped up to the mark and assailed the Hill extremely well.

By the time TS finally got me home, I realised three things. First, I had not stopped for a break at all. The second was that I completed the return journey an hour quicker than the outbound journey. Although I was motivated to ride fast in order to get back in time for church, I think there may have been a mild tail wind accompanying me home. I know I distinctly felt quite a few head winds at various times. Isn't God wonderful for doing that for me? Lord, You were magnificent, as only You can be. Thank you. The third thing was that I wasn't that tired. I realised that if going to Church wasn't a priority, I could have easily cycled for another 30 miles or so. Admittedly only after a break, mind. I'm not that good!

Boring statistics again: Distance cycled this weekend: 120 miles (193 kms); Average speed: 11 mph (17 km/h); Top speed: 39.8 mph (64 km/h) (I put the low speeds down to the extra weight I was carrying on TS.)

That's about all for now, my friends. 17 days left before THE ride! Take care and God bless you tons.

Saturday 23 May 2009: Having hurt my wrist whilst cleaning out the car park two weeks ago, I was starting to have concerns about cycling to Oxford today, let alone THE ride next month. However, A friend with whom I cycled, Richard, made a brilliant suggestion of placing a pad under my wrist to reduce the pressure under my thumb and which would 'lock' my thumb, hand and wrist together, thereby reducing movement of my wrist to a very large degree. As you read further, you will see just how much this helped me.

Having finally got TS to realize that he had to do some more cycling regardless of how he and his master felt, I fed and watered TS, changed his rear gear cassette and chain, 'trued' the wheels and gave him a general service and then cleaned and re-charged my 'batteries'. So at 07:30 we 'sailed' away off into the wild green lands out yonder towards the fair city of Oxford.

Taking a similar route as the previous ride to Oxford, we made good progress, with no issues regarding my hand yet. Approaching Marlow, I asked Richard if he wanted a break, to which he replied, "let's get some miles on the clock first and press onto Henley." So onwards we continued. God had truly blessed us with a magnificent day and lots of sunshine and only a slight breeze, which unfortunately was a headwind as we came to the Marlow Bottom Hill. Drats. I was hoping to nudge TS to greater performances, but was unable to in that headwind. Oh well, the day was 'still a puppy' and lots of time left. As we arrived in Henley, I suggested that we take a break regardless, as we were over halfway to Oxford.

We found a pub quite close by, went round the back and saw the tables and chairs, parked our bicycles right next to the chairs and sat down. There being no "punters'  (customers) so early in the morning and made ourselves 'at home' and a good breakfast (2nd one) was had by all the merry cyclists (all two of us) After about 15 minutes, I told TS he had to get up and do some work again, which after all, was what he was being paid for!

Onwards and upwards rode TS
Through the highways and byways
Through the vales and dales of sunny Oxfordshire
Through the glorious sunshine and in the cool shade
Rode trusty and valiant TS

Turning off onto the back roads just after Henley towards a series of small villages, the road was gently sloping upwards for a fairly long while until it decided that TS was finding things too easy, so the road started getting steeper all the time, until eventually TS was making a concerted effort to make it to the top. And make it he did. Well done TS. Then the fun started. Almost immediately after reaching the top, we went round a bend and rode for a few hundred yards, when I saw a sign showing 10% with a picture of a downwards facing slope. "Yes", I said to TS (of course - who else?) And onwards I spurred TS on.

And in like greased lightning TS went
Faster and faster went TS
The slave driver aboard ignoring everything but the toad, road and traffic
Concentrating purely on catching Karen up and
Pedalling for all he was worth
Onwards went TS

That hill was an absolutely magnificent one, as it had only gentle bends, no turnings or turn-offs and a long, gentle roll out at the bottom. Unlike the previous time I rode to Oxford, I was able to enjoy this ride a lot, because of the glorious weather and good company in the form of Richard. That said, we ended up seeing each other only at the different breaks we had, probably because he was a significantly faster cyclist than me.

But then, I never said I was the world's fastest cyclist. Maybe about the 10th fastest, but definitely not the fastest. And if you believe that, you'll believe anything... well, at least half that statement is true anyway. :-)

When TS eventually arrived at the fair city of Oxford, I checked the speedo. Yes! My previous record was finally beaten. Yeehaa! Congratulations and jubilations, we'll have celebrations. Well done TS. You did me proud! So what was my new time? Read on, dear reader and find out.

We finally reached Oxford and sat down to a well-deserved break. About an hour later, we set off on the return ride. But this time, I made sure I put my gel saddle cover on. What a difference it made. Like sitting on a pillow - for a good half hour, anyway. But the return half was difficult, I soon realized. I was just plain struggling for a long time, until I realised that there was a fair headwind blowing, enough strength to slow me right down. Richard had very quickly left me in the dust - earlier on, I found out he was a triathlete! I then didn't feel quite so bad about never being able to keep up with him. When I reached THE hill, I looked at it and realised it was just another hill. I no longer made my heart sink. I found it a lot easier this time. Anyway, we got to Henley, when I heard a yell. I turned and there was Richard, sitting on some grass. Like me, he too had been struggling in the wind and needed a break. After a short break, we left Henley towards Marlow, only to find the access road to Marlow had been blocked off by the police, who wouldn't even allow  cyclists through - which was most unusual. So we went a different way, which, for a while was quite scenic, but more hilly (all good training), but it eventually took us to a road which we had so far, managed to avoid, because of traffic and added more time onto our journey. This then forced us to change our route, owing to the time factor. So we eventually went home via Maidenhead and Slough. However, it wasn't so bad after all, as the traffic was minimal owing to the long weekend. And home we arrived, having broken at least two records between us. For Richard, it was his longest ride in a day yet, while for me, I had finally beaten my previous best speed. At the same time, there had been no issues with my hand at all. My makeshift padding had worked a treat, as neither wrist nor palm had hurt at all during the entire ride. I am now confident yet again about THE ride. Thank you for your suggestion, Richard. It worked a treat. :-) Thank you also for your company, I enjoyed it. My speed? See the next paragraph.

Boring statistics: Odo - 2400 miles (3863 kms) Av Speed - 13 mph (20.1 km/h) Top speed - 42.3 mph (68.1 km/h) YeeHaa! At long last, I've caught up to you, Karen. However, rest assured, I am aiming to overtake you still.

Watch this space for more exciting and thrilling adventures of TS and TheCyclist as they get under way with the final stages of their training for THE ride from Langley to Geneva.

God bless you all, my dear friends.

TheCyclist

Saturday 09 May 2009: All my plans for an endurance ride today went to 'pot'. I finally managed to get ready and went outside to do my warm up & stretch exercises. After some people stopped and asked me if I was ok (has no one ever seen anyone doing stretch exercises before?), I saw a face I recognized come towards me. It was the pastor of a church I used to go to. To cut a long story short, he asked me if I could help him clean the car park of the community hall right opposite where we live, as they had managed to rent the building for their church services on Sundays. Having just told him I was about to go on a training ride, I realized that he only had about 4 people helping him, so I decided to postpone my ride until the afternoon and help him instead.
At a convenient stage sometime in the afternoon, I decided to continue with my ride. However, by that time lunchtime had been and gone, so I figured I should get something to eat first. Having duly nourished yours truly, I then took 'TS' outside, when I noticed all my brakes were 'binding', so I started adjusting them. Except they would not adjust at all. I then turned round, went back indoors and tried again, to no avail. Eventually, I squirted some WD40 on and even then, it took some time before the oil finally worked its way through. Only then, would they finally adjust properly. (TheCylist needs to do more regular maintenance on 'TS'.)  By then, time was getting on, so I figured it was too late for a long distance ride and instead rode round the airport instead, a distance of a mere 16 or so miles (about 25 kms). I then realised that maybe helping Errol was a blessing in disguise, since I would have been stuck had I gone on the ride earlier on. So I was fairly pleased with the end result anyway. Except that I wasn't able to beat any of my previous records today. Watch this space for further adventures of TheCyclist. God bless you.

Boring Statistics: I have now cycled 2200 miles or 3520 kms (Yeehaa!) since November 2009. Top speed: 40.8 mph (65.7 kmh) Not been able to improve on that one yet. Karen, take note: I shall yet overtake you!

Monday 3rd May 2009: For the last 2 weeks, I haven't done any really long distance rides. I've been focussing on hill training through the Chiltern Hills and trying to convert 'them thar' hills into 'molehills'. To some degree, I have 'succeeded'. I have chosen the longest and steepest hills to go up and down at least twice each time and then reversing the route, to give me more practice and so that I don't get so bored with the route. (I hate monotony and routine in any way, shape or form - so what do I do? Go on crazy long distance rides, where all I do is move my legs up and down for hours on end!)  

Yesterday, as I said, I cycled through the hills again and stopped for a break at my friends home in Hurley, just a few miles south of Marlow. Whilst I was enjoying their magnificent hospitality, I was challenged to ride up a long and steep hill near them twice, since I had done the others twice. Peter, I didn't forget. I did do it twice. I then also rode up the Marlow Bottom Hill twice on the way home also, just to show 'TS' there were no hard feelings. :-) But then, for some reason or other, I was just plain tired after that. I did make it all the way home (without stopping or getting off and walking up any hills at all), but was absolutely exhausted by the time I got home. And it was only 60 miles (96 kms). TheCyclist thinks he needs to do a lot more cycling and training than he is. Pray for me, I need it.

Saturday 25 April 2009: Hi everyone. Just to put paid to my last note, I did go on a ride today, albeit a 'mediocre' one, through the Chiltern Hills with Fiona. We cycled what is now a familiar route to Marlow, where we had lunch with some ducks which were showing off in front of us and putting on quite an impressive display especially for us. Sadly, we had no suitable food for them. As if they read our minds and decided to prove us wrong, they came right up to us and started strutting round and preening themselves and generally showing off some more, in an effort to persuade us to change our minds. They looked so forlorn and dejected when we would not change our minds about giving them any of our food. We just couldn't help but laugh at them. The return ride was uneventful, except that we returned the same way as we came and what a much more pleasant ride that was, with no heavy traffic or towns, etc. As we got close to home, yours truly decided to show little Ms Fiona up and race her the last few hundred yards. Hah! Guess which male chauvinist was left behind at the post? No prizes for the correct guess.

Tuesday 21 April 2009: Well, no rides of any significance this week. Too busy decorating. That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it! However, on another aspect, TheCyclist held a talk / presentation at the Langley Library Community Coffee Shop today. This had some information about Crisis, followed by more information about my bike ride, in an effort to raise more sponsorship. Praise God, from the presentation, a magnificent sum of £75.00 was raised today, with other people pledging money at a later date, still other people who actually did sponsor me today, pledging even more at a later date. I know, several of my current sponsors have also very kindly offered to do so. Thank you so much to all those who listened to me and who so generously sponsored me.

Saturday 18th April 2009: I rode into London to attend a briefing which Discover Adventure Ltd (DAL), the organizers of the ride, held today in London to explain to the cyclists what to expect. The whole meeting confirmed several things that I had long suspected:

 1 - There are LOTS of hills between London and Geneva.
 2 - The rides are long each and every day.
 3 - I need to do some long rides over consecutive days.
 4 - TheCyclist is nowhere nearly fit enough for the ride. At least, not yet. That will change though.

In the meeting, I learned that Karen had made quite an impression on DAL, as being the lady who made it all the way from Paris to Geneva on a 'tank' of a bicycle (her bicycle is so heavy) and without getting off to walk up any of the hills neither. Well done, Karen (sincerely) You have certainly set the standard for others (me) to follow.

Monday 13th April 2009: Yeehaa! Despite bad weather - ok, not too bad, but still wet, I managed to ride to Oxford and clocked up 101 miles in the process. And without any miscreant motorists taking their anger out on me, neither. Ok, so about a dozen or so hooted at me for no reason, other than committing the 'crime' of cycling on the road, but I've decided to tell myself that they were simply greeting me. :-)
The day started wet 'n' cold. Well, cold if you weren't cycling, but as soon as I put a fleece on, I was too warm. Without it though, I was too cold, even after cycling for a while. I was just constantly cold and wet all day long. From that point of view, the ride wasn't that pleasant. But, as the saying goes, 'ya gotta take the rough along with the smooth'. On this occasion, I did exactly that. Thank goodness for my cycling glasses, though; they did make the ride bearable. I would have struggled without them, I must admit.
True to form, TS was very faithful and never let me down at all, even in this weather. TS made short work of the Chilterns and then moved on through Marlow, Medmenham, Henley-on-Thames (the home of the annual Royal Henley Regatta, a famous yacht race). At Henley, I then left the main road and took a back road to get out of whatever traffic there was (which wasn't much). For the next 45 minutes or so, I then started to question the validity of my choice, as I found out that the road was a very long uphill. And on I pedalled, heeding neither cold nor rain; but by now, my stomach was starting to make a noise and telling me it was hungry. By then, I had covered just over 35 miles. So what do you do when hungry? Why, look for a place to eat and drink  of course; what else? Sounds all well and good; however, there was no such 'animal'. After carrying on for about 25 more minutes or so, I finally stopped on the side of the road (literally, not even sitting room) and had a bite to eat. At that point, I also had no idea how much further Oxford was. I was beginning to think that I had misread the map the night before, yet my geographical memory & logic told me that I had to be at least half-way. (I had often driven that way as a courier.) But cycling was very different to driving. Ask any cyclist!
Anyway, after a short break, I carried on up the hill, which gradually started getting steeper the more I rode. "Ah well, the Alps are looming", I told myself.. How little did I realise I what was to follow later on.
The hill (as all hills do) eventually came to an end, for which I was grateful. TS couldn't really be put to the test regarding speed though, because of the poor road conditions. Up and down a few (lots) more hills I rode, until I eventually made it to Oxford, where I enjoyed (and slept) a much needed break for about an hour. Of course, at least half that time was spent stripping my waterproofs off, securing TS and changing into a dry set of clothing. (It was only then that I realise just how drenched I was. The whole time, I had been thinking I was just cold.) After resting for the remainder of the break, I started the 'great trek' home. My spirits had by then started perking up, as I was warm, dry, fed & watered (with hot coffee) and was contemplating the long rides downhill on the way back.
My speed picked up quite significantly for the next few miles and I was able to maintain a steady 16 miles for at least a half hour or so. I was then brought 'down' to earth again. I went round a bend, when this mean hill suddenly came into sight. I looked at it thought "oh my gosh! That is so much steeper than I remembered it to be. TS, you had better not let me down now." But my heart started sinking, it was so steep and long. I was seriously thinking that I would have to walk up. I then resorted to another tactic. I prayed and asked God for strength to cycle all the way up without having to stop or get off and walk at all. In this, He graciously answered my prayer totally. Thank you, Lord. At a rough guess, I would say that that was the longest and steepest hill I had ridden up so far. It felt like it was never going to come to an end. Finally though, I did make it all the way to the top. After that though, all the other hills seemed to pale into insignificance.

Upwards and onwards rode TS,
ignoring wind and rain,
ignoring time and tiredness,
looking instead at the end of the journey, which was nigh in sight.

Past Henley-on-Thames, where I stopped to fill my water bottles and up the hills after. Past Hurley, where I stopped to look up some friends in the hopes of scrounging a 'cuppa' off them, but they weren't home. Past Maidenhead (home was now beckoning loudly), when I looked at my speedo and saw that I had clocked up 80 miles. I then decided that I wanted to make it to 100 and so rode via Windsor, Eton and Datchet. I looked again at my speedo and 90 miles had come up. So onwards I went, now cycling purely for the extra distance. I felt I just had to get to 100. Past Colnbrook, where I then realised that I could turn and go home. By the time I came to within I mile from home, I watched the speedo flip over to 100. "Yeehaa". I was pleased at that and then by the time I actually did get home, I saw I had ridden 101 miles.

It had been a long day, but I then felt it had been worth it, as the first day of the official ride was 105 miles from London to Dover and until today, I had been wondering, but now I knew, that I could do that distance.

Thank you for taking the time to read this episode. I hope you have enjoyed it. May God truly bless and keep you safe, wherever you are.
Come back next week for the next episode in the life of TheCyclist.

Monday 06th April 2009: Confession time: Once again, I never made it to Hillsong Church in London. My sorry excuse? Read below and find out.
Onwards and upwards. And here is the weather forecast from your local weather forecaster - or should that be historian, since it is no longer the future, but history already? Today, whether there is weather, depends on whether or not there shall be weather!
TS, having now been well fed and watered, is now demanding that Action Takes Place This Day!

We shall fight them thar hills on the hills,
We shall fight them thar hills in the valleys,
We shall fight them thar hills on the hills that are hidden,
We shall fight them thar hills on the hills that conspire against us!
We shall increase our energy,
We shall offer determination, sweat and tiredness,
But we shall prevail!
Noble TS, Faithful TS, Loyal TS,
Shall TS live up to the task?

Aye, indeed, he shall. Read on, dear Reader and find out,
Feast your mind and imagination on the story to follow!

Fiona & I followed pretty much the same route as last week, with a few slight variations. Within a few minutes though, I had to take my jacket off, I was so hot, even though it was still early.

As we approached the first serious downhill near Wooburn Green, I was thinking of riding back up that particular hill to start off with, but I then thought of the condition of the road surface, which was in a poor state of repair. (potholes, loose and uneven and missing tarmac) and was put off, as at least going down, I could fairly easily avoid all the pitfalls, but it wouldn't be quite so easy going up. (If you're a cyclist, you'll understand what I mean by that.) But, who knows, maybe I'll yet ride up that one. Maybe if I speak nicely to TS, he will. End of first hill.
As we came to the bottom of the hill, we looked across the green (small and right in front of us) to THE hill (you remember, the very steep 20% or 1:4 gradient hill). TS and I looked at it and decided on a course of action. 'Get in fast, downshift gears fast, lean right forward and pedal like mad' and away we went.

Only we couldn't get in fast, because of cars in front of us. We waited until they went ahead of us - always a good policy - and then tackled (as Fiona now calls it) "20%". I then amazed myself. I rode right to the top, felt really great and decided I could blast it into smithereens (ok, not quite, but you get my drift) and rode down again. In addition, one bit of fear left me, as I rode all the way to the bottom of 20%. (Before, I was too scared to ride all the way down, it is so steep) I then turned round, waited for traffic to pass me and repeated the process all the way to the top again. YEEHAA 20% conquered yet again.

Onwards and upwards we went. You did well there, TS. Keep it up and you'll soon reach greater heights. (In the Alps, that is... )
Through Flackwell Heath we rode. We then came to the second notorious hill, down Abbey Barn Lane, near High Wycombe. We stopped at the top to have an energy bar, which Dalletta had so lovingly made for me and then went downwards. to the bottom of the hill.

What happened next was neither pleasant nor enjoyable, at least not for me, that is to say. About halfway down, a small car started overtaking me and as it drew level with me, the passenger threw an open can of beer at me. The contents sprayed all over my face, blinding me briefly, at which point the can hit me, stunning me slightly and causing me to wobble on my bike. (Fortunately, I managed to keep my balance.) I couldn't believe what had happened. I'm still amazed at how motorists (some, not all) treat cyclists, as if they're dirt beneath their feet. When I eventually caught up with them at the bottom - they had to stop for traffic - they turned round and laughed at me. That told me that the whole action was deliberate and made me really anti for a while, until I remembered they simply need Christ in their lives. However, I was still angry.

Onwards and upwards. I got to the bottom of the hill, turned round and 'sailed' up, well, maybe not sailed, but TS knows what I mean. :-). Up to the top again and just to show TS that the first time was no fluke, we went down again and then back up again. The ride back up also helped me shake off the angry mood I was in, which helped, as I could then continue the ride in a more positive and cheerful frame of mind.

We then went down the Marlow Bottom Hill - a magnificently long, hill with only very gentle curves in it (but no comparison to a beautiful lady, I might add) - which this time, try as I might, poor old hardworking TS struggled really hard to make any headway against a strong headwind. Even so then, TS went right down to the bottom again and rose again to the challenge of returning topsides for another long ride downhill. (After all, is that not the purpose of going up the hills twice, purely to have another great ride downhill?)

Lunch in Marlow on the banks of the River Thames was, this time a truly glorious restful time, with the bright sun warming us up so exquisitely. While we were there, we met two lovely Norwegian ladies, who were taking some photos. I offered to take some of the two of them together against different backdrops. So that was a bit of fun, as they thought I was a professional photographer. I also took my windcheater and fleece off, leaving just my T-shirt on, it had become so hot by then. (Yes, I did leave my jeans, etc on.)

The last serious hill of the day came and went. Yes, good old TS rose yet again to the challenge of taking me up the hill twice without so much as batting an eyelid. So all in all, I rode up and down 4 serious hills (for this region, that is) twice each and added an extra 10 miles (16 km) on also, which took our overall trip up to 53 miles (85 km). I was just too tired to ride into London yesterday. My mind and body were in direct conflict with each other yesterday morning. Brain said, "Get up & cycle to Hillsong." Body said, "You can rant 'n' rave as much as you like. I say 'NO!, N-O spells NO, Forget it! I'm not!" Body eventually won. So that, dear readers, is why I never made it to Hillsong yesterday. So he is joining Dalletta at her Church today.

So, on this occasion, the hills became removed, so I thought, that is. We then made our way home via Windsor, had a quick look at Lizzie's Castle (Lizzies' Castle? Did you know that Lizzie?) What, you don't believe me? Ok then, Queen Elizabeth’s home, AKA Windsor Castle. From there to Eton - where Princes William and Harry went to College - to Datchet, Horton and back home, in time to enjoy a magnificent dinner so well prepared by Dalletta. Chicken curry and rice, followed by Sweet potato cake and cream, thoroughly enjoyed by the delightful company of John & Dalletta, Fiona and another friend, Chris.

So what will TS get up to next? You might get surprised! Stay tuned in, or come back and watch this space for the next exciting episode of TS and his human minions.

Boring Statistics: I have now cycled 1778 miles (2861 km) since November 2009. Top speed: 40.8 mph (65.7 kmh)

Take care and may God truly bless you all.

Tuesday 31 March 2009: Not too sure how or why, but I have a sneaky suspicion that in the last 3 days, I may have finally started to make progress with my training. "Why, what’s happened?" I hear you ask!

Well, on Friday evening, I spoke very nicely to my bicycle (aka Trusty Steed and hereafter referred to as TS), promised the sun, moon, earth and stars and even promised some of my lunch and a rest in a terrific place, if it got me up all the hills without making me walk. I even bribed TS by cleaning and lubricating its chain and gears and even some TLC. "What? Bribery?" Shocking, yes, I know, but there you go; needs must and all that. OK, I never promised it some lunch or anything else, but I did clean lube the chain & gears in preparation for the ride. At the same time, I had invited a fellow cyclist, Fiona, doing the London to Paris part of the ride to join me in my training.

Anyway, Saturday morning came, Fiona arrived, had some coffee with us. We then duly set off on the great trek – I mean ride – in high spirits. (No, not the alcoholic kind…) Making our way to the Chiltern Hills again, we passed through Langley Country Park, Black Park Country Park, Stoke Poges (a village), a Rare Breeds Farm (an enjoyable farm attraction where members of the public and their children can view rare breeds of animals and even bottle-feed the young animals) and Wooburn Green.

Going down one long hill, unfortunately owing to sharp bends on the road and a ‘hump-back’ bridge at the bottom, I couldn’t go as fast as I wanted. Still, I made a good turn of speed. Then the ‘fun’ (sarcasm intended) started. Across the small ‘green’ (field) THE hill faced me. Yes, the first of several hills that had me beaten the week before, (a 20% or 1:4 gradient). I looked at it, then at TS and reminded it of my promise of TLC. TS looked at me and whispered in my ear "Let’s go and let’s rock!" And off we went. We approached the hill vigorously and determined to get our revenge on it. Before we knew it, we had cycled right to the top of the hill. Wow, I could hardly believe it. I then turned round, went 3/4trs of the way down and then rode back up again. There was a T-junction at the very bottom, so I was reluctant to ride all the way down again. (Not this time anyway. I didn't want to push my luck with TS too far, too soon.)

And on we rode. Onwards and upwards, as they say. We then approached the next challenging hill. We went down to the bottom and turned round to go back up. We looked at it for a few moments before tackling it. Encouraged by my earlier success, I went to it with a will. Very quickly changing down into bottom gears and leaning right forward, I pedalled like fury and made my way up the hill. After a while, I realized I had actually made it right to the top. Two hills, 2 successes. However, my confidence now well and truly boosted, I turned round and cycled all the way to the bottom and repeated the whole process all over again. YeeHaa! Now I was truly chuffed.

Then came the truly fun part. Along came a spider – I mean a hill, ok, so we approached a hill. A long, fairly straight, downhill with a gentle, straight ending into a flat road. Heeding Karen’s advice on improving my speed, I leaned forward, pedalled like the clappers and charged downhill on TS.

Into the Valley of Marlow came TS bearing TheCyclist,

Onward TheCyclist,
Cars to the right,
Cars to the left,
Cars to the front.
Into the Valley of Marlow charged TheCyclist.
Neither Marlow nor cars escaped TheCyclist.
Did TheCyclist fear them at all?
Nay, there was naught that could make TheCyclist fear!
It was upon a mission of utmost importance that TheCyclist had embarked.
'Twas simple: Noble, Faithful & always Loyal (most times, anyway),
TS needed a break!

Anyway, we finally made it through all the traffic and stopped for a rest on the banks of the River Thames in Marlow. (See, TS, I told you we would rest somewhere pleasant.) We enjoyed a pleasant ½-hour or so, and then hail started to fall on us. The temperature then dropped quite a lot, so we decided to start the ride again, as it now getting colder than it had been all morning. Just as we finished packing up, it started raining, so we put our waterproofs on. Just as that was done, the sun came out. But ok, we thought, a temporary respite. But no, it stayed out. We then went about two miles or so, up the next steep hill (Yes, I made that one all the way up too - and twice, in fact.) and became unbearably hot in our waterproofs, so we took them off. Fickle weather, we should have known better. No sooner than the items in question came off, that the rain came ‘chucking’ down – except this time with a vengeance and didn’t stop for the next ½ an hour. There was no longer any point in trying to stay dry anymore. We were thoroughly drenched after that.
And upwards and onwards rode TheCyclist, cohorts, and TS. Shortly after the rain stopped, Fiona had a puncture on her bicycle, but fortunately, we were able to repair it, using a small puddle on the side of the road to find the leak in the tube. Not for one second did we realize that the rainfall would help us out like that. Anyway, because of the late start and the puncture, we had to cut short the remaining part of the planned trip. So soon after we turned to go home, which we reached after about another 3/4trs of an hour or so. And then came dinner, fully prepared by my wife, Dalletta, which comprised fresh, homemade vegetable soup and homemade soda bread, which was thoroughly enjoyed by Fiona, Dalletta and TheCyclist.

Like last week, I felt fine when I got home. Unlike last week, I actually did manage to get to Hillsong Church in London and completed another 46 miles (73.6 kms). But now, I was well and truly wacked by the time I got home. Thankfully, I have a lovely wife who had lunch ready for both of us, which I enjoyed immensely after an urgently needed shower.

So, I finished off by managing to cycle all the way up all the hills, riding up two of them twice and still managed to ride into London the next day. Speaking to TS beforehand and ‘commanding these mountains be removed’ appeared to work after all, as I now feel I have finally started to make significant progress in my training.

Then on Monday, having already made arrangements to ride to Maidenhead, I managed to complete the round trip of 25 miles in 1 hour and 50 minutes. After the previous two days, this ride was barely a warm-up by comparison. Actually, I was hardly even aware that I had ridden that far. Of course, I did have an incentive to get back mega fast. I lost track of the time in Maidenhead and was concerned about dinner. Fortunately, I did make it back in time for dindins. That's it for now, folks.

Watch this space for the next thrilling adventures of TheCyclist!

Take care and God bless you all.

Monday 23 March 2009: I never made it to Church yesterday. Why not? Did I go for a ride instead? No. Was I out partying all night? No. Did I get to bed too late? No. Was I ill? No. You mean you really want to know? Ok, here goes. I was just too tired. That's my excuse anyway and I'm sticking to it. OK, so why was I too tired? Because I went for a ride through the Chiltern Hills yesterday, and was plain tired by the time I eventually arrived back home. Well, I didn't think I was so tired at the time, but when I woke up the following morning, I just didn't have the energy to cycle from the front door to the road - all of 5 yards, let alone cycle a return trip with a minimum distance of 46 miles (74 kms) to Church.

Onto the ride now. By and large, I followed pretty much a similar route that Karen & I went on around this time last year. I cycled up to Blackpark Country Park, Fulmer, Beaconsfield and then turned to head for 'them thar hills'. And at the first serious hill, I succeeded magnificently in not making it all the way up. I managed to get 1/2 way up before the bike just plain rebelled and stopped! All the cajoling in the world made no difference. So I had to walk up the rest of the way. Ok, it was a steep hill, with a gradient of at least, oh I don't know. I haven't the foggiest idea what sort of gradient it is. Karen knows how steep it is anyway. Suffice to say, it's STEEP!

My journey then took me to to Flackwell Heath, where I heard a disturbing sound (thankfully not from my bike - or me  ). I looked around and saw a car being driven along with a very flat tyre. I spoke to the driver and ended up changing the wheel for her. That alone was enough exercise for me. Still, as they say in showbiz, 'the ride must go on'. (ok, so they don't say ride, but I do.) I then went on a few more hills without mishap or walking and eventually came to the next steep hill. This time I managed to get 3/4 of the way up before my trusty steed finally said "ENOUGH!" So back to the foot game. Remind me, why have I got a bicycle?

By now I was starting to get tired, but Marlow and the River Thames was beckoning to me. A mere 5 miles (8 kms) or so away. So that got me going again. Going down the long Marlow Bottom Hill, I felt such a glorious sense of exhilaration. That made up for all the hill walking that I did instead of cycling up them.

Lunch lying down inside a churchyard cemetary on the banks of the Thames was so-o-o-o good, with the sun warming me up so nicely.

After lunch, I then took on the next and final steep hill along the way. Was I going to revert to my so far as yet dismal performance or was I going to succeed and cycle all the way up? Changing gears somewhat rapidly, I started ascending the hill and YES, I managed to make it all the way to the top without walking at all. I even managed to overtake another cyclist on a racing bike who ended up walking up the hill. Ok, so he only wanted an easy ride and wasn't training for the Alps, like I am. So, walking part of the way up 2 out of 3 steep hills wasn't too bad. Next time I shall have to improve on that.

And onwards I went, through Maidenhead, Windsor, Datchet, Horton, Poyle, Colnbrook and then back to Langley and home. All in all, the ride was 54 miles (87 kms) taking 5 hours of cycling time, which I was fairly pleased with, since that included all the hills, which had slowed me right down.

I was then informed that we had been invited to an EARLY ('no late partying' I said earlier, remember?) evening dinner party. Benjamin, thank you so much for a great evening. The company was fantastic and the food was terrific. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Afterwards, when we got home again, I think I must have 'crashed' within seconds of my head hitting the pillow.

Take care and have a fantastic week, all of you.

Watch this space for the next exciting episode of TheCyclist aka John

Note: I managed to get hold of a gel saddle cover and tried it out yesterday. So far, I'm not sure if it alleviated the pain of saddle sore or made no difference. I'll try the ride with and without it on my next long ride.

Monday 16 March 2009: Hi again everyone. Well, yesterday was a terrific day for cycling, even if my feet did freeze early in the morning. But hey, at least I have feet! It was a beautiful day though. Anyway, I decided to make my training an opportunity to go to Church in London - or should it be that going to Church is an opportunity for a ride? Either way, I did both.
I managed to stretch the outbound flight - I mean ride - (guess who is used to flying and airport work) up to 33 miles from 23, and the inbound ride up to 37, so all in all, I managed to get in 70 miles yesterday. I just didn't have the energy to make the return ride 40 miles, but that will hopefully come next week. Time wise, I was pleased, as the morning ride was 2 1/4 hours, while the afternoon ride was 3 hours, which both disappointed and puzzled me, until I realized that I had cycled an extra 4 miles  and the traffic coming out of London was really heavy and very slow moving. At times, the only way I could get through the traffic was by 'scooting' along with one foot on the kerb. None of which helps with the time 'trials', as it were.. All boring stuff, I know.

Route wise, I left home in Langley, near Slough, to Datchet, Eton, around Windsor, around Heathrow Airport 1 1/2 times and then to London. Enroute, a fellow cyclist overtook me on his racing bike. Now I couldn't allow that to happen, could I? Don't answer. Anyway, that instantly turned me into a racer myself and I took him on. After about a mile of frantic pedalling, I finally managed to overtake him and somehow then managed to stay ahead of him for another 2 miles or so. At some point, we finally met up at some traffic lights and spoke. He told me he was exhausted after that ride, because he was trying to catch me up and was now going to turn back and go home. Commiserations and all that, but secretly, I felt like saying 'yeehaa' (I didn't though). Still, I was quite chuffed that I had managed to hold my own against a cyclist on a racing bike.

Coming back, I repeated the journey until I came close to home and then decided to get up to 70 miles. That meant cycling an extra 2 miles away and then returning home.

But oh gee, I was so tired by the time I finally got home. I finished the ride with a sore neck  (thankfully, not 'a pain in the neck' ) and cramp in my thigh about an hour later. Man, that was cramp like I never had cramp before. I couldn't even walk to call Dalletta. I looked so stupid the way I had to move to fetch Dalletta for some TLC.  Excuses, excuses, I know. The things men will do to get some TLC from a woman. Hey Karen, you never told me about the pain aspect of the ride - or did you manage to bypass that part of it?

Shoe story continued: I've still not managed to find any cycling shoes. One store, which said they would order some in for me from their warehouse, failed to do so, and then said they had subsequently sold out. Aaaargh. I've now found another store which actually has them in stock, but it is mail order only; no phone calls or visitors. So I have yet to decide what to do.

Hope you enjoyed the saga for today. Watch this space for more exploits of TheCyclist. Have a great day, wherever you are.

Sunday 08 March 2009: Wow, talk about  flying on a bike. I have no idea what the wind speed was, but I wasn't in the slightest bit tired on the way into London today. There was such a strong tail wind blowing. Going home of course, was a totally different story. It took me 45 minutes longer to come out, and that had nothing to do with traffic, but simply the strong head wind. What was earlier my ally, was now my opponent. However, as Karen says, cycling into such a strong head wind is like cycling up a hill, which is what I also need to start doing again. I tell people who ask me, is that in a tail wind, I fly and with a head wind, I develop my muscles. Today, I did both. Thanks for the encouragement, Karen.

Throughout winter, my feet have suffered intensely with the cold. They've felt like they have been in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean in a block of ice in mid winter. My feet were freezing all the way home today. It was cold, wet and windy all day. (When I left church, I was almost blown off my bike within seconds.) So I'm still looking for a pair of shoes which actually keep the cold and rain at bay. I tried a pair of the type I'm after, but the only size the shop had in stock was too small. So the search continues. I have called and emailed about 50 or so shops around the UK trying to find the right ones. So far, all sold out! One promising shop tomorrow. Watch this space. Have a great day, wherever you are.

Friday 27 Feb 2009: YeeHaa! Finally, at long last, I've managed to register and get accepted for the ride. I am now an official entrant. All I need now is lots more sponsorship. So come on, all you luverley folks out there, please put your hands deep and sponsor me, once, twice, thrice or more, I don't mind.  I know lots of homeless people will appreciate your support far more than I could ever hope to.

Wednesday 25 Feb 2009: The weather has abated somewhat now - although still cold by Aussie standards. Come back, Karen - all's forgiven. Saturday was a glorious day with lots of sunshine and delightfully warm. So what did I do? Went for a walk instead. Oh well, there'll be another sunny day sometime.  Training has been going well this week. Went on a ride into London on Sunday, went to Church, got more sponsors, had lunch and then rode back, adding an extra 11 miles on the return journey, bringing the round trip to a total of 56 miles (89 kms), with which I was quite pleased. It's the longest ride on my new bike to date. For once, the weather was calm going into London, and a head wind on the return journey, which slowed me down. I am quite pleased with my progress so far, although I still have a long way to go before I consider myself ready for the main ride to Geneva.

Wednesday 11 Feb 2009: Training is going well, although my rides became minimal in terms of distance and speed during all the snow and rain. In the snow, I had to quickly learn how to 'ski' while staying upright on two wheels and in the rain, I had to practice 'swimming' through the floods which brought about some road closures. On top of all that, like everyone else, (cyclists in particular) I had to contend with the cold. Consequently, cycling has been very interesting these last two weeks. So during the last 2 weeks, I have been focussing simply on getting to and from work every day, which means I have only clocked up another 70 miles (112 kms) in the last week.

However, a little 'birdie' tells me that spring, followed by summer, is just around the corner. Yeehaa!

Monday 02 Feb 2009: Snow, snow, snow. Snow everywhere, to do but one thing with: to play in of course! OK, so there is cycling too. I mean, what else can you do in the snow, but cycle everywhere? Just make sure you are first in the snow at around 3:00 a.m. Yes, that means I did actually cycle to work in that wonderful snow. OK, so I nearly came off only about 9 or 10 times, but I still enjoyed it - between bouts of being terrified, that is. Somehow, with the help of God, I managed to make it to work and back again without 'kissing' the ground.

I did surprise myself though. Being ultra cautious with all the snow around - at least 4" - I cycled quite slowly to work this morning, yet by the time I pulled in at Heathrow, I was actually quicker than when we had the gale force winds. I must admit though, I was glad to get back home that evening. And not forgetting, I have now clocked up 1100 miles (1760 kms), so I am reasonably pleased with my progress.

Watch this space for more exciting news of the intrepid cyclist!

17 Jan 2009: What an incredible week this has been! Having gotten bored now with my daily trip to work and back, I decided to increase my daily cycling distance yet again. This week, I managed to increase it to 30 miles on the second day of my shift and then go even further on the last day of my shift. This morning (Saturday), I woke up at 2 a.m., couldn't sleep anymore, so decided to get dressed and go to work.

It was 'chucking' it down outside , so I put on my trusty waterproofs to keep me dry. (Ah yes, the thing about waterproofs - my ones, anyway - is that after a while you get almost as wet on the inside (from perspiration) as you are on the outside. Anyway, I managed to get in 20 miles by the time I arrived at work. Had a great time at work, on the ramps, getting even more wet in the rain. But the wind, that was something else. And I thought it was heavy then. I wasn't sure if I had the inclination to try and equal my morning effort going home, but decided to have a go, all the same. Well, the spirit was strong, but the body was failing madly.

The wind during the morning ride was bad enough, but the evening wind was gale force winds, and blowing in all directions. I have never experienced such aches and pains on my new bike, as I did on the way home today. I was puzzled by all the aches and pains, until I realised that the winds were gale force and blowing at 50 mph. Merely trying to control the bike, let alone the actual cycling aspect, was a serious struggle. For the first time, I was actually to be glad to finish my ride. Even so, I managed to get in 17 miles on the way home also, with which I was quite pleased, but also disappointed that I didn't make 40.

Ah well, as I tell my friends, with a bicycle, I get free exercise, free showers, fast speeds in tail winds and muscle development in head winds. I had all three today!

12 January 2009: Happy New year to all my faithful sponsors and to all of those great people at Crisis.

I am still cycling everywhere, including to work, shopping, socialising.. and even, you guessed it, training. At the moment, I am incorporating my training into my ‘cycle-to-work’ rides, by having increasing the distance from home to work and vice versa from 12 miles (19kms) to 25 miles (40kms) a day. Having now clocked up a total of 780 miles (1250 kms) since acquiring my new bike in mid October, I am enjoying the daily rides, I must admit. Except for one day, that is. It has been bitterly cold here for several days now. On Thursday evening, whilst riding home from work, my feet were so cold, I just didn’t have any strength, courage, will power, energy, call it what you will, to cycle anymore, so I cut my route home short by about 5 miles. And even the reduced distance was a real struggle. (The temperature at the time was -5* C or 23* F) I was disappointed, as I had thought my will power would get me through the cold weather. And yes, on my feet I wear extra thick socks, clip-on cycling shoes, and neoprene overshoes. With all that on, it still felt like I was cycling barefoot. Seems like I have a long way to go before I can consider myself as an ‘iron man’ cyclist, when a little bit of cold weather saps all my strength. Thankfully, the ride itself is in June. I am not that sure if I would be able to cope with it if it were to be held in winter.

Oh well, on the good side, only another few months of cold weather before I can start wearing my shorts again. On the bright side, at least I have managed to increase my daily cycling distance. I am also finding that it is not taking that much extra time neither, as I tend to treat each ride as if it were a race against time. And sometimes it actually works, too.

17 December 2008: Wow, it doesn't seem possible, yet somehow I have managed to rack up another 340 miles (548 kms) Confession time: At the end of each day, I tell myself that I'll do a ride after work of approximately 15 miles or so, reasoning that this way, I'll build my distance and stamina up in no time flat. However, come the end of work, it becomes a case of  'the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,' which means I'm only cycling 15 miles each day, instead of 25 miles. I need to overcome this issue somehow. That said, with God's help, I'm sure I shall get over this hurdle.

Hope you have a great day, wherever you are.

08 November 2008: Yippee! At long last, I finally have a new bicycle, which, although I have not done any serious long distance rides yet, what I have done so far more than assures me that I have a great bike, which is more than capable of long rides. So training is starting again, although I have been on some fun rides of about 30 miles (48 Kms) since receiving it. So far, my distance on the new bike is 200 miles (320 Kms). That figure won't stay for long, mind. Watch this space for more adventures of TheCyclist - aka me.

8 August 2008: This event took a long time to happen. Since February, in fact, which is when I hit on the idea of holding an auction haircut. That meant that my hair had to grow thick and long first. Eventually, when I could no longer stand the length of my hair any longer, the auction haircut took place. Thanks to all the kind and exceedingly generous bidders, a magnificent total of £75 was raised for Crisis. Congratulations to my very generous hairdresser on winning the bid. You earned every bit of the auction. You were (are) a wonderful star.  Thank you again to all my terrific supporters. You were all absolutely wonderful.

Congratulations Karen on completing the ride from London to Geneva. You have both encouraged and inspired me a lot.

24 April 2008: YES! YeeHaa! My webpage has been updated to accept donations until the end of 2008, at which time I shall apply to have it extended yet again to allow for next years' ride.  Happy sponsoring.

22 April 2008: It is with deep dismay, a very heavy heart and a huge sense of disappointment that I have very reluctantly had to withdraw from the ride for 2008. This is owing to a knee injury which I sustained some months ago. While this has not stopped me from training, I have now been told by doctors that it is highly likely that I will need surgery on my knee in the near future. I have also just had an MRI Scan. I shall be entering for the ride for next year, at which time I shall be making myself known to you all once again and coming with the pleas for more money. Quite unashamedly too!   Hopefully, I shall be able to extend the life of this webpage. Watch this space.

March 15 2008: Karen and I went on another bike ride today. We decided to change the route slightly this time to make it a bit more interesting. By the time we got back, we had ridden some 40 miles, although Karen decided to 'push the boat' - OK, bicycle then   -  out a bit more and cycle home - another 30 miles. We had initially decided to have a break underneath a bridge at some point, but when we got to it, it looked so dark, dank, gloomy and noisy (from all the traffic) that we decided instead to cycle for about another 25 minutes or so and enjoy a much needed (for me, anyway) break on the banks of the River Thames at Marlow (in Buckinghamshire). And some brilliant hills there were too. I must admit though, I did enjoy the downhill 'training' more than the uphill training. The hill climbing training was mean stuff. If we keep this up, hopefully, we shall be ready to take on all the hills and passes in France & Switzerland. We did have some fun along the way though, taking photos of each other on our trusty 'steeds'. I am still without a bike of my own. Money and all that, you know. Still, time and lots of prayers to God will take care of that issue, I am convinced. That's about it for this week. Watch this space next week for more of the adventures of John & Karen. Why not read about Karen's experiences of the ride on her website at  www.justgiving.com/KarenKing2

05 March 2008: For those who are wondering about progress, Crisis has postponed the ride itself to 18 thru 27 June 2008.

01 February 2008: My friend, Karen King www.justgiving.com/KarenKing2  has decided to challenge me and join in the ride. If you would like to sponsor Karen too, you can do so at the above address. We have so far enjoyed a ride around the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire. It was an interesting ride, as I had to borrow an old bike from a friend. My own bicycle was stolen in London a couple of weeks ago. Watch this space for more updates.

27 September 2007: Finally managed to register with www.crisis.org.uk  for the London to geneva Bicycle Ride. Started training gradually and did some mathematical calculations as to how much training was going to be necessary.

29 July 2007: Knowing that I love cycling, various friends at church were asking if I was going on the London to Paris Bicycle ride. On finding out that it was only a matter of about 3 weeks away and that a fair amount of sponsorship funds was needed first, I reluctantly decided to say "no" to it. I felt acutely disappointed as I would have loved to have taken part if I had known sooner. However, several days after the guys arrived back, I asked them how it went. Having been duly been made aware of how much I had missed – I did not need much telling, mind – they then went on to mention that next year (2008) another one was being organized, but this time, from London to Geneva. "YES!" I instantly exclaimed and immediately decided to get involved.