And Another Thing

Not content with the Costwold Ride (50 miles) and the Norwich 50/100 plus the St Edmundbury Wheel (probably 50 or 100), AND the Dunwich Dynamo (120 miles overnight), we're also hoping for a long weekend ride this year. This might be Cornwall to Cotswolds or it could be Cotswolds to Norfolk or something similar.

But in case all that cycling seems like too much, I think I might have agreed to run a half marathon this year by way of a rest from the saddle.

But NEXT YEAR...

Next year we're hoping for another really big adventure. It could be the Pyrenees east to west or it could be the Jogle (Le Jog in reverse) which is John O'Groats to lands End. Or it might be something different altogether!

But it will be worth training for, of that I'm sure!

Roy

Staying Strong WITHOUT Cycling

One of the challenges I've had over the last few weeks has been staying motivated to keep fit even though I wouldn't, after all, be joining the rest of the Paris to Venice team on this years mini-adventure.

I had planned to be part of the foursome riding London to Paris this weekend, but circumstances intervened. Being pressed for time also meant I didn't always feel I could justify taking hours out for training rides when I had no real need to be in peak form.


But coincidentally, I've also noticed the trend towards shorter, more intensive training sessions that several fitness coaches have been advocating.

That has helped me in two ways:

Firstly, I concentrated on shorter training rides, mostly around an hour long, at a higher intensity to build strength rather than trying to improve endurance by doing loads of miles.

Secondly, I've added running to the mix. Running is more intensive anyway and I was a runner long before I was a regular cyclist. Getting back to it felt odd at first (in fact, I felt old and stiff!) but I'm back to more like the form I used to have, albeit I am a few years older. Shortish runs have meant I could mix in a few sprints at times as well. My knees seem to be holding up so far...

Psychologically, missing out on this weekend's adventure hasn't been pleasant, but knowing I'm doing something towards 'keeping up', fitness-wise, has made it easier to bear.

So, I have no need for regrets - just a heightened resolve to be better placed for the next opportunity that comes my way.

And that's next week, when the Tour of Britain visits Bury St Edmunds and local cyclists of all standards get a chance to join in the fun. More on that in a couple of days!

Roy

A Good Brisk Ride

Not having ridden with John for a while I expected yesterday's ride to be more testing than my recent solo efforts and I wasn't disappointed.

That said, it was a very enjoyable ride around some Norfolk lanes that were undiscovered country to me. Norfolk is one of England's flatter counties, but we still found a few gentle inclines, and a longish stretch into the breeze gave us a decent workout.

With John on his mountain bike as well, our speed wasn't quite as high as it might have been and I didn't spend too much of the 28 miles hanging on to his back wheel - for much of the time we were side by side down empty lanes and it was only when we hit more of a main road that I decided to stay behind for safety's sake for a spell.

It was on that stretch that another cyclist on a road bike had the temerity to overtake us. We weren't racing - until that point, anyway - but we had to try to chase him down... We let a gap open before we decided to give chase, so it was a fiull-on effort to get back in touch. John led the chase and I hung on as best I could.

In the end, I was dropped just before John closed the gap, which was just as we reached a right turn. Our opponent probably never knew he was in a race...

It was an excellent two hour ride, though, and dry until the last couple of miles when a heavy shower caught up with us. Overall, we averaged over 15 mph and according to my Garmin I consumed about 1300 Kilo Calories in the process. Here's how the route looks from the Garmin's log:

John will be riding London to Paris in two weeks' time, so for him Sunday's ride was part of his three-day training weekend. For me, it was a very pleasant way to spend a couple of hours and keep my body in half-decent shape, ready for bigger tests to come - I hope!

Roy

Revisiting the Dales

Although I didn't bring a bike with me, I have been revisiting the Dales this week and sharing some memories of the hills we climbed last year in the three weekends we spent in this stunning part of Yorkshire.

It's difficult to believe we actually climbed some of them, and nice to be able to reminisce and see the hills in all their spendour over the three days. Some stiff walks and scrambles and an even stiffer run one morning meant I didn't feel too guillty about spending a fair bit of time in the car.

The Yorkshire Dales are all different and all beautiful and each one is a great experience on a bike, while getting from one dale to another is always a test of strength and stamina.

It was in the Dales where we first tested our ability to carry camping kit and supplies in preparation for the Paris to Venice expedition. It was every bit as hard as I feared and I wasn't even fully loaded. In the event, the Alpine climbs were less severe, though much, much longer, but the Dales are an adventure in themselves, and well worth a visit in  their own right, on two wheels, four wheels or none at all.

Roy

Review of the Vango Trek Self-Inflating Sleeping Mat (Paris to Venice)

Last year's trip necessitated a few new purchases, although I was happy to make do where I could. Having found a tent that seemed up to the job my next priority was a sleeping mat.

I had a sleeping bag already, so the only thing I needed now for a good night's sleep was mat. I'd heard mixed views on whether they were worthwhile but the one thing you need after a long day's cycling is a good sleep.


As with the tent, I read reviews, pitched affordability against quality and took note of weight and pack size, as I still had to work out how I was going to carry it all.

I decided on a full-length Vango Trek, available from various suppliers through Amazon. You can get slightly cheaper mats but reviews suggested the Trek was better value. The best price for quick delivery was around £18-£20.

The mat rolls up into a cyclinder a little fatter but shorter than my tent and they both fitted snugly into one pannier, with a bit of space left over for water bottles and some food.

Inflation is easy. Just unroll the mat and undo the valve and leave it for a few minutes. Add a couple of puffs of air, tighten the valve, and you have a surprisingly comfortable mattress that stays inflated all through the night. Even without air, the foam inside gives you some protection and the skin is surprisingly tough-feeling. I found the Vango Trek at least as good in use as I'd hoped.

You can easily pay £60 or more for a self-inflating mat from specialist outdoor shops, but I'd happily recommend the Vango Trek to other cycle campers and hikers, especially at the price. Like the tent, it returned home as good as new.

You can still buy the Vango Trek for about the same price I paid through Amazon, here:

Review of the Gelert Solo Tent I Used for Paris to Venice

You can, if necessary, get everything you need for a two-week expedition without spending a fortune. 

For a start, you probably have quite a few items you can adapt or make do with. In my case, for example, I used a £10 Millets backpack as a perfectly serviceable top bag (it contained my bargain priced Millets sleeping bag), but a lightweight tent is vital for cycle touring and I didn't have one of those.

After some research I took a chance on one of the cheapest tents I could find, the Gelert Solo One Man Tent, weighing in at just 1.5kg:

I was a bit concerned about the low waterproof rating (1500mm head) and the small dimensions, but other users had stayed dry through rainy nights and at least one person taller than me had used it successfully. As it was only £25 on Amazon it would be a bargain, even if it fell apart after a fortnight.

Conclusion
It is small - you might say cramped - but I was comfortable enough lying down, and the Gelert Solo kept me dry and warm on some cold and rainy nights. Being low, it's very good on windy nights, too, AND it was still as good as new at the end of the trip.

The full length opening is essential for climbing in and out, but as long as you're reasonably agile, not too tall (no taller than about 181cm or 6ft) and only plan to sleep in, you will find it perfectly adequate, too.

The Solo is obviously a popular buy and the price has risen since last year, but it's still available via Amazon for under £32, including free delivery. You can buy it here:

Pedalling as Fast as I Can!

Well, it's been a while since I found time to post on here, but I have at least found some time to get out and pedal. (And peddle, as I'll reveal later.)

Being somewhat short of free time, but still wanting to get fitter, stronger and a bit lighter if possible, I've been concentrating on shorter, more intensive rides, mixed in with some running as well. After not running for a while, the first couple of times I went out on foot seemed quite odd. My occasional dash to the shops didn't prepare me for the way my legs felt after running a mile or two, and I felt a long way away from the half-marathon runner I used to be!

Proof that running and cycling use different muscles and that our limbs modify themselves very effectively for specific needs.

So, I was pleased when my running legs seemed to return last week, but now I worried: would that hamper my cycling?

Well, possibly. Now I can time my rides accurately I know I did my fastest 15 mile ride of the year the week before I felt my running improve, and since then I've actually become measurably slower. Today I was one mph slower than on that fastest ride.

However, it's probably also significant that my fastest ride happened on the second of two consecutive riding days - the first time I'd ridden two days in a row since Paris to Venice.

So maybe I just proved what I've been saying all along: that I will be Stronger Tomorrow!

Roy

PS. I've also lost just over half a stone in weight in the last month, so I must be doing something right :-)

Why You Should Keep a Tour Log

One of the biggest benefits we had from JR's iPad on our Paris to Venice trip - second only to its help in navigating our way across 1440 km of Europe - was in JR's daily log.

Although many of L'Express' diary entries were phoned through to Tracey, at home in England, some of them were also emailed, and the iPad was a very useful way of collating and storing the daily records.

On a trip as memorable as Paris to Venice, it's hard to imagine you will ever forget the details of each day's pain and pleasure, but as I proved the last time we met, those memories can soon become confused and conflated.

I had a vivid memory of two massive climbs in Austria, following a long day that ended in a bicycle-friendly guest house. I remembered this day particularly because I struggled so much on the first climb that I found myself risking life and limb trying to get a drink from a trickle of water that ran down a slippery, moss-covered rockface.

I remember coming to my senses, dragging muyself onwards and upwards, and then buying two bottles of extortionately priced water just a few hundred metres from the summit. Then I remember the second climb seeming just as hard and us ending the day with a descent to another guest house in a high alpine village.

But apparently my memory is playing tricks. According to JR's memory (and he kept the log, after all), those were on two different days. The day we did two big climbs started with the one into a hanging valley - or was that the second climb of the day?

I do remember my first 'col', because it didn't seem that big, and it was in the Vosges on a quite beautiful and moving morning, near a perfectly-kept first war cemetary. I remember an horrendous thunderstorm that hit us as soon as we crossed the Rhine into Germany, and I remember a thousand other things on the trip, but the exact order in which they happended is becoming less clear - and there are a thousand other things I will have forgotten.

But I'm pleased to say I did keep a journal as well, and I will write it up into a proper account of the trip. Inevitably, I'll dip into JR's as it appears on L'Express blog for details of distances, altitudes and some town names, but my journal will be my memories, my thoughts and my experiences (mainly at the back of the group) from those memorable, but apparently also quite forgettable, two weeks.

And I'll try to do it soon - before I forget what I meant when I wrote it the first time!

Roy

Ready or Not, Here I Come!

First published in the Crack on! newsletter on 21 June:

This is a story of a middle-aged man, an old bicycle and some
very, very big mountains.

When a group of friends decided their next big adventure would be
a bike ride from London to Paris, taking in the Vosges mountains
in France, the Black Forest (more mountains) in Germany and the
Austrian and Italian Alps, I said "Me too!"

The plan was to get a suitable bike and high-tech equipment, do
lots of training and to be a super-fit, finely-tuned machine by
'the off'.

Things didn't quite work out that way. The new bike didn't
materialise, the high-tech equipment wasn't forthcoming and
training was rather limited.

In short, I wasn't really ready last September, when we set off
to catch the train for London and on to Paris.

I had put new tyres on my old, heavy mountain bike, I'd bought a
£25 tent from Amazon and some £14 panniers via eBay. My sleeping
bag was in an old £10 rucksack tied on top of the panniers.

As I say, I wasn't really ready, but the train from home, the Eurostar
and especially the rest of the team weren't going to wait - I had a
deadline and it was now or never.

So, ready or not, I had to get on with it. And get on with it I
did. Nine hundred miles and 14 days later, we were in Venice.

How? Well, we started pedalling at Notre Dame by the Seine and
stopped when we reached the Grand Canal in Venice.

For the duration of the trip I spent most of the time going in
the right direction, if not always as fast as I would have liked.

It was a fantastic trip, by the way!

I suppose I could have waited until I was really ready...

But if you spend your life waiting to be totally ready, not moving
until everything is just right and stuck where you are because you
don't have everything you 'need', you'll probably never get anywhere.

Roy

News from the Norwich 50

Norfolk is not flat, except where that helps increase your exposure to a headwind.

Heading generally north out of the city this morning we had some degree of headwind for most of the first 24 miles, until the two routes (100 mile and 50 mile) divided. For most of that first stretch the countryside undulates rather more than you might expect. There are no big hills, of course, but there are some that drag on a bit when the wind's against you as well - not least the last mile or two of that northward section.

Thereafter, we were headed more or less southeastwards for about 15 miles. JR and John agreed we had a tail wind component for that part - as we must have done - but again those little hills were wearing me down. At one point I wondered if my tyres were soft because riding felt harder than it looked. About ten miles out we turned almost due west and it was faster on the flat, with just a few minor undulations before the downhill sprint into the city - interrupted by traffic lights, traffic and, in my case, a detached rear carrier one mile from home.

The rack and my one pannier bounced as I hit a bump in the road at quite high speed and the right-hand stay dropped inside the hanger and briefly onto the block. I've no idea where the bolt went, and it might have fallen out some time earlier. Anyway, no harm was done, as far as I could see, and as I had nearly finished and the bolt hole was too small to thread a cable tie through I took a chance on the remaining bolt hanging in there for a few more minutes.

It did, JR found a bolt of the right size in his bag of bits and it was mended in minutes of me finishing.

I actually measured today at just over 52 miles and, added to the nearly 18 I did yesterday afternoon, that makes this a 70-mile weekend. The biggest mileage since last September's trip.

Today's ride was easily my longest of the year - until next Sunday's St Edmunds Wheel 100!

Roy

Best Ride This Year

Actually, it's almost eight months since I last cycled this far, and more than that since I last did this route. What I really enjoyed was discovering (now I can measure it properly) that this familiar circuit was a little bit longer than I thought.

That and the sights, sounds and smells of what seemed like early summer.

I 'guesstimated' between 30 and 35 miles for the circuit via Long Melford, Lavenham and Cockfield Green and finally measured it yesterday at 35.44 miles. On a humid and breezy day my usual route south towards Long Melford via Hartest hill was hard work. As I planned to do this longer ride I tried not to over-exert myself in the first leg against the wind but did hope for some serious help on the northward leg to compensate.

I also now know that I slow to between 3.5 and 4mph on Hartest hill...

Reaching the main road at Hartest I was pleased to see 12.7 miles indicated (meaning all my 24-25 mile rides in the past had actually been 25.4 mile long). Long Melford was reached at 15 miles and then I was able to turn northeast-ish towards Lavenham, although the tailwind wasn't making itself particularly evident yet!

Lavenham church was at 20 miles. I seem to remember estimating it at around 18-20, so that was encouraging. My average speed to that point was around 14mph. Turning right at the other end of Lavenham High Street I headed towards Thorpe Morieux and stopped for a snack at the end of the track where I lived for a while some years ago.

It's lovely open countryside out there, gently rolling and almost traffic free. This was just past the 25 mile mark, and after a steady climb followed by a level stretch I reached Cockfield Green at 27.5 miles.

By now my average speed was around 14.5 mph and I started to believe I could manage 15mph overall. With the tail wind (not that you can ever feel a tailwind, you just feel stronger) I was able to ride at 18-20mph for quite long stretches, although I dropped away to 8mph on the last hill of any consequence. By the time I reached Nowton, the average was 15mph exactly and I knew my road speed would be above that for most of the last few few miles so relaxed a little and cruised at around 16-18 most of the way back into town.

I got home to see my average had reached 15.1mph for the 35 plus miles and I had hit a maximum early in the ride of 31mph.

That's probably as good as I was managing last summer when I was supposedly in serious training for Paris to Venice - although the serious work was mostly done in Yorkshire. I don't think the stamina is there yet but it is nice to know I'm not too far off.

The St Edmunds and Norwich 50-milers in 4 and 5 weeks' time are definitely on. A century isn't out of the question, although I don't think we'll be doing any big weekend rides before then.

Roy

Some More Useful Miles

From now on I'll know exactly how far I've gone, even if I'm not always sure which way I'm going.

Not that I'm that bad a navigator, but the Suffolk lanes can be confusing when an eastward-bound route suddenly seems to snake westwards for a while as I found on Sunday.

Still, my newly fitted cycle computer did tell me how far I'd travelled and how fast I'd got to wherever I happened to be at any particular time.

The computer was a Christmas present but, for various reasons mainly associated with laziness, I only fitted it on the Saturday after Easter. Having fitted it I had to test it, of course, so on Saturday I headed southwards on a route I know (and have measured by car and brother-in-law John's computer).

As I was only planning to ride 'around the block' to test the computer I didn't actually go too far, but I was very pleased that the computer confirmed my impression that, once again, I was much faster riding home than I was on the outbound leg, despite a Northeast wind that should have slowed me coming back. My average speed for the measured 11.4 miles was exactly 15.0mph, which is not quite Tour of Britain pace but is not a bad average on a mountain bike after an idle winter.

So it was on Sunday that I decided, now I could measure distances on less familiar routes, to head eastwards, intentionally taking on a strong headwind component from the strenthening Northeasterly. I wanted to stay south of the A14, so took Rushbrooke Lane east-ish and meandered away from the afternoon sun (mostly) towards Rougham and Bradfield St George.

I was right about the wind: although there was some shelter between the hedges and woods for much of the time, there was always a strongish breeze and occasionally it made itself felt as a strong sidewind, too. At Rougham, after one gusty stretch, I passed a village cricket match that looked idyllic in the early May sunshine. Very soon after this I found myself heading west, so turned around and took a turning towards Bradfield that carried me eastwards again for a while. At around ten miles I decided to turn for home. Average speed to this point was 13.7mph - not bad with that headwind.

The ride back was equally gusty as the wind funnelled down avenues of trees and between hedgerows now in full leaf. When I reached the cricket match again I stopped for a snack and a drink and watched a few overs. There was some decent fast bowling and a good batsman taking advantage of the slower bowler's struggle to bowl line and length against the wind. That must have been a good bat too, as he stroked some very easy looking fours.

After the rest (and a quick check of my average speed - up to 14.7 now) I headed for home, and the wind now gave me the help I expected as I span along at 18-22mph for long stretches. There were still some slower hills, though and some rough and gravelly patches where flat out wouldn't have been a good idea. I was very pleased, then, to get home with an overall average for the 20.3 miles of 15.6 mph. Highest speed was attained a few miles from home at 27.6mph.

A ride the previous week was at an average nearer 14mph, and was a 20 mile there and back ride including 'my hill' at Hartest. Next time I do that route I'll be able to time it properly!

I'm pretty confident about doing the two fifty mile charity rides next month and tempted to go for the century around Bury. There's also another big ride of up to 200km around Suffolk in July for Alzheimers, called Miles for Memories. Now, 200km is about 124 miles, and that's one mile more than I've ever ridden in a single day. Although that was in the hillier West Country (Taunton to Torquay and back) it was also about 25 years ago!

As yet, we (the Paris to Venice group) don't have a tour of any kind planned for this year but we are hoping to at least do a coast to coast together at some point.

Meanwhile, these sunny days are making Suffolk irresistable!

Roy

Just a Quickie

Having decided not to go off road in Thetford Forest this afternoon I had a perfect excuse to get a few miles in on the road.

I didn't think I ought to be out for too long - things to do, visitors coming, etc - and so I opted for my 15 mile there and back ride.

I was very pleased to get to the turn in around 29 minutes, opted not to stop and came back in under 27 minutes, making my total time almost exactly 56 minutes.

That made my average speed 16 mph, which I was very pleased with.

As I said, just a quickie.

Maybe I'll make the Norwich 50 and the St Edmunds Wheel 100? We'll see!

Roy

Today Took Me Right Back...

Today's ride in the gorgeous April sunshine was reminiscent of last September's Paris to Venice ride, not least because 24 miles seemed to have the same effect today as 60 or 70 miles did back then!

But it was wonderful to be out on the quiet lanes and feeling the warm air and sun on my bare skin.

The bike felt heavy, almost as heavy as it did last year with all the luggage, but no matter. I took my usual route south and this time I held it together rather better on Hartest hill. Once at the top I decide to do the extra couple of miles to Stanstead village.

Once there, I decided to give myself one more little test by continuing to the main road. The short climb back to my usual picnic spot is one of those 'between gears' hills - I seem to find a lot of those when I'm unfit!

Even so, and despite feeling very stiff in recent days, I felt suprisingly good at halfway. A short break and a bite to eat and I was ready for the return. It made sense to restart in a lower gear than I have in the past and I was soon in a decent rhythm, if not at a great pace.

As usual, though, the home leg was faster than the outward one, but just by a few minutes this time. Overall, my outward leg was around 14 mph, and the home leg almost exactly 15 mph, which I'm always happy with.

It's just over six weeks to the St Edmunds Wheel...

Roy

Hard Miles Today!

Stepping up from fifteen miles to twenty shouldn't feel this hard!

Whatever the reason for yesterday's ride feeling like such hard work, it was a bit of a shock to find myself going quite so slowly by the time I reached the top of Hartest hill.

I sensed it was going to be tougher than usual on the first couple of gentle gradients. With a stronger headwind than I anticipated, I was riding at least one gear lower than usual and struggling to get into any rhythm at all.

I ploughed on, safe in the knowledge that this must be doing me good and determined to stick to my plan to take on 'my' hill for the first time in months. Well, finding the right gear for Hartest hill proved even more difficult than usual and it never quite happened! Once the gradient eased I was able to pick up quite well and at least it hadn't killed me...

Safe to say the return had to be easier, with a tail wind and a banana assisting my still fairly feeble efforts. Better to the tune of eight minutes, in fact, which is a lot over ten miles.

So, it was probably the headwind and it was probably low energy levels, and it was certainly a lack of miles since those glorious days back in September...

But I will be stronger tomorrow!

Roy

One Step Backwards - and Two Forwards

Things didn't look too promising when I tweaked my calf muscle after jogging just one mile on Friday. It tightened up instantly and I hobbled home.

From past experience that would mean running was off the agenda for a week or so.

But, also from past experience, I was hopeful that a day or so's rest would be enough to get me back on the bike, and so it turned out.

So, the weekend came and went and I decided to do another 15 miler on Monday afternoon, in beautiful sunshine and slightly chilly air. After hitting my 15mph target in my last outing I hoped to do just a little better this time and so it turned out.

I didn't feel especially lively and there was a slight headwind once again but my calf wasn't hurting, which was good. My back was twinging but I know I need to build my core strength as much as anything and I'm hoping that will do the trick.

I was pleased to reach the turn about a minute faster than last time. Turning for home confirmed the effect of the headwind and riding was suddenly a lot easier! The only hill of consequence did feel like hard work this time but I still got back about half a minute quicker than last week, meaning I'd shaved around 90 seconds off the 15 mile ride. That's actually not much slower than I was doing last summer, so my next step is probably to aim for a slightly longer ride and to tackle Hartest hill for the first time in six months!

I'll let you know how that goes.

The first big ride of the year could be the Bury St Edmunds Wheel in June (100 miles) but it would be great to hit the hills again with John, John and JR before then. We'll see!

Roy

Yes! Another Ride.

ANOTHER RIDE! Yes, only 15 miles but...

It was a lovely afternoon, the job was getting a bit tedious and my legs were getting twitchy. The Suffolk lanes beckoned...

I aimed for 15 miles and hoped to do it in around an hour. That's the kind of pace I was doing comfortably six months ago, when I was fit enough to to Paris to Venice in two weeks.

I say 'aimed' - I didn't really expect to do 15mph after almost no time in the saddle for six months...

Well, the outward leg was every bit as slow as I expected, and the little Suffolk hills and slight headwind made themselves known to my thighs, back and lungs, and I reached the turn in about 33 minutes.

But the homeward leg was much better than I hoped, if still hard work, and it felt really great to be out again. When I finally hit some kind of rhythm I was daydreaming of high mountains and hot sun, with long days in the saddle with good friends.

For a time I was in rural France - or was it Germany or Switzerland?

No, it can't have been France or I would have been looking for an open shop...

Anyway, it was wonderful to be out in the sunshine, hearing the tyres on the tarmac and feeling my legs finally beginning to wake up after their winter hibernation.

I got back in 27 minutes, meaning I actually hit my 15mph target. I do like it when the maths is easy, too!

Roy

Finally, FINALLY!

After a ridiculously long hiaitus, I finally got out three times in eight days and I think I feel better for it!

Two very short runs and one short bike ride is hardly getting back in the groove, but it's been a long winter of busyness, mechanical failure and disinterest - oh, and winter - but I'm still disappointed to have left it so long.

Never mind. Two runs, with the second a little faster than the first, didn't seem to hurt my knees. The short bike ride - only six miles - felt tougher than it should, although the first little hill was ok. I didn't prepare in any way, even to changing into cycling gear, so getting out at all was a treat.

And it finally looks like spring out there!

More soon...

...especially as I had notification of the Bury St Edmunds Wheel yesterday: 50 or 100 miles around Bury St Edmunds in mid June. I'll be there.

Roy

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

WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT, ALPIE...

Seven years ago, four friends decided they wanted a cycling adventure. One year later, in 2004, the four did Le Jog - the famous Lands End to John O'Groats ride.
The ride came in at a fraction under 1000 miles.

Three years later, three members of that group plus one new member wanted to try something a little more challenging, so they rode the length of the Pyrenees, from Atlantic to Mediterranean in two weeks in September 2007. This time the ride was 'only' around 600 miles but with a few more 'hills' in the way. This was the famous 'Le Knees' expedition.

In fact, their total climbing amounted to around three Everests! At the last minute, I was given the opportunity to be their back up driver for the first week, and I jumped at the chance. I was training for The Great North Run at the time, hence my orange MS Society running vest in some of the pictures.

This time, I'm one of the four cycling, and this time we're combining distance (almost 1000 miles) with climbing (the Alps, for example) as we cycle from Paris to Venice in two weeks for L'Express. We'll also take in the Vosges, the Black Forest and the Dolomites.

And this time there will be no support vehicle, we'll be camping most nights and we'll be carrying all our own kit.

Well, they do say, 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!'

We're all doing it for great causes, as well as for the sheer fun of it. My sponsor links are on this page. You can find the others on the L'Express website.

This is a great adventure for us, but we're mindful of how lucky we are to be able to do it. Not everyone is so fortunate in life and the recipients of your generous donations are among the most deserving people we could find. Please give generously.

Thank you! Here's that L'Express website again.

Roy

PS. I'm going to get my excuses in early - starting with the fact that I'm ten years older than the oldest person was on that first ride. With experience does not come wisdom!

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