Bike gets a dusting off...

Cycled into work today a minute or so off the pace, it's been a while given the rubbish weather and meetings at work etc. The rear mech cable needs replacing and the gears adjusting again but apart from that, all good. Not much occuring at work and no class today so I am looking forward to the ride home.

I have been thinking about training over Christmas, will probably just do an afternoon of climbing up and down to the Ridgeway from Wantage. There is no navigation required, mind in neutral and go! I also have the months free membership at the gym in Grove, may consider using this over Christmas or just doing a few classes there.

Fund raising has crept up to £90. Spence is looking into the possibility of getting a data tracker from one of his contacts, this will be a big job done if he can. Need to write a few more letters to companies over the Chrismas break and decide whenthese will be sent.

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Virtual Xmas Card Day

I usually send an email instead of cards to people at Christmas, it saves post and paper and fuel etc but to assuage the guilt of not being bothered, I donate to charity. This year was easy, I donated to CDC on my Just Giving site and mentioned this to all the people I sent a virtual Xmas card to. Three people donated immediately with a number of other people promising – all good! The Moo.com cards are also going down well. It's probably about time to get some more printed with details of the Text giving on them.   

Another useful offer of help today, someone who is always first to put her hand up and help – Tracey, you know who you are. She visits her family regularly halfway along the route so offered to shift gear to a drop off point if required. A very useful contingency to have because it saves me hauling it.

Although I haven't cycled this week, I have been to 3 classes: spin, weight training and boxercise. Given the rubbish weather I will do circuits tomorrow – feeling strong and slightly leaner although I could do with shifting another kilo.

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Kit Packing Test

I had a spare hour this afternoon so grabbed all my kit, checked it back to the list and then packed it. I was pleasantly surprised at the way it fitted in and also the amount of space left over which will be reqired for food etc.

There are two further jobs to do: have a weigh in an then document what is packed where. This has the advantage of being able to pack a lot quicker if you have a checklist to follow. My strategy for packaing was:

Bar Bag - valuables plus cooking kit/thermal mug (important to get a quick brew going when you feel rubbish).

Top Pannier - Tent and ground sheet plus some other non essentials

Side Pannier - Clothing

Side Pannier - Sleeping bag and mat

The smaller pockets were filled up with 1st aid kit, lube, degreaser and one pocket for the field flannel and towel (separate from dry stuff).

Might try and fit this lot onto my bike tomorrow....

A week off

I spent last week at Centreparcs eating and drinking too much.  I did do one spin class but the only other exercise was swimming and some badminton (plus a lot of walking).  Whilst I was there, I took the opportunity to think about a coordinated approach to fundraising and started using Onenotes to plan things.  Useful piece of software. I wrote some letters and compiled a listg of companies/people to write to.

I had an errand to run in Goring yesterday so I cycled over and back - it worked out at 41 miles in the end but it was reasonably undulating.  No ill effects except a slight dull feeling in my quads and a stiff neck.  Plenty of fuel on board so did not get the hunger pangs.  I think that my chain is just about done as the gears get out of whack quickly now, the cassette was new a few months ago so it can't be that.  Possibly a new rear mech cable too as the other might be slightly stretched.

I also tried to take some video, my first attempt and it's not great.  The sound is rubbish and the narrative ridiculous; think I will have to talk louder but you do feel a bit self conscious talking to yourself.  I have posted this on my just giving page too. See what you think.

Promoting the ride

I have ordered some promotional business cards from www.moo.com; nice pictures and all the information to get people to part with their cash; shame about my typo of 2010, not 2012. I think I will order more of these anyway once I have had some of the promotional pictures done – more interesting and relevant to the project. If nothing else, it will at least give me an idea about the design and whether it can be improved or not. My intention is to hand out to people as a conversation starter, hope it works!

 

I have started a list of possible commercial sponsors and also written an e mail to a data tracking company to ask if they would donate a unit and log in to the ride. Once the publicity photos have been done and added to the profile etc., I will send this off, fingers crossed. I need to contact Damian to sort a time to go over for the publicity shots – Harriet is very keen to meet Matias and anyone who calls at the house is mugged for their 5p's.

 

I managed to fall off on the way home from work on Friday; it was an eye opener in that I was the cause because I wasn't concentrating. The bike path between the A34 Abingdon and Marcham is narrow in places, it was dark and I looked up to see a single light in the middle of the path. He had nowhere to go because he would have been in the road so I chose the ditch. Usual thing, over the handle bars but rolled this time to avoid undoing the surgeons work. Unbelievably, no injuries or bruises/stiffness, but I did land in nettles…in my shorts; somewhat ironic given no incidents on the A34 earlier in the day. It did teach me a lesson though: if I cock up like that on a main road the outcome might not be as positive – 100% concentration at all times. I reckon that the work route is so familiar that I switch off sometimes – another good lesson.

 

This Saturday saw the launch of the Mars Science Lab, I followed the launch blog until the coverage ended following successfully separation from the booster….by the time the landing is attempted in August next year, all this will be over. I'm fascinated by spacecraft engineering, especially that of Apollo. This tenuously reminded me of some words of wisdom from Gene Cernan, Apollo 17 Commander in 1972 – he kept reminding himself to enjoy every second of his unique experience because regardless of how fatigued he was, he would regret not doing so after he got back. He faced the unknown and kept his marbles, let's hope I am made of the Right Stuff too…

Normal Service Resumes

Posts have been lacking over the last couple of weeks, the first week was due to lack of motivation and the second week has just been busy. I’m not sure where I lost the drive to cycle or get to the gym as often but it happened so I should just get on with it now.

This week has been a good training week and my diet has been much more controlled. I need to lose at least a kilo; every gram that I have to haul up a hill will be regretted next May. If I want to take more equipment, I will have to lose the weight to compensate for that. I still haven’t managed to do a test pack yet so I have no idea how much harder it will be to peddle, no doubt my weight budget will be a moving feast for a while.

I had an early meeting in Abingdon today so thought I would try the A34 to see what a busy dual carriage way is like. In fairness, it was fine, there is plenty of room between the verge and the white line, trucks tend to give you a bit of room and I never felt vulnerable. The road seems a lot bigger compared to sitting in a car doing 90.

I am planning to do some more hill training for a couple of hours on Saturday to keep my legs ticking over.

Just Giving

I have been setting up a Just Giving page to receive donations in the usual way but also by text.  I tested the text side of things and it was fine, the only thing that was a bit of a pain was providing details for gift aid. A thank you text is sent back to the donator with a URL to the gift aid questionnaire - I hope this doesn't put some people off the gift aid side of things.

I have had trouble uploading photos, will need to find out why.  I have also set up a You Tube account as it would be good to have a video on the Just Giving page.  In the mean time, I though I would try and paste in a Just Giving Widget on the blog to see how this works. I am not actively promoting fundraising until the new year but it will be less of a rush if I do these kind of things bit by bit.



Having said that, don't hesitate to dontate! Thanks.

Winter Training

Not sure where the winter comes in as it was short sleeve jersey temperature today. The plan was to cycle up and down White Horse Hill but due to decorating and parties to attend, I ended up in Wantage at 3.30 with a couple of hours free so I decided to use Chain Hill and Manor road instead.

All was going nicely 1 hour and 5 minutes in and then I got a puncture in the front tyre. It was slowish so I got back to the car but I missed out on two more stiff climbs. I'd covered 15 miles which is not too bad in terms of an 80 mile day....what I mean is that time in the saddle to complete 80 hilly miles wouldn't be horrendous.

This was all fine and not too taxing but it was without the 19kg on the back.....

Meeting

Met with Damian from the Cri Du Chat Charity yesterday over a beer. His son was born on the same day as our daughter, both spending time in Special Care at the Radcliffe Hospital. He cares for his son full time and sits on the steering group of the charity. It sounds like there are a few of them that would like to cycle some of the legs too – the more the merrier. We also talked about fund raising ideas and the potential use of text giving in addition to a Just Giving page.

http://www.criduchat.org.uk/

I have been struggling to write a profile/flyer for the event and Damian came up with some good ideas. We thought it would be a great idea to have a picture of me, the bike and the kit plus the two kids – awesome. I'm even more wound up for doing this now – it's going to be fantastic.
Will try and squeeze in some hill training at White Horse Hill this weekend. With the ride there and back it should prove worthwhile.

Keep checking my blog for more useful information such as the weight of a spoke (rear wheel) - you need to know!

Chance Meeting

Caught up with a chap that cycled end to end last year as he has made me realise that not only have I bitten off a largish chunk in terms of physical effort and rear end erosion but the administration burden will also be high. He wrote/spoke to a lot of companies (especially bike companies) asking for gear and sponsorship with a good response. We will sit down over a pint next week and chew the fat on this – I will be taking a list of questions about the route, especially about the hilly areas.

Tomorrow will be an exciting day, I am meeting with the charity and do not really know what to expect. I would like to have a focused and coordinated fundraising campaign but, to be entirely honest, I'm not sure how to put this together. I have some ideas so am not completely clueless and will be looking to the charity for suggestions. Some of my thoughts are:

• Scrounge consumables
  
• Get corporate sponsorship
  
• Press Releases
  
• Mentions on local radio
  
• Use Facebook
  
• Set up a Just Giving page through the Charities website
  
• GPS Tracker to keep peoples interest during the ride
  
• Fundraising day at my work gym (day on the bike in reception if they are agreeable)
  
• 5p for 5p bottles at work and the cricket club.
  

 

Easy….what's to moan about?

This week’s training…..

I'm still looking after my back so I have only trained once a day since last week (well, twice a day if you count the ride in and the ride back on Wednesday). The gym has been fine although it has left my back a bit stiff, yesterday's ride was easier on the way back given the wind direction. Circuit training was quite hard today but I think I didn't eat enough during the morning.

Fuelling is a key part of completing this ride, I have been thinking a lot about getting enough carbohydrate down my throat to avoid that nasty 'empty' feeling. The stove cooks up pasta easily but this may get a bit dull. I also need to make sure that I have plenty of veg and fruit to strike a nutritional balance. Snacking throughout the day on things like bananas, raisins or malt loaf will ensure I make it to the next hot meal. I have been offered an army 24 hour ration pack to try – 6,000 calories apparently. I'll give this a go on a long training ride I think.

A colleague at work is keen to join me when I bleep test next (end of November), we are having a practice tomorrow. He is a very good runner but is unsure about turning at the cone – I suspect that he will smash me into a cocked hat in terms of oxygen uptake when it comes to the test itself but then that should raise my game. Not that it will be competitive at all….

Maps...

I spent this weekend doing more planning around the route given that I have a sore back from carrying too much weight in my rucksack (namely my laptop) last week.  I also wanted to do a test pack of my kit but just ran out of time before heading off to a Halloween party with the kids.

The huge map of the UK put together with Sellotape has now been chopped up into day (ish) sized chunks, the plan is to keep the bare minimum of paper in my map case with the rest stowed in a water tight place.  Although I have treated my map case water does get in eventually and as the paper is very thin it is hard to get it apart when dampness sticks it all together. I could buy an expensive Ortleib map case but this money would be better spent on food/accommodation.

Other solutions for the maps: coat in a watered down PVA, sticky backed plastic (army trick), laminate (kayaking trick) or use an off the shelf water proofer for maps.  Thanks to my FB friends for suggesting these.  Also suggested by a member of the Abingdon Tri Club was a product produced by a company called P2i, he knows someone there.

http://www.p2i.com/

The suggestion is to mention the charity thing and see what they come up with. Might be able to treat everything for water repellency – including me!

If you have not lost the will to live by now and still care about important details, the weight of the map prior to any treatment is 60g.

Crikey, I've really got to do this now!

I spoke with the charity that I would like to raise money for today, all seems good and we are setting up a meeting shortly.

http://criduchat.org.uk/

Thankfully they have a Just Giving page which will make things a lot easier. I think several of the chaps there are keen to do this too...could be an interesting meeting.

The link for me is that my daughter shared her special care ward with a young man who has Cri Du Chat Syndrome, the distress that his family went through when they learned of his condition was hard to witness. This is pretty much all the motivation I need to achieve the ride and raise as much as I can.

Winter starts to set in…

I cycled to work on Monday into a stiff wind, felt rubbish when I got there but the trip home was a lot quicker. It's unusual for the wind to be this way round, normally get an assist on the way in. The old, thicker tyres are miserable compared to the slicks. No training Tuesday or Wednesday but cycled and used the gym today.

I watched a YouTube video about 2 lads cycling end to end last night, couldn't sleep after that as it highlighted just how remote some of the route is. I am now worried about my knee failing and running out of food – makes things more interesting. Among other issues they suffered a broken frame – twice (welded up at two separate garages), held a pasta eating competition and swam in the sea at both ends of the country; amazing but very daunting too.

I will try to get a long ride in at the weekend and also test pack my gear. The other thing I have been working on is a route card in as few words as possible to be used in conjunction with the map.

More maintenance and testing….

Had a reasonably hard training week last week so did no cycling this weekend. It's worked out quite well as I have a mild cold and have been happy just to tinker with my bike. I removed the slick tyres to save them for next year, it's a shame as they are very easy to push along the road but a pair comes in at £56. In addition to this I replaced the rear inner tube as it had a couple of patches, I'm sure it would be fine but it's inviting a puncture, patching tyres in the cold, dark and wet on the way home is not pleasant so best to avoid it.

I have finally got round to removing an inch from each end of the handle bar, the brakes, shifters and bar ends have all been adjusted and just need their positions testing on the way to work tomorrow. A quick sit-on test in the garage felt ok but time in the saddle will tell.

I cooked a packet of Super Noodles on my Trangia stove in blowy conditions to see what would happen. All went very well and the meal took about 20 minutes from cold water to eating; in reality the burner would be a more shielded from the wind so it has performed pretty well. I will test baby potatoes next week to see how long they take. Today's test has confirmed that I could put a packet of these away between meals without wasting too much time. It would be a good opportunity to rest but without affecting the length of the day too much. I think the best tactic will be a couple of hours cycling and a 15 minute rest with some food (mostly cold I would guess). That way my legs get a decent rest and I should not get too many stiffness issues the following day.

If anyone has suggestions for high (complex) carbohydrate meals that can be cooked in a 1 litre pot do post comments below, it would be most appreciated!

Nice Sunday Afternoon Ride.

Fantastic ride on Sunday, we decided to take in a few of the undulating roads around Uffington and essentially did a 25 mile loop through Wantage, Lains Barn, Hanney back to Uffington.  I cycled there and back which added a further 25 miles to take the total to 50.

In terms of the tyres, they were great. I kept up nicely with the road bike but could not accelerate as quickly and there was a marked difference in gearing, my top gear had a higher cadence compared to the road bike which meant I could not go as fast down hill.  The front end felt a little light but I soon got used to this.

The true test of the slick tyres would be a commute to work (Monday, 17th Oct); I reckon that the cruising pace on the flat increased by 2mph and I posted a quick time despite not putting a full effort into the ride. There was also a nil wind i.e. not a following wind which is usual.  Overall, a great investment but I shall be removing them and saving the rubber for my trip.  I am thinking that this would a. be cheaper and b. get more yield from training with slower, stickier tyres.

Didn't get round to grinding off the bars but will try and do this at the weekend.

Weekend Stuff….and maybe some training.

Had a great ride into work yesterday, lovely autumn weather, slightly cool and nil wind. I had not managed any rides during last week due to meetings and commitments at home so it was great to get peddling again. The only reason for going to work was to get a ride in – job done.

My new maintenance stand arrived on Friday so I spent some of Saturday cleaning the drive train and also swapping both tyres for some 1.3" road slicks. I have never used these before and just wanted to see if there was a difference as the theory would suggest. The least friction possible will be helpful over 1000 miles I suspect. I am hoping to grind off the ends of the handle bars tomorrow to narrow them down in the hope of a more comfortable position.

Facebook is brilliant; I have hopefully managed to queue up a riding partner for tomorrow afternoons 50 miler. I haven't seen this chap since I left school but I know from FB that he is a keen road biker. It will be interesting to see just how fit I am and whether I can keep up with him. I have suggested a route that takes in a lot of the hills south of Wantage – up and over the Ridgeway etc. I think the afternoon will go a lot quicker with someone to chat to.

More Kit Planning

I have spent some time looking at the kit list with a view to shaving down on weight. The first stab at determining kit weight came in at 19.699kg, having binned the heavy front light and battery pack and also the kettle I now weigh in at 18.769kg. There may be a couple of other things I could do to bring the weight down but I want to think carefully about what to scratch from the list. The decision to leave the front light at home arose from the fact that there will be plenty of daylight to allow for delays of a couple of hours in any one day and I have a lightweight head torch that could be used at a pinch. One item that would save over 800g is the lock – do I really need to take a lock? This will need some thinking through but I think the answer will be yes. There will be times where I will need to leave everything to pop into a post office or supermarket, the challenge is effectively over if an enterprising chav nicks my bike and puts it on eBay.
I think the next thing to do is work out where I want stuff packed and then create a checklist – saves time when you are preparing for the day ahead. At this stage, I do not even know if all this stuff will fit into 3 pannier bags and a bar bag. On previous trips, I didn't weigh things and go into so much detail given they were only 3 days and 250 miles max. I did use a check list to pack though; the result looked something like this:



Lynmouth 2010



 I won't be taking the front mudguard and the stove fuel bottle will be stowed under the down tube. The tyres will be slicks and the bar grips have been changed for bar ends and a wrist pad to help mitigate numb fingers. The other change will be the width of the handle bar, by grinding off an inch from each end this will bring my hands more in line with my shoulders and should reduce the bend in my wrists thus taking the pressure off the various nerves that run through that area.

I am aiming to get a decent training ride in at the weekend, we'll have to see how much time is available!



Encouragement from the Mrs

Sam had been working with some visitors from Scotland today and mentioned that I was looking to do LEJOG next year. He then brought her up to speed with the latest fatalities on the road…..

BBC NEWS | Scotland | Tayside and Central | A9 branded 'Scotland's deadliest'

Thanks mate, great move.

More Route Finding.

Spent some of today chopping up two road atlases and sticking them back together again. To finish off, I highlighter my preferred route from one end of the living room to the other.
Having read through other peoples experiences and looked at various websites, it looks like the most direct route by A roads is the only option for me given the timescale for the ride. I was a little perturbed by the proximity of some of the larger cities but then took a bit of comfort from some of the wide open spaces that IU will be riding through. One guide highlighted some of the hillier bits but I am not convinced that I know where all the tough sections are yet. Once I do know, this will inform my daily mileage to try and give my legs a chance.
The next step is to type a brief narrative for each part of the route with notes of remote shops etc.; I still worry about running out of water and food in an isolated part of the Lake District or Scotland. Having words as well as a map will make navigation easier – I like to cross reference all the time to avoid getting lost.

 

Hopefully going for a beer with a veteran next week to chat through some of this stuff, I have started a list of things that I want to ask him already.

Aches and Pains

Busy day today starting with the commute, then followed by work rubbish until a weight training class at lunchtime, more work rubbish and then a reasonable ride home. The wind had picked up a bit and aligned itself in precisely the wrong direction but still nice to be away from the office.

I have had a back ache just under my left shoulder blade for a week now which wakes me up in the morning.  I have attributed this to last weeks weight training class but don't remember hurting it.  Today's class provoked a twinge during dips and bicep curls. I am counting on the fact that if I continue to train it will go away.  My knee is playing up after loading up more weight than usual for the squatting - essential exercise for cyclists but I was just going through the motions at the lighter weight. Again, train through it - none of this 'I need to rest' rubbish......clearly I know more than the experts. My final complaint is my shoulder, the right side tightens a lot more than the left and is probably a result of the surgery in July plus the fact that I have carried my pre-historic laptop for the last 3 commutes.

Things are going well then?  Do we make these conversations to impress people by telling them that despite all the issues we have we continue to grind it out day after day? Or do we talk about this stuff because it makes us feel better and that we are trying as hard as we can in the circumstances.  The final 'or' is are we too precious about this sort of thing and should just put up or shut up? I'm not sure I know the answer to this and I probably engage is a little of all three.

This, of course, has nothing to do with completing the end to end because 99% of this challenge is mental, the other 1% is about finding a public toilet to avoid squatting behind a hedge on the A30. I know it's going to hurt, I know my brain will pack up when I run out of energy, I know I will have mechanical problems and sleepless nights listening to the Polish lorries steam past my bivvi. I know all of this so it won't be too bad when it actually happens - will it?

Route Finding.

Having picked up a little more enthusiasm yesterday evening, I pulled up the mileage spreadsheet and looked at a road atlas to have a go at refining some of the distances on certain parts of the trip. The idea was to reduce mileage on days that would encounter hills – Cornwall and Devon were the obvious ones and then the Lakes and then Scotland. That doesn’t leave much of the trip that is flat!

The first two days have been mileage limited to 70 but then I got a bit stuck. I suspect that I will need to chat to others that have completed the route to get their take on when it’s hilly and when it’s not.  Given that I could not solve this immediate issue, I started to highlight the route on the atlas, eventually I will cut up the map to reduce it’s bulk and have a flicker book of the route.

I have been enjoying a lot of the comments I have read about ‘death trap roads’ – again, this would seem to be the case for most of the trip.

I think I can't be bothered...

This weekend saw some glorious weather for the beginning of October, temperatures in the late 20’s and sunshine all day. Despite this and since the bike fit last Wednesday, I have suffered from a lack of motivation which has meant no cycling (although I have attended the usual gym classes).

I think there were a few of reasons for this: laziness, heat, upper back discomfort from the weight training class I did on Tuesday, stuff to do at home.  Having written these down, none of them are real reasons which makes me a loser. I suspect that if I had made the effort it would have been fine. Memo to self for next episode of apathy.

I cycled to work this morning, a pleasant trip taking the usual route through Abingdon and Radley which then diverted through Littlemore to Cowley as I had a meeting to attend at a different office. Although I have not tweaked things to the absolute measurements provided by Bike Dynamics there is a decent improvement in power, it remains to be seen if the back and arse ache are reduced on a long ride.

It is surprising (to me) that having enjoyed the experience of the bike fit I lost interest until this morning. Something else to think about and avoid next time.

Bike Fitting at last...

I attended a bike fitting session in Leamington Spa yesterday with the goal of making my mountain bike into something more likely to get me through the long rides I will need to do in preparation for next May.  I spent 2.5 hours being assessed and measured both on and off the bike (mounted on a turbo trainer) using video software to track key biomechanical points.

The outcome was interesting in that my saddle needed to move back further (fore/aft) and come down by a couple of mm, this did take some of the pressure off of my hands and shoulders.  The cleats attached to my shoes were repositioned and I now have plastic shims in my shoes to keep my knees working straight up and down.  This coupled with the bars being dropped 20mm and some flexibility work on my hamstrings should pay dividends.  My main goals were to protect my knees as much as possible and alleviate back ache after so many miles/hours in the saddle.

There was a query about the width of my saddle, this coupled with a slightly unstable upper body could be leading to increased saddle soreness. I’ll change one thing at a time I think.

A very worthwhile day which I am hoping will translate into some more comfortable riding.

http://www.bikedynamics.co.uk/index.html

Easy ride today.....

Had a two hour slot this afternoon so decided to do a hilly ride but on an easy basis - my legs were a bit sore from the weeks activities and I wanted to do something different.  I set off with Steve from Lark Hill and headed for the Ridgeway, the Lands End Cottage, onto Ilsley and back through Ginge - about 1:25 of riding time. I sometimes forget the fantastic countryside we have on our own door step.

The evening was spent weighing more items of kit and airing my tent and sleeping bag.  The new sleep mat fits into the sleeping bag a treat and provides a very comfortable bed. The total weight is around 14kg's at the moment, this does not include clothing, food or some of the heavier tools such as my cable shears. There are definitely items on the list that will be left at home, I'll get everything listed and theen start the process of trimming items.

Total rest day tomorrow then bike in to work on Monday.

Grab the readers attention early doors....

Upon returning from leave (a spa break doing absolutely nothing) this week, I have trained twice in the gym and have started to feel the effects of this; I must admit to not wanting to get out of bed this morning to cycle in to work.  However, having set up my kit and bike the night before it would have been rude not to.

Armed with all the knowledge about training in a rut etc I proceeded to cycle as hard as I could for the 50 minutes it took me to get into work – probably missed out on all of the autumnal scenes with mist and golden leaves etc.  The air temperature was comfortable but I chose winter gloves – can’t stand cold fingers, I think this goes back to my rugby days when I was a child, sometimes my hands hurt with the cold and it was a total relief to get into the warm. The point is that I arrived at work feeling fine but didn’t put in a very good time so I guess there is something in this mixed training effort thing. Homer would have said, ‘Doh, stupid brain!’.

A friend at work reminded me yesterday that my blogs should start with an eye catching statement that will grab the readers’ attention – maybe the previous article about seat pack weight and contents was wide of the mark here. So this time I decided to take his advice and talk about the new sleep mat (804g un-inflated) and Trangia Fuel Bottle (793g unfilled) that I bought yesterday – you lucky people.

I have been using a cheap foam mat, very thin and only really insulates, not comfortable to sleep on plus its pack volume is largish.  I forked out on a coffin shaped, self inflating Ultralite mat made by Hi-Gear – it’s awesome and packs down well. I have yet to try but I am hoping it will fit inside my sleeping bag to make things neater and easier in my tent. Being bright orange it will also serve to get me into such shows as Beech Rescue and Highland Rescue very easily (helicopter ride at the tax payers’ expense). The only downside is that it requires meticulous stowing – all the air has to be expelled.  The best way I have found to do this comes from a throw back to my skydiving days, before the canopy was ready to be folded into the deployment bag I used to lie full length on it to expel trapped air – works a treat on the sleep mat.

The fuel bottle will contain methelated spirit for my Trangia Mini Stove, it has a push valve at the top to deliver a steady flow of fuel into the burner when it is being filled.  It’s a multi fuel bottle so if I upgrade to a different burner it will still be useful. The only downside is that it doesn’t quite fit in my bottle cage (I’ll be using the attachment point on the underside of the down tube – one of three cages I’ll be carrying) so I will have to rig some type of elastic retaining strap.  I don’t think it will pop out given the type of riding that I will be doing but I don’t fancy crunching on uncooked pasta.

These new items have been added to my spreadsheet, eventually I will end up with the gross weight of the bike, I can then start to whittle down the stuff I don’t really need. The other issue will be my own weight – could lose a kilo, every little helps.

Could Training be better?

My last cycle ride was two half hour hard efforts separated by a football match - I got back feeling a bit sore in the knee and ready to eat a load of crappy food. I picked up a cycling magazine that had been recently bought for me and read the article about being stuck in a training rut and it would appear that I am stuck in a training rut.

My main problem is time available and also the lack of variety. It's pointless being a great 10 miler when I have an average daily mileage of over 80 to achieve, my backside won't thank me.  I have started to do longer rides at the weekend (slightly more variety) to try and get the necessary conditioning so it's not all bad.  My other riding consists of the same route to work (as fast as I can given time constraints) and not much else; I can't remember the last time I went for a nice leisurely ride around some of the great contryside we have here. The main issue is that I may not be giving myself time to recover between the big effort rides or the long distance rides.

I am cross training though and that's a big positive. Boxercise, spin and circuits are all good and different from the day to day riding I do. Working hard at this stuff will hopefully improve my muscular endurance and improve my CV fitness - all good stuff for a prolonged tour. I have adopted this habit already so I don't have to make huge commitments to new training as part of my overall plan - the less I have to change the better.

Having said all of this, just jumping in the car now to get home, which is a bit lightweight.....

More Gear Required

Purchased a few more items today namely another slick tyre and a spare shifter cable with outers along with a new set of tyre leavers weigning in at 35g, the old set are 23g so will have to drill some holes in the new one to manage the weight budget. I cleaned the drive train and also tried to clean the shifter cables as things have been a bit sticky of late.

I checked the contents of my seat pack which weighs in at 753g with the new tyre leavers - picture attached for those that give a toss. I doubt this is the optimum set of tools but all I know is that I have always got home using them when I have had an issue - if it ain't broke don't fix it.

I also tested my new Trangia 28 T stove, a birthday present from my wife.  I burned through 3 loads of meths before putting the saucepan on, apparently the do not function that well until they have heated and cooled a few times. Three quaters full, the stove burns for half an hour - I got 0.7 litres of water to the boil in 12 minutes and had plenty of burn time left to cook pasta/potatos. Now need to check this by cooking the real thing. Including the plastic bag (the burner does have a lid with a gasket but I have wrapped it in plastic to avoid tainting the saucepan with meths), the stove weighs in at 359g - frying pan and handle too.

I trained at the gym yesterday - I have a programme to address leg strength/endurance and CV fitness - very stiff today so decided just to eat and not train.  Might cycle to Ben's football tomorrow at Didcot to blow the cobwebs away. I've adjusted my shifters and brakes tonight so things should be running nicely.

Gym Class Heroes V Consumables

Yesterday’s gym session left me feeling a bit sore in the legs but I hopped onto my bike this morning for a great trip into work – nice and sunny but coolish.  It took 10 minutes or so to warm up after which the soreness seemed to go – or was this just overused legs becoming numb again?

I spent yesterday evening planning on a spreadsheet, the main topics were:

•       Training: Bike miles and gym + stretching
•       Bike and Tools
•       Kit and clothing
•       Route and recording/travel log
•       Fund Raising
•       Getting there and getting home

Each entry has a comment against each item, it’s weight and stowed location; knowing where things should be packed saves a lot of time when de-camping. Once I have this information I can start to pair the list down to save weight and volume, I should end up with the absolute essentials only.

I have sketched out a list of kit that I do own and stuff that I will need to get, it then has to be tested. An example of this would be the burn time to boil a full pan of water compared to a pan full of pasta and water etc. This may seem over the top but it informs the amount of consumables I will need to have especially fuel (for me and the burner) and water at any given time.

Neil Armstrong was once asked in a press conference before the Apollo 11 flight if there was anything else he would take if weight and volume weren’t an issue – he said more fuel. Apollo was paired down to the bone when it came to consumables to make the whole thing work, if it’s good enough for Apollo it should be good enough for me…..

Putting things into perspective.

David Walliams completed his massive 140 swim down the Thames yesterday and a friend attempted to swim the Channel at the weekend but was pulled out after 15 hours – too choppy and the tide had changed. Both of these are huge achievements and must have required a lot of mental strength to keep going when it hurt.

Although cycling from Cornwall to Scotland doesn’t even come close to either of the above, there are similarities in the approach to training and mind set.  Having finished Saturday’s ride, I was definitely ready to stop and 70 miles would be an easy day in my 11 day schedule.  Admittedly I had only eaten before and had a large sandwich halfway round – normally I would have had another meal break which would have got me up to the 100 mile mark. My biggest fear is running on that empty feeling and not being able to continue, but that would be bad planning.

Someone said once that the only thing to fear is fear itself – maybe but then there is mechanical failure, illness, knee failing, running out of staples in the highlands, not enough to drink etc etc etc.

First things first, set up a blog!

I have always harboured an ambition to do the end to end (it was on the same ticklist as 'market an original invention and learn to skydive') but until now have not really had the fitness to do it. When I turned 30, I disregarded the need to exercise and eat sensibly so have spent the last two years getting back to fitness and a sensible weight. I am slightly hampered by arthritus in my right knee but this is just mild aching, cycling is definitely the best exercise for me because there is a lack of impact.


I bought a Trek 6500 (Mountain bike) last year using the Bike Loan Scheme, this has been a good bike to commute to work on and also enjoy some trail races etc. I am bike fit but I need to get more hours in the saddle to condition myself for the relentless day after day cycling of the End to End. My bike is not exactly ideal for this kind of tour but it will have to do - I haven't got a spare grand knocking around to buy a tourer!


Training began 2 weeks ago (4th September 2011) with a hilly 40 mile ride followed by precisely no cycling in to work (14 miles each way) and no gym classes during that week.  I did a hilly/windy 70 miles on Saturday just gone with no ill effects except the usual aches and pains. Looking forward to some more rides this weekend.