I'm back

Well that was a long 4 weeks; youngest daughter rushed into hospital for 4 nights, father taken in on Dr's instructions 2 days after Lauren came out (and he's still in there), Mother caught shingles and someone back-ended my car in the fast lane on the M62 .... oh and tonight is the first night the boiler has worked in 3 weeks since the work on the house extension allowed water to pour into it!!

Not seen a saddle for almost 3 weeks given the above and pressure of work BUT (fingers crossed blah blah blah) this weekend it re-starts. I can feel the muscles in my thighs flexxing at the very thought (and the nerves in my bum starting to worry).

Panic #1 over, panic #2 still there

Okay so not only doesn't my calf muscle tweak now (thanks to the LOVELY blonde woman at the gym who took 'stretching instruction' to a different level), but I'm getting pretty confident of a 150-mile week in the final week of November.

Of course training has taken a new step forward; sustained inclines. Did a 20-minute burst in today's session on 'random, level 10, rpm of 90+' and my knees and thighs ached a wee bit, but I tried it later on level 25 (max) .... err that will take a while to achieve I think.

Fund raising has trickled in again (now up to 43%/over £2100) but I really don't think I'm going to reach my interm target of £3000 by the end of November, even if all those who have REPEATEDLY promised to donate (but haven't) finally do. Bum!

It's been AGES

Well, after three 100+ mile weeks out of the last 4, I finally succumbed to full-time work again and ..... BOY DID IT SHOW TONIGHT!!

Had to stop after 12 miles as right calf muscle kept tweaking, albeit I was doing a steepish incline on-and-off for over 30 minutes, but need to make a real effort on Sunday to do 40+ miles in the day. Can't do any tomorrow night as have to clear old conservatory of furniture before builders rip it down and start with the new base and the foundations for the extension, and then my tribal friend Lollipops is here Friday and Saturday night, so best get drunk ( .... be rude not to).

Time is suddenly drawing closer and I now know that at least one of the other 7 people on the cycle ride has done this before. Pressure starting to mount! Oh and fund-raising has dried up : 0    Where are all those people who promised?!?!?!?!?

Off to do stretching exercises before bed tonight, as well as re-started sit-ups. Night night.

A 102-mile 5-day ride-a-thon

Yes that's right folks, cycled 4 out of 5 nights so far this week and just broken the 102-mile barrier .... and what feels like a bone in my bum too!! Glad I'm now trying the chamois cream tho' as it's supposed to ease the discomfort.

Might go again Sunday. Oh, and for posterity's sake please note, decided on a new hairstyle today so in 2 weeks time, watch out for something completely different. Hah, now that HAS got your attention.

PS

Anyone interested in rowing from Inverness (North Sea), down across Loch Ness and to Fort William (the Atlantic coast) as a charity thing in 2011?

Darn that assumption

Evening,

Went to the gym tonight to start 4 nights of training and did 35.5km. Hurrah ..... err, no because that's only just 22 miles and I was aiming for 25. Bum!!

Back there again tomorrow night, and Wednesday and Friday because I'm now committing myself to 100-mile weeks for the next 4 weeks and then (dun-dun-durr ...... that's dramatic music by the way), I'm heading for a 150-mile week before the end of November.

Thank goodness the 'saddle sore' cream has arrived. Well, when I say arrived what I mean is it's currently stuck in the local sorting office. When are they on strike again this week?

So darn it that I assumed 35km was 25 miles BEFORE I went to the gym, but you can bet I'll be making up for it later on in the week. Oh and Sam, nothing too fattening on Thursday evening huh? Don't want to putting it all back on again : )

Girls back from Thailand on Saturday so here's hoping their bedrooms are completely finished (no thanks to B&Q failing to deliver the wooden flooring today as promised).

Hmm, still need to drum up some more fund raising to meet my £3000 target for the end of the month too so any ideas gratefully received.

A week of firsts?

Hello again; thanks for reading.

Well today I cycled 45 miles which is just 3 miles short of the average per day in Cuba ..... although yes I'll need to do it for 5 days in a row over there (thanks for bringing me back down to earth with a bump). If I do 11 more miles tomorrow that will also mark my first 100-mile week too.

I've just crept past the £2000 mark thanks to a second donation from Liz who had promised if I broke the 35-mile a day mark she'd donate again. MUCH appreciated!!

My girls fly out to Thailand on holiday tonight so sat in my house on-my-tod bracing myself for cycling tomorrow (and lunch with Marc Rocca), a day out in Manchester (Alsion, John, Jason and then Francesca and Ade hopefully) on Saturday, and then decorating and cycling again on Sunday. My bum is wincing at the very thought of that blinkin' saddle again ha ha.

Oh yes, must ring my brother too as the girls and I have just booked our July 2010 holiday so off to spend time with him and his family in LA and a week in Hawaii. Nice : )

Enjoy your weekend folks.

My first 'double-dip' day

Okay before I talk about today let me tell you I went on a 14-mile round ride yesterday and dropped in on my parents; worth the hilly ride just to see the look on their faces when I pedalled round to the back of the house : ))     Oh and did 80 minutes at the gym too last night.

Anyway (Alix Archer take note) today I am saddle sore!! An 18-mile hilly ride this morning followed by a 9-mile ride this afternoon; my first 'double-dip' day and (Angie please don't read the rest of this paragraph) I really a little sore you-know-where. Alix mentioned yesterday if I wasn't saddle-sore I must not be trying hard enough so thank goodness I have a medical tomorrow, so I'm not allowed to cycle beforehand.

Of course it's the girls weekend too so back in the saddle Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week hopefully. Must buy some shares in that bottom-soothing cream-producing company; their shares could well go through the roof between now and the end of March 2010!!

So THAT'S why I joined a gym !!

This week was going to be an 80-90 mile week until reality hit: -

a) Yesterday I messed up my diary so could only fit in a 9-mile circuit between getting back from Sheffield (yes Marc we HAD agreed 2pm not 12.30pm) before the builder was due to arrive.
b) Today it absolutely THREW it down (and I had a piece of work to do for a client that took 6 hours solid) so despite buying some waterproofs I ran out of time before I went to pick the girls up
c) I can't exercise Friday as I've got a full BUPA healthcheck thing which states you can't exercise for at least 12 hours before so .......

If it rains tomorrow I'm off to the gym for a couple of hours. Got to get myself fit for the bike ride and fitter for the summer holidays in July 2010 (Hawaii here we come - already booked), and then Thursday I'll do the same again. Err the bike ride/gym, not booking another holiday.

Next week will be similar but then the following two weeks, even if a client says they need me, I have GOT to crack the 100-mile a week barrier. Got to. March does seem awfully close already but, as the meerkat says .... "Simples". Just not sure how to spell that noise he makes.

To make things worse I even ate a choclate bar today. I know I know, but it was nice. I'll do another

OMG, ouch, oxygen please

I set out on a ride today whilst waiting to hear from two prospective clients and a certain person, with the aim of another 9 mile ride. Well I got halfway round the first 9-mile circuit and thought "Oh let's try for a second; it would be good to post I'd done 18 miles today".

Halfway round the second circuit (even with the infamous Wood Lane hill ahead of me again) I thought "Maybe I could manage a THIRD circuit?" and so I passed Longman's sandwich shop (the guy who Chris Moyles knows and used to have on his radio show last year) and decided to set off for a third circuit.

Oddly enough, I began to think about a FOURTH one, but the inside of my leg, across my back and down my right side said don't be silly. Save it for the weekend, so I gave in after 27 miles but it felt good. As will the shower now to burn the skin off my back so that pain will overshadow the ache in the arch of my foot.

Who says 48 is too old to be stupid?!?!?!

Good week, bad week, great month

Helloooooooo, it's been a while but suffice to say: -

a) house move done (but boxes everywhere still)
b) extension plans now unofficially approved, but mid-October before it's official
c) youngest daughter in and back out of another surprise overnight admission via A&E

..... and 36 miles done so far this week now things are settling into a routine. Sadly that means I'm going to be 18 miles short this week so I'll add 9 of those miles to each of the next two weeks.

Had my biggest single donation (£150 from JC) and my most unrounded donation (£23.52 from DK) and a woman commenting on what my bum will look like after the adventure. Err, nice?

I was intending to do 3 x 9 miles today but got sidetracked (easily) with a possible work opportunity for a bestest friend. Add to that my exciting Saturday afternoon and all-in-all it's been a good week and is shaping to be a great month.

Thanks to all those who have, to all those who are about to; a slight 'bottom-lip' those who promise but are still occupied with other stuff (most of them understandably I have to say) and a frown to the handful that just haven't when they say they will, repeatedly. Jimmy McF you're now not one of those you little star.

October is a HUGE month from me, with me having to reach at least £2500 in fund-raising and complete at least my first 100-mile week!!

Later dude : )

At last, time for the bike again!

Morning,

Well house move is over, current client contract is coming to an end and I've prepped my second bike for the first ride in September (and where I live now is nowhere NEAR as 'gentle' as the slight slopes in the Vale of York).

Bum feels fine but legs feel super skinny so it's back to riding and the gym from here on in.

Fundraising come to a summer-holiday slump but I'm hoping the 37 people I'm chasing (11 of whom have previously promised to donate but still haven't) and the local PR I'm about to kick-off will get me to the £2000 mark by the end of September. That and any other corporate sponsors I can persuade.

Getting in the zone now ....... err honest.

YES YES YES!!!

And it doesn't hurt ..... much (sorry Angie, I know you said no references to anatomy).

On Saturday, in-between packing boxes and preparing a meal for a rather special visitor, I set out with tired legs and a weary mind and did a 22-mile bike ride!

I did stop after 12 miles for 3-slices of ham and a drink but then set off again and finished the remaining 10.2 miles (not to be too exact). Goodness it felt good to break the 20-mile barrier and should be a help given in 2 weeks I've got a 30-miler to do at an organised event.

I also achieved the £1000 fundraising target I'd set myself for August thanks to yet another generous corporate sponsor (Journey Group), so it's onwards and upwards for the second £1000 target by the end of September. Know anyone who'll help?

On the bike again tonight as need to start really building up the energy for the hills in Cuba as well as the 5th and final day which is a 56-mile brute. Just ....... bring ...... it ...... on!

Err hang on, I've just realised it's 352km in 5 days, not 6. Gulp.

A big day for progress

Morning,

I haven't been on the bike for almost a week (various reasons, none of them medical) but last night I thought I'd get out and about. This week I'm scheduled to do a 20-mile and two 10-mile rides so last night I broke the 15-mile barrier .......... and had energy left! A text from someone also helped a lot on the motivation front, but I can't go into the detail on a public-access website : )) You know who you are and yes, it worked a treat!!!

Thanks also to a sponsor who asked if I needed the yellow jersey or some Vaseline when I get back. We'll leave that one alone for now I think (but yes it was a woman so stop panicking).

I also confirmed my first Corporate sponsors, so thanks to Rocca Creactive and DDC Outsourcing. so now I need to press ahead with some PR once the house and office moves are over.

Thanks to all my sponsors thus far and I'm getting teasingly close to my end of August target of £1000. Fingers crossed.

No references to certain parts of my anatomy?

A special request from a donator; no mention of certain things being sore so I thought I'd swap the focus to a more giving side of me. Anyone who donates £20 or more (before Gift Aid) will have a blister named after them; a touching thought isn't it !

Last week did a 12, two 10 and an 8-mile ride so well on target but I STILL need to find out what chamois cream is. Anyone help?

Is there anybody there?

Well since my last update I've agreed when I'm moving house (although don't know where to), seen my eldest off on her first girlie holiday to Spain, been on a 'naughty boy for speeding' course .... more about the bonus side of that half day in a future blog entry ... and forgone most of my training discipline!!

So last night (18km and an hours' weights training), tonight (pretty much the same) and tomorrow when I'm back from the Isle of Man, it's even more pounding the exercise bike (level 12, random or hill setting and rpm of at least 85 throughout) to get back into it.

I've also booked myself on a one day 30-miler in early September so best not look an idiot in front of all those people.

I've also got the beginnings of a slim waist again; six-pack next ha ha

I know I know, it's been a week since I typed anything. Well training is going ... slowly ... and I've already had the offer of some chamois cream. Sounds, errr, necessary.

Fund-raising had another boost too which is good for the sore bits after my bike ride on Sunday.

I MUST get up to 20 miles poer day, 3 days in a row sby the end of August

Note to self

When cycling on a late balmy evening, stop eating midges and flys!

10 miles Sunday and, after a 9pm return from London tonight, a quick 4.5 miles to stretch my legs.

Ouch, ooooh, eeek

5pm GMT and just finished a 10.3 mile bike ride from home to Hillam village and back. Didn't even stop for a beer at the Cross Keys : )

Nathan (at Evans Cycle shop) told me the nerves at the 'base' of my bum would be sensitive and sore until I got used to being sat on a saddle. BOY IS HE RIGHT .... but my legs and cardio could have done the same again today so hopefully these new padded shorts will ease the strain and as I move through August I'll be able to knock-off a 20-mile ride, 3 days in a row. That's the aim anyway.

Corinne Bailey Rae eased the way today; love that talented woman's voice.

The start of a serious weekend !!

Well it's 8:43pm on Friday and I've just been out on the bike as I intend to test the durability of my bottom this weekend; gently but with determination.

I'm just back from an 8.4 mile (13.5kn) bike ride, with some headwind and a steady quarter-mile incline every circuit (it's a 1.2 mile route) and I have to say I can already appreciate the idea of trying to smuggle a vibrating massaging double cushioned saddle into Cuba. Got to do that and more though on Saturday and Sunday ..... and then probably soak my crotch in a bath of hot water and vinegar to toughen up the 'sensitive bits'.

I took my iPod with me and the second song I listened to was 'Soar' by Christina Aguilera (no not 'Sore') and I kid you not, the last song blasting out was 'It's Easier To Run' by Linkin Park!!!

Anyway just got to keep in mind the quote from the charity event website that says "And after 6 days of cycling your last day can be spent on a Caribbean beach, relaxing with fine dining and salsa dancing in the evening". Now that's all well and good but a travel book today reminded me that food is still rationed in Cuba.

This just gets better and better ha ha.

Surely a 'doh' moment at 6am this morning. The bike MUST measure km's not miles. Even at Level 8 and 94 rpm even I can't do 27mph.

Who do I think I am, Lance Armstrong?

27.3 miles tonight in just under an hour and a nice sponsorship donation today too; today is a GOOD day .... but it's only going to get better.

Someone joked today about joining me on the ride as well; we'll see. There did seem to be a wee twinkle in his eye at the notion.

Tomorrow will be tough given the aches that will surface from today as well as an hours weights session plus 30 more minutes cycling.

This weekend will be the first 'outdoor' test for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday. Double-gulp.

Phew ..... first training session over. It's now 2311hrs on Monday night and I'm just about ready to collapse but not before a good news/bad news update.

Good news - did 11.43 miles (~20km) in 30 minutes and then did a 50 minute weights session to start to build up the stamina and strength.
Bad news - I now know that in the morning I'll walk like a cowboy and feel like I've been wearing a hernia truss backwards, while riding a camel over a cobble street.

Good news - Already had donations of £275 in the first 24 hours; that's over 5%
Bad news - err which means I've got another £4725 to go.

Right, time for bed as up at 6am in the morning for work. I'll type again Wednesday or Thursday (but feel free to keep your eye on the running total)

The morning after the rush of blood

It's 1050 GMT and it is 't-minus no time at all .... and counting' to a cycle ride across Cuba. Over 350km in the baking heat of March.

I've sent over 200 texts and e-mails to friends, family, ex-lovers and business contacts to confess that I've either signed up for the biggest adventure of my life (or at least it comes a close second to parenthood) ...... or I think the heatwave in the UK has claimed another sane mind.

Question is, who will respond first; take that first click to donate? What if they don't, what if everyone waits for the next person to take the first step? What if they all donate 25p?

Of course there are bigger worries ahead; I have to train and HARD, I need to find an SPF 250+ for the 8 hours per day for 8 days I'll be cycling and, worst of all, I need to think of a way to smuggle enough Vaseline or baby oil through Cuban customs so I can treat saddle rash, without them stopping me on suspicion and throwing me in jail for some perversion therapy, all because they want to YouTube the court case of the crazy Englishman trying to persuade a judge it is all above board and normal!

Oh well, let the journey begin.