How It All Started

Well here goes. My first Blog!

This is all about mine and Richard Burt's training is going for our planned Lands End to John O Groats ride in April 2013 - known as LeJog in the cycling world.

You can support us by donating to either of our charities on www.justgiving.com/teams/cyclemadness

I'm supporting Prostate Cancer
Ric's supporting Cancer Research.

Now you all need to bear in mind that I had not really been on a road bike since I was maybe 16/17 and now I've hit the magic 40 ( when I got my current steed ).  And so this first blog is all about how I started cycling again.

A friends wedding was the starting point.  Ric had just done a 3 day 280mile trip across the top of Scotland and, with the beer flowing, I agreed that we would attempt to do the Coast to Coast ( C2C ) later in the year.  Damn that lovely beer!!

April 2012 I went out on my new shiny Bianchi Via Nirone Veloce and if you can imagine having a hot poker shoved up your, erm, backside, try riding on a skinny seat and tyres for 16 miles.  Crikey I didn't half wonder what I'd done!

How on earth was I going to manage the 130 miles in one day from one side of the country to the other?  At least the bike looks the business, even if my legs and backside weren't up to scratch!

A return trip to some Judith & Steve's in Penwortham to drop off either a teddy or some clothes after they'd been at our house proved oh so difficult - all of 36 miles!

How wrong was I!!  The mileage increased and so did the hills!  This is me at the top of a climb in Longridge when I tried to follow a Cleveleys Road Cycle Club's route using MapMyRide on my mobile.  That day I rode about 45miles but found out that mobiles aren't the best to use with GPS for 4 hours - they tend to run out of battery!!


I think that might be a bit of dribble on my chin after all that exertion!

Thats all for now, folks.

Back with another story soon.......