HOW Long????

I can't quite believe it's three months since I posted here, but it does seem like a long time since I was last on the bike!

Probably like you, I spent a part of my Christmas break looking forward to next year and even making a few tentative plans. Having done Paris to Venice in 2010, we won't be doing a really big ride in 2011, but we can still look forward to some good hard riding and an adventure or two.

The first of these should be in early spring, which does mean I'll have to seriously consider getting back into training - and soon.

So far, I've been asked about another Coast to Coast (maybe the new 'Roses' route, which is further south, and therefore longer, but also nearer), Hadrian's Wall (possibly both ways, starting and finishing in Carlisle), and an End to End, possibly starting at John O'Groats.

We also have a standing invitation to revisit the Yorkshire Dales, where we did three training weekends in 2010. Then again, we haven't done much in the west country...

We've done a coast to coast in two of the last three years, and really enjoyed it both times, so I suspect that's one we'll be doing at some point. Le Jog might be asking a bit too much of our loved ones, unless they can join in somehow, so that might happen next year.

One way or another though, I think we'll manage a few hundred hilly miles somewhere in the UK, as well as joining in a few charity rides, spending some pedal time in Jersey and generally looking for any excuse we can to get out there in the fresh air and feel the pain and exhilaration.

Maybe I'll even get a 'better' bike this year, although I have to admit I've grown rather attached to the one that got me safely over the Vosges, the Black Forest and The Alps during 14 marvellous days in September.

Roy

Getting Quite Excited!

So, a couple of training weekends have now been lined up to help us prepare for the Paris to Venice trip; the Yorkshire Dales in April and the Cotswolds in May.

We'll also do some miles around East Anglia - you have to do some miles to find any hills! - and possibly another coast to coast in July or August. John mentioned camping on that one, just so we can carry loads of weight and get really fit, or possibly knackered.

Anyway, it all starts to feel very real now and we really are getting quite excited!

One of the ways we justify these trips to ourselves is by raising a bit of money for our favourite charities. To be honest, we would do the rides anyway (and of course we fund the trips ourselves) but I've already set up two Just Giving pages and added the widgets to this blog so you can easily donate as well.

And you can hardly miss the links to Evans Cycles and Wiggle! I'm donating half of all commissions from these two excellent online shops to the charities, too. Both stores offer excellent value online with massive discounts, especially when you include free delivery, too.

So, if you buy anything through these links, let me know which charity you'd prefer to support, otherwise I'll just split it equally between the two: Multiple Sclerosis Society and Make a Wish Foundation.

Thanks in advance, and excuse the excitement!

Roy

You Don't Need Matching Jerseys

... to be a team, as you can see from this team picture taken in Keswick, on our coast to coast trip in September.

By the time we assembled at Carlisle, we had already done a few hundred miles between us, by various means. John C and I had cycled from North Shields after driving up from Suffolk, John H had taken a couple of trains from somewhere in the Cotswolds and JR had taken the train from Nottingham, via Newcastle.

Staff at the Travelodge in Carlisle were friendly and very obliging about bike storage overnight and we did some team bonding over a Mexican meal near the station.

Next day we rode about 80 miles to Keswick, via Workington, and we were already a team.

The best test of a team's cohesion is when things go wrong or tempers are tested, so it might be a pity that we're all so even tempered and get on so well. We didn't even have a puncture to deal with. The nearest we got to being grumpy with each other was when the pre-lunch stretch to Workington turned out to be longer than anticipated and our blood sugar levels dipped.

We mostly stayed together on the flat stetches. And while we all climbed at our different speeds (because you can't really help each other at those slower speeds) the top of every hill was a reunion of sorts, where every word was an encouraging one and every greeting came with a smile.

And the end of each day was another little triumph, a social occasion and a time to share stories of that day and other days - even when we couldn't get a proper meal on Saturday night!

So, while we all face a unique and almost solitary challenge on every climb, being part of the team makes it doubly worthwhile. That, and the promise that, with the team's support, we can take on even bigger challenges in the future.

That's the point, really. Challenging yourself is one thing, but you can do so much more as a team.

Next year, The Alps.

Roy

Yes, Literally Tomorrow

It's an odd thing about cycling.

It doesn't work the same in running. And it never worked for me at the gym.

Some people say the same thing about swimming, but I'm not sure.

But you really can be stronger tomorrow when you cycle today.

I saw evidence of it in the Pyrenees, when I was just the back up driver, but I thought it was because the guys had prepared so well that they were just warming up.

Then I found out for myself last year, when I did the coast to coast. I had prepared, but not enough, and I know I hadn't done enough hills. Yet, despite feeling shattered at the end of days one and two, I was definitely stronger next day. By day three I was enjoying the climbing.

This year, doing the coast to coast 'there and back', on even less training, I felt sluggish on day one and tired at the end of a long second day, but I was disappointed not to have a bigger climb at the end of day three, the longest day of the trip.

In other words, however tired I felt at the end of each day, I was definitely stronger the following morning, and I was less fatigued at the end of day five than at the start.

If you stick at it, you'll find the same.

So, as long as you don't push so hard you make yourself ill - and a healthy person can push pretty hard - you will feel stronger tomorrow.

To get the most from your cycling, whether training or touring, it's important to 'refuel' properly, and often. Unless you're a regular cyclist you might be surprised how important refuelling is, and I'll talk more about that soon, but for now, the lesson is ...

... work harder today - be stronger tomorrow.

Roy

First Lesson:

It won't always be easy ...

First lesson is ... get on your bike.

A couple of years ago I was training for the Great North Run when I got a call from my brother in law. He was in a predicament. Along with three friends, John was planning to cycle the length of the Pyrenees, and their support driver had had to pull out.

'LeKnees' was at risk.

'Could I possibly help?'

I suppose ...

It was the journey of a lifetime for me. After sharing the driving duties down to Hendaye, on the French-Spanish border, I supported the team for the first half of their two-week trip towards the Mediterranean. (The scenery was fantastic.)

Between driving duties (and eating and drinking duties) I tried to keep up my own training. But the best day of my week in the Pyrenees was the one where I took the spare bike and joined the boys on a ride to the Cirque du Gavarnie. It was an easy day for them but it was the highest I had ever cycled and I loved being a part of it.

All week I envied them the steepest hills and toughest climbs, even as I marvelled at their ability to get up them. I was thrilled for them at the top of every col, and I told them I'd be there again next time.

But next time they'll need a new driver, because I'll be on my bike.

Which is why John and I did the coast to coast (Whitehaven to Sunderland) last year, and why two of the other team members joined us when we did the trip in both directions this September. Lots of lovely hills and a great team spirit. And the more we rode, the stronger we got.

Next year we'll take on The Alps.

By getting on the bike I wasn't a spectator any more. By joining the team I became a doer, not a watcher; a participant not a spectator. You could almost say I became a winner not an also ran.

Get on your bike, literally or metaphorically, and you start to take part - in cycling or in life.

And the more you ride, the more you take part, the better at riding, and taking part, you become.

Ride harder today - be stronger tomorrow.

Roy

PS I did the Great North Run, too, even if it was my slowest half-marathon ever.