Cycle For Africa

So we did it ... & the boys want more!! (cleve's closing post)

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 20:06:00 +0000

Just been out for a 30 min run & was thinking "there's nothing like cycling"! & must do my closing LEJOG post, it's 2 weeks since we finished the ride & like the lads have said on thier posts is so true .... i'm missing the bike & the miles!

The ride itself was a challenge, fun & at times painful. In fact as you've probably read on the daily blogs I had an almighty crash after 10miles, i won't bore you with the details but it hurt & I really didn't expect to be able to ride the next day, it was actually less painful riding than walking, in fact the part of the thigh which hit the curb is still a numb & my right ankle still hurts!

The negatives : I was very saddle sore at times, in fact it felt as though my saddle had razor blades sticking out, attempting to recall the pain brings tears to my eyes. The A30 through Cornwall was awful, yes there was a small cycle lane but with cars going past us at c.85mph it didn't feel right. The "detour" up Glenshee was difficult but a great achievement (once we hit the peak).

The positives: far too many to mention. Each days mileage achievement, the company, the support car, the B&B's and lovely people we met along the way, climbing hills & going down the other side, the pretty flat Devon to Cheshire, the weather (i can't believe there was no rain - although it got cold in the north of scotland), only 1 puncture each, crossing the scotland border, riding into John O'Groats.........

The recovery following the ride was quite remarkable, saying that unlike Matt I haven't been back on the bike yet but I did go to the gym for a session 3 days after returning.

I do miss the focus that the training provided and i'm now looking for events I can take part in, hoping to do a few sportives over the coming months & will run more as the winter kicks in........... do i fancy the 'cycle to africa' the lads have mentioned? Oh ... i'm not sure although i'd definatley do a leg or 2 as support to them...... watch this space.

I'll continue to promote the charity & will hope to continue to raise funds for sometime to come ...... finally just want to say thanks to everyone, the lads, Howard, the owners of the B&B's, the people we met, the donaters (of which there are many) and most of all our families for the support.

Cleve

Here we go again!!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:22:00 +0000

When we got to John O'Groats I didn't feel the sense of elation that I thought I was going to. I think that the physical and mental exhaustion had just taken over and all I wanted to do was go home to Alison and my children, to sleep in my own bed and spend a day where I didn't have to get on the bike!

When we got home, the accomplishment slowly started to sink in. I kept looking at the web site and staring at the map of the route, shaking my head in disbelief. I read the blogs that we had written and believe it or not, started to feel sad at the thought that it was all over. We had been planning the trip for over a year and it was difficult to comprehend that we had nothing to train for and nothing to focus on. The training regime had become part of mine and my families life. The majority of weekends over the last year had involved Matt and I getting together to go on a ride and our family planning their weekends around us.

Yes, the ride itself had been tough, yes tempers (mostly mine) had frayed and yes we just couldn't wait until we arrived at the finishing line, but looking back now, all of that seemed irrelevant. It had been one long adventure and I wanted more. I could never have realised the impact that the ride would have on me and had failed to notice that I was living the adventure when it was happening. It was only with hindsight that I had started to realise just what had been and gone.

I texted Matt...."We need to do something else.....its doing my head in........lets do something else!"

He was already onto it. "I'm thinking about it too. Just give me some time and I will let you know any ideas".

A couple of days passed and on Wednesday I got a text..."I have an idea. You are gonna love it. I will ring you later!"

Whatever his idea was, I was going to do it. I had caught the bug and even if he suggested that we tried to go around the world in 80 days, I would have said yes!!

His idea though couldn't have been more perfect. When the sentence (which I know that when I am training again will be excruciating to hear!) reeled from his lips, I found myself nodding in agreement and almost jumping around with excitement.............

"We are going to cycle to Africa!!"

This is going to be a huge project and one which will take meticulous planning and preperation, not only logistically, but also our fitness. Africa is over 1600 miles away and the proposal is that we do this in 2010 to give us a chance to get REALLY fit and make sure that the trip is planned with military precision. Its one thing to organise a trip around the UK but its a whole new ball game trying to do it in several different countries and in several different languages!!

So there you have it. If you had told me two years ago that at this point in my life I would have already cycled from Lands End to John O'Groats and was now planning to cycle to another continent, I would have laughed so hard that my sides would have split.

Plans and updates will be shown on the site........but watch this space........we are going to do it again, sure as eggs are eggs, but this time its going to be bigger.

I now understand why Sir Ranulph Fiennes does what he does. Its addictive, and once you have experienced the feeling it gives you, you just want more.

Jon

African Adventure Kit list (Item 1)
Giant padded saddle with fluffy cushions and gel technology, designed by Charmin Ultra......CHECK!!

Matts End Post

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 12:16:00 +0000

So...we made it!

The memory loss continues and I cant actually remember how we did it, but we did. 900+ miles in 8 days is some achievement and I think I am struggling to get my head around that right now.
The ride has had ups and downs. Not once did I want to get on my bike in the morning, but once going I enjoyed it. Looking back now, it has been great. A real experience and something that I will always remember.

We need to thank my Dad (Howard) as we could not have done this without his support. The thought that he was waiting within a mile from you at any point was great and a real comfort. Thanks to the boys for their encouragement and the fun that we had along the way. Thanks also to the team that joined us from Warrington to Kendal - it was great riding with you also. Finally, thanks to all of the wonderful (and generous) people that we met at the places that we stayed. You have been so kind and your support has been brilliant and has helped make our trip.

Every day we went through the pain barrier, both physically and mentally, but for me the thought of our goal of the school at Memusi kept me going. The physical and mental pain that we have suffered over these last few days is nothing in comparison to the suffering that the children of the Maasai will without the gift of education.

2 days post completion and I am back on the bike. Not 100 miles, but it was nice to get out. Strange though not to have my team with me. The pain is now going and thoughts are going through my mind of what is next. Watch this space!

Thanks to all for your kind support and donations towards our cause. Without you our work would be nothing. Thankyou!

The End

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 12:52:00 +0000

I'm sat here in the car writing this on Cleve's blackberry. We are on the way back to Inverness from John O'Groats where at 1810 all four of us crossed the finishing line. It hasn't been such a great day. Its been cold for a start and got gradually more so the further north we got. The scenery was not as spectacular as we had been used to either. We have had one or two hills to climb but the road has been generally quite forgiving. The only major disaster was as we were around 30 miles from the end, my brakes went. It was like the whole world had come crashing down around me. I had cycled for 850 miles without any trouble and here we were within touching distance of the end and my bike is un-rideable.

As usual I was completely irrational, but thanks to Dad's patience, Matt's generosity in letting me ride his bike whilst he rode Cleve's spare and Cleve's support the team pulled together and the obstacle was overcome.

So, the very last day has been and gone and its been tough, sometimes downright awful. The truth is however that through all of the blood, sweat, tears and tantrums if you were to ask us all next week if we would do it again, we would almost definately say yes.

Jon

Day 7 .....Are we there yet?

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:25:00 +0000

............nearly!

We stayed about 15 miles west of Pitlochry and the original plan was to drive back to the previous evenings end point ....... "You don't want to be doing that" said the lady at the lovely B&B, "if you jump straight on your bikes turn left towards Braemer, there's one decent climb then down hill into Inverness" ..... Sounds fair enough we all thought and off we went.
Turned left straight onto an uphill, which is never good first thing before your muscles have warmed up. This was only a small hill in comparison to the Glenshee mountain we then climbed ...... "A decent climb" was an understatement! We climbed into the ski resort above the ski lifts! The descent was fast but very cold and Matt looked funny in his 7 layers.

We then drove past Royal Balmoral and climbed a never ending hill to Tomintul. There were lots of beautiful views, however, the road that the B&B owner had sent us on had sent us at least 40 miles off route!!!

All we can say is its a good job we had the support car. We clamped on to get us back on route. We hopped back on the bikes and rode past Inverness and in Dornoch for our penultimate overnight stay.

Day 6 ....Biggar to Pitlochry

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:20:00 +0000

Another 100 mile slog!

Biggar to Pitlochry was split into 3 challenging parts. We set off after a hearty breakfast and headed for Edinburgh at 8.45. We took the road by storm and hit the Edinburgh bypass by 11 !! After a nice lunch overlooking the Forth, we headed over the bridge to cycle to Perth. On from Perth and we hit Pitlochry at 6 for a nice fish, chip and deep fried black pudding tea! A massively successful day and probably the best day yet. It wasn't the easiest, but certainly made us all work hard and we met that challenge well.

The scary things are that we are now suffering memory loss! Nobody can remember where we have stayed or where we have cycled without serious thought. It is the strangest feeling. We are in Scotland now and actually can't honestly remember how we got here!

On top of us suffering from short term memory loss, the sores are really hitting. The majority below the waist and not really where you want sores. It is painful actually climbing onto the bikes. The positive is that the legs don't hurt any more...simply because other parts hurt so much.

Onwards and upwards.

Day 5 - buttocks like leather

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:30:00 +0000

We started off the day in Kendal at the Glen guesthouse where we were looked after like royalty. We had spent the evening sat outside in a hot tub easing our weary legs and we really can't thank them enough for their hospitality. The day started OK. A nice gentle ride out of Kendal admiring the beautiful scenery. Gradually the terrain got steeper and steeper until we came upon signs warning of ice and snow and that we were approaching Shap Fell. For those of you who don't know what Shap Fell is, it's a hill were you ascend 1400 ft in around four miles. It nearly killed us all, but still nobody has got off their bikes to push. We are now in Scotland and in Biggar tonight. The weather is beautiful, as is the scenery and we just hope for more of the same in the days to come. Cleve not had an accident for a couple of days now so things are looking up. All still suffering from bum ache and will all have buttocks like leather when we get home.

Day 4 ..... the gang gets bigger

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:06:00 +0000

Sally, Andy & Richard joined the gang today for the Warrington to Kendall leg. Great start to the day when Sally & Andy got lost trying to find the Paddington Hotel. We set off in convoy at a steady pace so the newcomers could keep up! Arrived in Wigan in no time where trying to get through the town centre was a bit hairy! Lane changes galore and Sally was nearly hit by a group of youths in a red Corsa.

On the road to Preston, a few wrong turnings but nothing serious and stopped off at a Cycle shop for a bit of tinkering with Cleve's bike and a much needed wee in a lovely 'brown' toilet! At one point Sally decided to cycle on the wrong side of the road as she thought it was a dual carriage way and then came back to the right side to hear Jon shouting to say watch out there's a big lorry behind you!

At this point Sally was beginning to think she would not make it to Kendal unless it was in the back of an ambulance!

Arrived in Preston by lunch. Had a very scenic cycle to Lancaster and once in the town centre there was a very steep downhill road past the castle which made you go weeeeeeeeeee as you sped down it. Got through the centre after a few dodgy lane changes (including Howard in the support car) and had to mount onto the cycle path as the road was very congested. As we stopped at the traffic lights a crazy old lady started to huff and puff at us for being on the pavement. Matt explained that it was a cycle path but she continued to argue that we should use our common sense and that her 5 year old grandson rides on the road. Thinking about contacting Lancaster social services if that is the case! Sally wanted to say 'Sorry it'll never happen again' but was too busy giggling behind Jon's back.

The last 10 miles to Kendal were hard for the newcomers. The big hills suddenly appeared and we were also down to our last drops of water, however the scenery was a much needed tonic. Drove through a lovely place with a stream, herons and deer and saw a hot air balloon.

Arrived at Kendal at approx. 6pm where we were greeted with cold cans of coke.

Accidents: 0
Punctures: 0
Crazy ladies: 1
Sore bums: 6

Sally, Andy and Richard would like to say thanks to Jess and Vic who took their day out to drive us there and back. Also to Howard and the three boys for their words of encouragement.

Day 3 ...... and now we're motoring

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:01:00 +0000

Really getting into this long haul cycling malarkey. The ride is getting really pleasant now, flat (ish) roads, great weather, very nice views.

Started the day replacing Jon's tyres. Strange how his tyre repairing led to an immediate puncture! Stopped at the cycle shop for gel seat pack for Cleve, of which they didn't have any, so they supplied some home-made polystyrene bottom pad & sold him some padded underwear. All 3 of us as are suffering with saddle soreness!
Kiddermister, Bridgenorth, Shrewsbury and Whitchurch all very pleasant but quite uneventful (which is a good thing). We just churned the miles and admired the properties that give us a glimpse into how the other half live!
Seeing signs to Crewe, Manchester and even Leeds was both rewarding and strange. Rewarding as it shows how far up the country we have come and strange as we we're closer to home (own bed, nice seat, creature comforts ........ Oops I digress!).
We finally arrived into Warrington with the Friday evening traffic, the Paddington Hotel in Warrington were very accommodating, providing us a safe lock up for the bikes and free breakfast for us all (thanks). Also want to thank the staff and guests at the Paddington for their best wishes and donations.

Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 12:20:00 +0000

Day two and in comparison to day one it was a complete breeze. Having said that, the day was not without incident.

Cleve managed to go over the handlebars again, but thankfully it was only at around five mph compared to forty mph on day one. Today has been the first that we have been verbally abused. A giant of a man, leaning out of his van window whilst we were in Gloucester. We couldn't quite grasp what he was saying, but probably something about muck spreading and getting off his land. Matt has been sick twice and everyone has terrible bum ache caused by rock hard saddles. The day has been rounded off nicely in Worcester where we stayed at Burgage House where Louise and her husband were fantastic hosts. We can highly recommend this B & B and we can't thank them enough.
Accidents 1,
Sickness 2
Verbal abuse 1
Sore buttocks 3

Day 0 ....... And where off

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:13:00 +0000

..... And where off.
Leeds to Lands End to Truro
Loading the car took some doing, but we got there. Headed to Land's End from West Yorkshire and arrived at our start on the cliff at 5.30pm
2 miles in, Cleve's front brakes were binding - fixed.
10 miles later, Cleve gets mud on front tyre, picks up speed, goes to turn corner but bike didn't go with him ....CRASH..... traffic stopped, cuts everywhere, offers of trips to hospital refused - what lovely people.
Anyway Cleve is able to carry on. A30 is very fast (for cars), cycled the rest of the route as darkness set in. Matt has a puncture and Jon has a tantrum as he really fancies riding in the dark on the motorway.
Dinner in local Wetherspoon pub, Cleve can hardly walk, badly bruised - will he able to cycle tommorow?

Crashes = 1 (Cleve)
Punctures = 1 (Matt)
Tantrums = 1 (Jon)

Day 1 ..... wobbly start

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:13:00 +0000

Wednesday......the first full day completed and it has been physical and mental hell. The morning started poorly when Matt's handlebars were wobbly which delayed the start. The day was climb after climb all day and in the end the mental aspect of keeping going was torture as much as the limbs were sore. In the end we made it, but it was a real toll. The roads were dangerous and it was pure relief to be completed.

Accidents: 1 (yep Cleve again falling off)
Punctures: 1 (Cleve)
Sore bottoms: 3

Sally's Blog- What have I let myself in for???????

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:13:00 +0000

After conversations with Matthew, the reality of cycling 74 miles on Staurday is starting to sink in. I know it's not as impressive as those three in terms of miles but to me it's a massive challenge. Plus i don't actually own a road bike so I have had to borrow Matthew's in and between his training and probably haven't done as much as i should. Therefore with no bike atb all this week I have been to the gym every day pedalling furiously for 30 minutes at a time. I think this counts as training even though i have been reading quality magazines whilst I pedal... you can't beat a good 'Take a Break' article about some supposed real life story about someone's sister's, husband's, auntie's cousin twice removed, running off with the milkman, to get you through the pain barrier.

I am only a novice with the cycling but luckly have tackled a few ferocious hills due to where matthew and I live. However i do have some advice for any female thinking about taking up cycling, - choose you underwear carefully- you wouldn't beleive the pain a tiny bit of lace can do! I wish someone would have told me before as I found out the hard way.

Looking forward to cycling alongside Matthew though and hoping his high spirits are not completely in tatters as I am relying on him to get me through it especially up those blumming hills.

Anyway, i'm signing off now to buy Bananas and Flap Jack for fuel on Saturday. I will probably want to stuff my face with cream cakes afterwards so i hope Kendall has a late night cream cake shop. Best save a banana though just in case.

Wish me luck

Sally

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:59:00 +0000

So here goes. After all the training, planning & stress, the time has finally arrived for us to start the ride. I think it's finally hit us all on the challenge we are just about to embark on, with a mixture of nervous excitement & eagerness to start ...... what have we got ourselves into!! Some amazing sponsors & pledges (Thanks) provide us all the drive to do this rain, wind or shine! - yep that's right, we do expect some rain.

The support car has been collected (supplied by HBOS - thanks), we're all packed with bikes checked, puncture repair kits, iPods & enough lycra to stretch between day 1's route.

So at 8am on Tuesday (Day 0) the last stop (& loading) as we set off for the long drive to Land's End. First ride (c.36 miles) from Land's End to Truro (our 1st nights stay), this should loosen us up for the next big day over Bodmin moors ........

Matts August Post

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 20:02:00 +0000

It has been a while since i posted! Thought i better get to it as Cleve has been on my back.

Things have been crazy over the past couple of months in arrangements. Last month Jon and I planned a big ride together. We planned to ride to Scarborough and back and on pointing out to Jon that it would be a bit daft to go unsupported we planned a different more local route. As per all of our plans we awoke to find storms and wind! After a large bowl of porridge we set off and managed around 20 miles before i got a puncture again. Again we both looked at each other and asked who had the repair kit (yep 9 months of training and we still dont remember the repair kit). We called out some support and hit the road again with a new inner tube in. Another 15 miles down the road and another puncture. THis time we opened the puncture repair kit to find the glue had run out! We wisely then decided that due to stops we wouldnt have lunch. At 5pm and after 80 miles we ran out of steam - nothing left to burn. Lessons still being learnt on a number of fronts!

We went on holiday together and have just returned. We cycled almost every day and things are going well. Jon is confident but i must say that my concerns are now growing a bit as it is starting to dawn of what we are taking on. I am sure that everything will be fine and i just cant wait to get day 2 over with and i think i will be fine. Luckily Dad will be with us to ensure that we are eating and have tools to fix our bikes!

In support of Cleves note, thanks again to all those who donated so far - it is greatly appreciated.

Cleve's August Post

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 21:01:00 +0000

4 weeks to go! What have I let myself in for?

Training continues however i did lose my motivation a bit last month - no surprise really as i've been training for what seems like forever. A couple of rides with friends have got me back into the swing of things. Holidays & the lovely wet summer have reduced the frequency of rides.

Having faced up to the facts that I can no longer be a fair weather cyclist I went out the other day on one of my usual 30 mile training rides with my friend Sophie, it started to rain as we set off and continued to rain solidly for the remaining nearly 2 hours. I've always wondered what the holes we're for in the bottom of my cycling shoes .... i now know as the water literally poured out!
Haven't been out with the boys for a while, but i'm led to believe they are ready & raring to go - as long as they remember to eat before & during long rides (energy boys!)!

I've got a 95 mile training ride planned for this Friday followed by a 50 mile 1st thing saturday morning, this will be my last big ride although i've got 2 reasonable rides planned for the south of France later this month ...... it'll then be tapering off & preparing for the event.

Want to thank all those who have sponsored us to date and those that will do before,during & after the ride itself.

Cleve's June Post

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Sun, 15 Jun 2008 19:33:00 +0000

Training has been going really well, with harder & longer distances being tackled. Since my last post I did the 47 miles i mentioned with Sophie (my other training partner), really good challenge especially the Skipton to Harrogate leg which seems to be all up hill including a 4 mile climb! Me & Matt also went out the other week tackling Emsley & Holme Moss (the group ride Matt said i'd chickened out of) - nice challenging hills. I've got a few training runs of around 20 - 30 miles which i'm doing at least once per week in between longer rides. Karen (my wife) has also got back on the bike so hoping to get her out on a couple of 20-30 mile rides on times we have a sitter.

Yesterday I did the "Great Yorkshire Bike Ride" - 72 miles - Wetherby to Filey with Sophie & her dad Derek (his 9th time). A good ride with decent weather until the last hour, we found it not too difficult & reckon that some of our training rides have been harder! I'm really impressed with my energy levels, i'm comfortable sprinting after many miles & hours, in fact yesterday I decided to really push the last 12 miles and rode on the back of a bunch of club cyclists in a sort of peleton ... and I had no problem keeping up with them (although they seem to use less effort than me on the hills), felt fine today & could have done it again.

So we need to do more long runs. I'm off on hols soon so will no doubt be back with some loss of fitness after a week of excessing in the sun with the family. Holiday season is no doubt going to disrupt the training, I'm looking forward to trying out a bit of a Tour de France route on my other holiday in South of France in Aug, we are out there with some friends & one of them is a tri-athlete who competes for GB so we are hoping to do a couple of rides.!

Going to see if I can tempt the boys into a 2 day ride, 110 miles on a Friday/stay over night/110 miles back the next day ... which will give us a taste of what to expect..... with only 3 months to go, i'm getting excited already, i'm really enjoying the training & feel positive about my progress to date, the ipod is a godsend for those long lonely rides!

Going to send out my request for sponsors at the beginning of next month, i've had quite a few people asking how to give us money for the cause!

Jons latest post

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 10:49:00 +0000

I havent looked at the website for a while now. I have just noticed that we now have a photo website linked to ours showing our "looks" at various different stages of training.

Have you seen the one entitled "our first ride?" Who is that moron on the right hand side of the picture? Why didnt someone tell me to take off my hat when that photo was taken!!??!!

Training is going OK. I have now started cycling to work and have had to endure all of my work collegues laughing at my lycra!!

I must say that I have really enjoyed cycling to work, particularly when on earlies. At 0430 in a morning, there is nobody around and its really peaceful, that is until you are cycling around Normanton bypass, hear a rustling amongst the grass at the other side of the road, look over and discover a Pitbull bounding towards you with a look in its eye that said "KILL". The old guy that the dog was with was whistling at it like it was some sort of Poodle and was shouting some stupid name like "Mitzy" at it!! Matt was telling me the other day how tough it was cycling through Ilkley, but im sorry guys, until you have been chased by a Pitbull, you dont know what HARD CYCLING is!!!

Anyway, I managed to survive the Pitbull that morning, only to get to the bottom of Pineapple Hill, exhausted, only to hear a car coming up behind me. It passed, very slowly, and my ever so supportive collegue Libby drove past, laughing and pointing at me. Thanks!!! It was one of those looks that you would give when you see something very odd happening at the side of the road and follow it with your eyes and head from full right lock to full left lock!!

Have lots of rides coming up. Doing a shortish one this weekend with Matt, but I have planned that I am going to do 120 miles very very soon to Scarborough and back.

Cant wait!!

Matts May Post

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Thu, 22 May 2008 15:06:00 +0000

Seriously...how hard can it be Cleve. 1 post a month!!!

I think that i got off lightly following Cleves post! He obviously forgot that i almost brought the ride to a halt after 5 miles!! Riding along i somehow managed to get my chain in a double knot! We couldnt figure out what had happened and spent a good 15 minutes trying to figure out a puzzle that was more difficult than the rubix cube. I just fear that each of the 8 days is going to be a comedy of errors where i manage to cause hours of delays by doing things to my bike that i cant figure out how i did it!!

The Ikley ride with Cleve was a good slap in the face for me. The rides have been going fine, but we headed out to the hills and covered 30+ miles of just hills. In fact, i dont remember coming downhill much so dont know how we managed that! The first 10 miles were ok, i then had a toilet break and nearly broke my ankle falling down a ditch before getting back on my bike. A couple of miles later and my knee was hurting - i suspect from my fall. The hills were therefore painful. I must thank Cleve though 100% for keeping me going. Although annoying when i as told that there was no more hills to find yet another one every mile that we went, the encouragement to keep going was very much appreciated. So lesson learnt that training needs to be done on the hills now. The distances and stamina dont seem a problem, it is just the mental aspect of tackling hills that last for miles and that are followed by more hills when you get to the top.

The real downside is the trouble that we are getting when we are out. Verbal abuse is a daily thing now and Jon has even had something thrown at him. Quite scary.

The other solo rides that i have done have been fine - much flatter and done without any difficulty. Everyone is doing great. Jon is out a lot, Cleve is out a lot and i am going out as much as i can do while fitting in charity work as well. The ride is becoming scarily close so think that we are now getting to the point where i am planning on daily rides to keep the training up.

PS. Cleve has (again) chickened out of our next team ride!

Cleve's latest - May

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:55:00 +0000

Whoops missed the April blog & don't i know it as Matt has been sending me threatening text messages!

The training is going quite well, in fact i've just got back from a 25miler with hills, a route i've recently discovered for evening training, it includes a good selection of hills including the infamous Pool Bank. This is the 2nd time i've done it & tonight I shaved 30mins from the last time 2 weeks ago. Me & Matt did a 40 miler last week which was a good test as it included climbing Ilkley Moor, slow climbs but one hell of a down hill, really enjoyed it & got Matt realising what some of our difficult days will be like on the ride (i'll let him explain what he thought!).

We haven't had a group ride in a while, due to schedules, the last one was very very wet and gave us all confidence that our level is similar, think we should do a big one in the next few weeks. I'm doing a 45miler on saturday morning with my local training partner - which includes Pool, Ben Ryhdding, Ilkey Moor, Bolton Abbey, Blubberhouses, Pannal, etc. Sophie is training for the GYBR (70 miles - Wetherby to Filey in June) & has signed me up!

Time seems to be flying by, feeling good, looking good (in all the lycra), advertising & soliciting for sponsors about to kick off.

Cleve

Matt - April 25th

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 16:01:00 +0000

Have you heard that!!?? "Matts been looking daft for some time"!!! Jon and Cleve are just envious that i have the body to pull off the cycle gear and pink helmet!! You will notice that i am getting the stick as the one who looks daft, but Jon will only put his helmet on around a mile from his house in case someone see's him that he knows. Acknowledgement i think that he knows that he also looks equally as daft as me!

I did actually take the plunge and rode to my parents house in the cycle gear (wrestling outfit and all). Amazingly i did the 28 miles in 1 hour and 25 minutes. I think it was a case that i was trying to ride as fast as i could so that nobody would see me. I did notice that as i was heading down a hill that a child in the passenger seat of a car had his head angled at almost 180 degrees trying to look at me!

Last weekend was our second group ride. Jon and I braved the cycle gear and even went out of the house in it!! We needed drink and flapjack for the ride and called at a local garage. I was expecting the Cas foke to stare, but they didnt bat an eyelid. I havent checked YouTube yet to see if the CCTV footage of us has been put on under the title 'What do these 2 think they look like?'.
Cleve turned up at Jons house (an hour late) ready with skull cap on (again someone else who knows how daft he looks as he wont have his picture taken wearing it!!). We planned on a 60 mile ride and headed out, but due to the route being shorter than we expected we ended up at home having done 38. The weather was terrible and we had the cold, wind and rain and i was absolutely soaked. We did do extremely well though. Few stops, conquered hills with little difficulty, each taking the lead throughout the ride. Lesson learnt on this ride: take a mobile phone. All 3 of us left the house without one, noticing after 20 miles that we didnt have one. This is a real mistake for the 3 of us and our past history of issues while riding.
I reached home and each of the 3 layers that i had on were soaked. I have been ill for the past week with a sore throat, sweats and shivers and lack of appetite as a result i expect of the weather. Things are progressing extremely well and we are getting quite good! Cleve thinks our next one should be a biggie of around 80 miles. I pray that the weather improves soon or i am going to be seriously struggling!!

Jons April Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 09:21:00 +0000

The cycling gear has now arrived. I didnt have a hand in actually ordering it and at first glance it appeared that we have ordered all of the clothing from "Wrestlers R Us".

Matt came over last weekend and had kindly brought me pair of lycra dungarees which resemble the wrestling costume of the legendary 1970's wrestler Mick McManus. He featured often on World of Sport with Dickie Davies. Apparently they help with aerodynamics!!!

Matt and I both tried on our costumes (note the word "Costume!!") at the same time. We walked into the kitchen where a small crowd had gathered and brought the house down. I think I actually saw someone crying with laughter!!

I haven't been brave enough to wear anything yet as I dont think my body is toned enough to pull it off. Matt has worn his already, but he has been looking daft on his bike now for quite a while, so he's used to it!!

We are doing around 35 to 40 miles now and things are getting much easier. Im getting more and more confident as time goes by.

Matt - 30 March

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 20:52:00 +0000

2 weekends and 2 group rides due. 2 weekends passed and no group ride has happened. Last weekend we were called off by the snow and this weekend unfortunately Cleve had to pull out (i say chickened out but he says that he is truly dissapointed to have missed the ride!!).
Fortunately for me though, it snowed last weekend. I havent been able to ride as dedicated as i would have liked due to pulling a muscle in my back (sitting on the settee!).

Even though the group ride hasnt happened, today Jon and I still went out together. We started the morning with a big breakfast and on prepping the bikes we had given ourselves enough time to get ready to head off. We left the house at 8.30 and by 9.30 we had covered the same distance that a couple of months previous had taken several hours - a clear indication of how far we are progressing. We had 2 real stops to have our scheduled 'flapjack break' which does us all wonders and completed 36 miles with no real problem. Both of us didnt really feel that we were too tired and could have kept going - i am therefore really pleased at how well we are getting on. The most positive thing for me today was that there was no puncture!!!!! I did have a puncture the night before without even riding, but fortuantely no puncture on the ride!

Cleve's Version - 1st Team ride

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:18:00 +0000

So we finally got on with our 1st joint training ride .... as me & Jon powered on the A58 & i looked back to ensure the 3 of us we're still together, no sign of Matt! 1 tyre problem is unfortunate, 2 tyre problems is unlucky, 3 tyre problems & all the same person .... the man is jinxed!

Weird how the general public stare but don't actually offer assistance, must have been Matt's pink helmet, Jon tried to convince us it was mauve.

Enjoyed the 1st group ride, although probably took about 2 hours more than it should (Matt's tyres!), the flapjacks at Tesco's Harrogate went down well, for 3 energy staved boys. The planned 33 miles ended up nearly 4 miles longer (knew we should have turned left at that round-about in Wetherby).

Supplementing the training with jaunts on the turbo trainer & have sorted the route for our next group ride, 45 miles should suffice!

Cleve

Jons Blog - First Group Ride

noreply@blogger.com (Cycle For Africa) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:43:00 +0000

Read my blog for February, read Matts for March and wait for Cleve's - there is a pattern that's emerging!!

I know that if you dont give a ship a name then its seen as being bad luck. Matt, give your damn bike a girly name and lets be done with it. I know that it wont look too tough when we are riding along and you are petting your bike and calling it "Charlene", but if US Marines can do it with their rifles, then I am sure you can do it with a bike. You re already wearing a pink helmet and people are already laughing as we pass, so I wouldn't worry!!

Speaking of being laughed at, when we were at the side of the road waiting for Cleve's wife to bring us the bike pump, an elderly couple passed in a car and the passenger actually pointed and laughed!! At least we are providing people with entertainment along the way!!

In all seriousness, Matt was just unfortunate. Im sure that it will happen to us all at some point. Met Cleve for the first time on Saturday and hes a top guy, however, might want to lose the cyclists skull cap thing Cleve, its not sexy!!

I just wanted to echo what Matt said about Cleve's wife as well. Thanks for that, we would have been stuck without you!!

Looking forward to the next ride now. Bring it on!!