Happy Easter & The Last Word...

Happy Easter to you all!

As the last two posts reflected my obvious disappointment at only making it to Dublin I thought that another was in order so that we can finish on a high. Now that my frustration  for retiring has subsided, in hindsight it was probably a good thing that it happened as the snows between Dublin and Belfast were some of the worst endured by the region in recent history - since however, the sun has started to shine again and the weather for cycling is perfect!

Nevertheless, it will be at least a few weeks before I'm back in the saddle as the nurse in Accrington A&E told me on Thursday evening that I have tendonitis in both knees and I was to cease cycling for up to 12 weeks! - Whilst I will heed most of her advice, the bit about waiting 12 weeks to get back on the proverbial horse we will positively overlook.

As even some of my trip home required some cycling e.g. to and from the Ferry Terminal/Train station in Scotland I have a few more pics I'd like to share:

These are a few snapshots taken when it wasn't too cold to get the camera out.

Since returning I have kept a beady eye on the sponsorship page and it appears to be doing rather well at £1,137.00 and closing in fast on my £1500 target. So I would like to extend my thanks to all of you who have dug deep and supported me on this challenge.

(http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CCSCC)

THANK YOU!

Day 6: A bridge too far too soon...

Sorry everyone, I've had to call time on the ride.

Having made it to Dublin last night, I went about applying the various aches/pains lotions and taking my daily nurofen dosage only to wake up this morning to find that my leg had completely seized up.

The annoying thing is that there's still petrol left in the tank but my sodding knees are fcuked! As I average anything between 70-90rpm that equates to approx 4500 - 5500 rotations per hour so probably approx 30,000+ per day of riding it therefore doesn't seem sensible to continue and risk permanent damage (I've already booked in to see the doc next Tuesday).

The decision was made this morning and I have made my way up to Belfast on the train en route back to uk mainland - the only small consolation being that having seen parts of my planned route it would have been completely impassable (especially nr Dundalk and the Mournes) due to blizzard conditions and a complete white-out.

I wish to apologise to all of my sponsors who have supported me on this Capital Cities Solo Cycle Challenge but your support and my knee trouble hasn't been in vain as together we have raised over £1000 (exact figure tbc) in aid of an excellent charity: Severn Area Rescue Association.

Day 4 & 5: Fishguard-Rosslare-Dublin

So with the Met Office quoting a 90% chance of us having a white Easter it seems I may have picked the wrong week to spend out on a bike.

Today's leg was the fourth day of cycling and saw me follow the east coast of Ireland up to capital city number 3: Dublin. This took me above the 300 mi mark since departing London 5 days ago.

I recorded a short video at the outset of this leg but the wind makes it nigh on impossible to hear what I said... it was just the usual: have made some good miles so far, made some good averages, etc etc (I'll add it later if I get a chance).

With temperatures sitting at -5C today and a 35kph easterly breeze there was a cross/head wind for much of the cycling which affected my avg speed quite dramatically and at one point reduced me to 4mph on the flat whilst pedalling out of the saddle!!

Unfortunately, I didn't make it the whole distance from Rosslare to Dublin by pedal power as the combination of icy weather and my failing knees prevented me from doing so - even with the 4 hourly doses of ibuprofen and copious amounts of ibuleve and deep heat creams/gels - it's a wonder that I managed to smuggle so much of the stuff into Ireland in the first place...

I'll book in to see a specialist on my return. In fact, it was so bad the night before last that I was on the nurofen at 3am just to get some sleep - you can imagine how the cycling feels - "grind, grind, grind" - this seems to be becoming a theme so I'll try not to bore you too much with it.

The leg (not my leg) was a particularly long one anyway at 105 mi and to make Dublin that evening I had to jump on a train for the last bit as it was getting late and I was still a way off my destination.

In other news, I have been navigating my way with the help of google maps and road signs as a few of you may have heard/realised that mapmyride gave up on the english/welsh border - apparently nobody cycles anywhere else.... Given I paid for the upgrade and it lasted a day and a half I'm not massively impressed - perhaps the sub-zero conditions had something to do with it.

The plan for tomorrow is to enter Northern Ireland and head for the Mourne Mountains but I'm still very concerned about the knee pain that has continued to develop over the last 3-4 days and shows no sign of abating.

I've got my fingers, toes, everything crossed hoping that I can resume cycling as normal.... Will keep you posted.

Day 2 & 3: Hills, pills, rain and knee pain

Hello again! I’m writing to youfrom Fishguard after 240 mi cycling over the last three days – a new PB. Sincemy last blog I have cycled an additional 150 mi in pretty demoralisingconditions. Having reached Cardiff in the dry on Leg 2 with an average speed of17.1 mph all seemed well and good, then the heavens opened and remained openfor the 50 mi to my overnight stop in Bishopston, Swansea with some blusteryconditions to boot. I made it to my destination at 1500 having set off at 0900with a 14.5 mph average and approx 5 hrs cycle time. I must confess that itwasn’t until I was holed up in a bus shelter out of the rain whilst downingsome malt loaf and energy drink that I realised I hadn’t stopped in the Welshcapital to photograph a sign or some other evidence to prove I’d passed throughit. by which point I was already 8 mi out towards Cowbridge and didn’t fancy anadditional 16 mi just for a photograph – so I hope you can forgive me for that.

By the time I reached Swansea itlooked as though I might have swam there rather than cycled as I was drippingwet literally from head to toe with no exceptions. So much for the overshoesbeing waterproof! Fortunately, I was greeted by a friendly face in Andy J who Ihaven’t seen for what we guesstimated as six years in the days when we used totour the country on the sailing circuit, with the simple phrase “do you want ahot drink or a hot shower” my day instantly improved! We had a good catch upand chin wag over dinner and then a beer in the local to pass the evening. My motivationto continue was restored.

Leg 3 proved a different kettleof fish with dry conditions but the ride taking its toll physically – on myleft knee in particular. Within fifteen minutes of setting off I had to stop totake ibuprofen painkillers having coated the same knee with Ibuleve and DeepHeat the night before. The constant peddling motion was excruciating and onlyincreased with gradient increases. It was a day of hills and pills with thelatter enabling me to continue over the former. On the plus side, the severityof my knee pain has caused me to overlook any saddle sores or muscular aches –these all seem rather trivial in comparison. I did make it to Fishguard(obviously) averaging 13.5 mph and 5 hrs 9 mins cycle time. The other challengeof Leg 3 were the hill-climbs, between Swansea and Carmarthen there are aneedless amount of them which is all very well going down them for a couple ofminutes of fun but then there’s a 15-20 min ascent at similar 15%-18% gradients– tiring stuff for sure!

I must leave you, I have to packup again before catching the ferry to Ireland – with the dodgy knee andforecasted bad weather I’ll keep you in the loop with my plans.

For now, the constant wiff of DeepHeat shall continue, let’s hope it improves soon. 

pictures to follow

Day 1: The wheels haven't fallen off yet!

In true British fashion, I shall start by referring to the weather. It was a good day to set off with the rain holding off until the last 5 mi and the sun making an brief appearance on the Heathrow to Reading stretch.

The wheels set in motion with an early 0720 start, with the intention of missing London rush hour traffic....as I found out, they have rush hours (plural) rather than the usual 0800 - 0900 so my good intentions went out of the window so to speak. Nevertheless, it was a relatively hassle free route down to the A4 skirting the northern perimeter of Heathrow Airport, made easier by making full use of the bus/cycle lanes. The only time I stopped other than for the many red lights was to prove I was in London:

It most definitely says LONDON 

I departed the A4 almost immediately to drop south around Datchet water and into Windsor (what a lovely place indeed!) before heading north-west, south-west and all other variations of west on the series of roads taking me to Reading. This section was my personal favourite as the roads were traffic-free, the sun was out and what perhaps non-cyclists cannot appreciate: the road surface was smooth, flat, pot-hole free - in essence EXCELLENT!

The same cannot be said, for the A4 Bath rd between Reading and Newbury, Thatcham, Marlborough oh sod it - Chippenham! There were definitely some teeth-chattering moments. Anyway, I don't want to bore you more than I have already, another big day tomorrow to reach Swansea.

Here are the stats from today (taken from my Cateye bike computer):

     Distance:          90.10 mi

     Cycling Hrs:    5hr 49m

     Avg Speed:      15.4 mph

     Max Speed:     34.8mph

The 'tracker' on the mapmyride app seems to have logged a shorter 88.54 mi - but I know which device I'd rather rely on.

To sponsor me visit: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/ccscc

Fixing stuff & Fame

With just 3 days to go before I arrive in London for the start of the CCSCC the route is finalised, the ad hoc training is complete and now it's just a waiting game. As it draws nearer I'd really like to just get out there and get cracking! Yesterday's training ride was a short one at 22 mi but useful nonetheless as I realised that my left cleat needed replacing and re-positioning so I did both shoes at the same time - to avoid awkwardly  rotating my left knee:

I've also compiled all of the kit I will be carrying/wearing in one place and there is A LOT! But somehow it all fits, albeit snugly, into a saddlebag and a rucksack without too much hassle.

In other news, I have a few thank-you's to make as I have been a little lax in doing this - A big thank you to Timo for arranging the bake sale and dress-down day at work with SARA receiving 50% of the proceeds - which wouldn't have been possible without the help of Donna for sharing her baking skills and cajoling Rob (& Nelson) into sponsoring my cycle. Thank you to Graham Southall at Head Office for his support, thank you to Fred & Alice for sending sterling not Hong Kong dollars - that could have caused some issues. Thank you also to Natasha and Sarah from work and another who has wished to remain anonymous having omitted to leave their name.

And my final thanks go to Sheila for her considerable donation - it's a bugger because the more people sponsor means I definitely have to do this ride... and to Satya for putting up with my constant chatter about bike components and route-planning and pledging her support too.

For those of you interested in showing your support visit:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/CCSCC

Last thing, the local Free Press have published a 1/2 page article on my sponsored cycle with the help of Melissa Jones who has shown a keen interest so I would like to extend my thanks to her (Melissa, if you're reading this, is there an online link to the article yet?)

THE ROUTE.

LEG 1: Wembley, London - Chippenham

Description:

This is a 87.48 mi route dropping south from Wembley before picking up the A4 Bath Road westbound, skirting Windsor and Eton before rejoining the A4 before Reading and following it all the way to Chippenham. With a total ascent of 1,361.55 ft and maximum elevation of 669.29 ft.

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LEG 2: Chippenham - Cardiff - Swansea

Description:

This is a 107.33 mi route from Chippenham over the Severn Bridge to pick up the A48 to Newport, Cardiff, Bridgend and then along the Gower to Swansea (more specifically Andy's house - who has kindly offered to put me up). With a total ascent of 2,798.56 ft and maximum elevation of 590.55 ft meaning a lot of ups and downs.

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LEG 3: Swansea - Llanelli - Fishguard

Description:

This is a 70.49 mi route from Swansea to Fishguard via Llanelli, Camarthern and Haverford West along the A40 for the most part. With a total ascent of 2,824.8 ft and maximum elevation of 649.61 ft.

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LEG 4: Fishguard - Rosslare, Ireland

Description:

Day 4 provides a bit of respite with me catching the 1430 StenaLine ferry to Rosslare Harbour on the south-west corner of the Republic of Ireland. This is where it gets all international and is the only reason for me lugging my passport 700 miles on my bike!

LEG 5: Rosslare - Dublin

Description:

This is a 102.29 mi route Rosslare along the east coast via Wexford, Gorey, Arklow, Wicklow, Greystones and Bray finishing in Dublin. With a total ascent of 1,873.00 ft and maximum elevation of 420.00 ft. This promises some spectacular scenery skirting the edge of the Wicklow Mountains and is likely to be the most difficult leg of the route due to the number of miles, new territory and the navigational aspect involved in getting from A to B.

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LEG 6: Dublin - Rostrevor

Description:

This is a 75.93 mi route from Smithfield Square in Dublin to Rostrevor, Northern Ireland. With a total ascent of 2,060.00 ft and maximum elevation of 489.00 ft. Departing Dublin marks what is essentially the beginning of the end, the second half of the route. As with anything, once you know that the finish line is closer than the start it all gets much easier (at least that's the nonsense I'll be telling myself from this point onwards). This leg sees me cross from the Republic into Northern Ireland where I'll be stopping overnight in the Mourne Mountains.

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LEG 7: Rostrevor - Belfast - Cairnryan - Stranraer, Scotland

Description:

This is a 47.75 mi route from Rostrevor to Belfast StenaLine Ferry terminal where I will catch the ferry to Cairnryan, Scotland and make my way south an additional 7 miles  to Stranraer for the penultimate overnight stop. With a total ascent of 1,385.00 ft and maximum elevation of 692.00 ft this on paper is the least challenging day, but with ferry's to catch and the Mournes to negotiate, I'm sure it will prove just as difficult as the other legs. 

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LEG 8: Stranraer - Devel

Description:

This is a 68.03 mi route from Stranraer to Darvel, Ayrshire that skirts Loch Ryan then follows the coastline up to Ayr before heading inland due north west to the town of Darvel. Despite a route along the coast, this leg includes a total ascent of 2,195.00 ft and maximum elevation of 692.00 ft. Let's hope the legs are still functioning by this point!
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LEG 9: Devel - Edinburgh (THE FINAL DAY!!)

Description:

This is a 50.72 mi route from Darvel to the last Capital City: Edinburgh!! It's going to be one final slog to the finish on the outskirts of Edinburgh as I tackle the largest ascents of the trip with some of the most difficult gradients (but on the flip side, there will be a 20 mile descent to the finish - enough to bring a smile to anybody). With a total ascent of 1,512.00 ft and maximum elevation of 928.00 ft this will complete the CCSCC.
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CCSCC Statistics:
Total ascent:     16,009.91 ft
Max elevation:  928.00 ft (the final day)

Total distance:  610.02 mi (plus a few extra for getting lost and finding accommodation)

If you think this sounds easy.....try doing it solo.