Update after Day 3 -Ride Across Britain

Sorry I haven't had a chance to update my blog this week it's been a busy last 4 days, we got into John O'Groats in plenty of time, the weather was absoulutely glorious when we arrived never seen it so nice, the sea was flat calm and we were treated to a stunning sunset. It was all a bit of a mad rush to get ourselves organised for the next day, finally got my head down at 11 and was awake at 4, I don't actually think it gets dark up there for long this time of year.

Day 1 we probably went a bit mental and were in under 6 hours for 104 miles, loads of hills but the weather stayed really nice for us, Day 2 we started a bit slower, but we did do a few hill climbs early on and and easier run into the finish at Fort William in the shadow of Ben Nevis, for 99miles. Day 3 today was really tough it ended up as 122 miles through Glencoe down to Glasgow, long long day, many riders still out well after the 12 hour cut off. Legs are holding up, my left calf has a bit of a twinge, been to the physio so it feels a bit easier now, hope it doesn't get any worse. Easier day tomorro 103, on big hill to go up and down as we head down the A74 to Carlisle. That's all for now as I am tired and need my lovely sleeping bag in my tent, will update later and add some photo's and my Garmin links when I can find a PC with an SD slot.

Richard

Has Anyone Seen My Wheels ?

Well it's T Minus 2 Days and counting and I don't feel in the least bit organised, so I am quickly updating my Blog before I shoot back home to finish my packing ready for tomorrow morning. The Scottish contingent of the Cisco Ride Across Britain Team will be joining their southern Collegues tomorrow morning as we get picked up bright and early in the Minibus from our Trilogy Office. Hopefully there will be some great nervous banter on the way up to pass the miles, it's a long way to JOG even from Glasgow, oops I nearly burst into song their :-)

I am hoping by the way when we get to John O'Groats that my bike doesn't quite look like my picture, missing wheels would not be a good start to the event, but it looks very shiny for once after I cleaned it,  how long that will stay that way no one knows, that will all depend on the weather forecast next week. Don't worry my wheels were found and reattached to the bike, so we are all good to go.

I thought at this point it might be useful to include 2 valuable links, the first is a long range weather forecast, but equally if not more importantlly is the Midge Forecast, these little blighters can make your life a misery if the weather is warm and wet !!, I have a feeling we could be meals on wheels for them next week, as he reaches out for his Avon Skin So Soft apparently a miracle cure to stop them biting as well as giving you a nice skin complexion.

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/uk_forecast_weather.html

http://www.midgeforecast.co.uk

Well I have just come of the Exec Sponsor Call for the Cisco Team doing the Ride Across Britain, it was very humbling to hear the amazing work GBParalympics do for our athletes, they are hoping to have 300 Athletes at the London 2012 Games, we were second in the Medal Table in Beijing in 2008, I just hope with all your support in terms of Sponsorship we can help these 300 Athletes in London 2012 achieve even greater things in their home games,  it means so much for these athletes to be able to take part in these games, so your amazing support is really appreciated.

There are a number of ways you can tune into this event next week, I have created a blog which I will be updating on a regular basis as energy allows, hopefully with pics and videos of us along the way, there is a Facebook Community Page you can 'Like',  a Twitter Hashtag and also a website mapmytracks you can view our progress via GPS. Hopefully you will take the time to check in on us.......

http://richardridesacrossbritain.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/CiscoRiders

#ciscoriders, @richardatcisco

http://www.mapmytracks.com/events/ride-across-britain-2011

Thanks again to you all for your support and I will catch you all tomorrow as we head to JOG for the start of the 2011 RAB

Oh and I nearly forgot here's my link to the Just giving website please please keep donating if you can and thank you in advance if you do.

http://www.justgiving.com/richardrideacrossbritain

Richard

Weekend Wonderings on the Ride Across Britain

Well it's Saturday night as my thoughts turn to where I will be this time next week, hopefully in my tent fast asleep feeling very satisfied of my days efforts having just completed the first 104 miles from John O'Groats to Kyle of Sutherland with the rest of Team Cisco. I've been putting in a load of extra miles this week, given up the running to focus on the cycling and have done a number of back to back sessions and what a difference it has made, my endurance has massively improved and my climbing has come on leaps and bounds. Feeling stronger every day now and ready for the challenge now both physically and mentally.

When I was out on Thursday night I overtook another cyclist on one of the hills on the A70, I was averaging around 22 mph at that point so I was not hanging about, as the road flattened out, the cyclist caught me up and drew along side for a chat, when I asked if he had been much out this year he had admitted that in the bad weather he hadn't been out much, then again he said when you get to my age "70" you have to look after yourself, I tell you what if regular cycling makes me half as fit as this guy in his 70's I'll be keeping this up well after the Ride Across Britain. After a short chat, he let me get on my way, but said he would try and keep up, well as I hit the next downhill section I was pushing really hard up to 32mph and to my amazement he stuck on my wheel for the next 3 miles before he turned off to head back home. That's one of the great things about cycling I have met some really great people on my travels.

Today Steve T  a fellow RAB participant treated me to a fantastic ride out around the Kingdom of Fife, I hadn't been out on my bike that way in ages and although the weather wasn't brilliant it, cold air and drizzling at times, the conditions were probably ideal considering how hard the climbs were and how much steam we produced by the top of them, as we powered our way up them. It was just short of 50miles, but it felt like 50miles of vertical climbing at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and so nice to be able to cycle a new route today, thanks Steve for a great morning on your home turf.

I suppose that's one of the things I am really looking forward to about the Ride Across Britain, every day will be different and there will be parts of the country we will be cycling through I have never actually been to so I have no idea what to expect. Maybe that is a good thing as I am sure there will be a few hidden gems of hills along the route, so it's probably best not to think about them too much.



Here's a short Video of Steve as he reaches the top of Cleish Hill, not that was a great climb, last time I climbed this when I did the LEPRA, Edinburgh to St Andrews Charity Bike Ride there was an Ice Cream Van at the top alas it was not there today when we got there today, mind you it was pretty chilly up at the top with that cold North Easterly wind, brrrrr !!!

Well I had better get off to bed planning another 44miles early tomorrow morning with Mike G, I am sure he has a few more testing hills up his sleeve around where he stays, Mike is definitely the King of the Mountains in the office when it comes to hills so suspect I will be seeing a lot of his back wheel tomorrow as he disappears vertically in front of me in his Green Jersey.

Well in case your interested here's my Garmin output from today's ride with Steve, check out some of those ascents and descents.

49miles Around the Kingdom of Fife by rmoir50 at Garmin Connect - Details

Thoughts for Tuesday

Well it's Wednesday morning and it's 10 days and counting to the start of the Deloitte Ride Across Britain, the days are disappearing fast so it's going to be upon us before we know it.

We are now working through the finer details of the logistics on how we get bike and rider to and from the start and finish of each stage. It's great to see so many people taking part from Cisco and no matter how far you are cycling this will be an amazing challenge and a great experience for everyone involved.

I hope everyone is remembering to get their Sponsorship site setup on www.justgiving.com, and linking it back to Cisco's RAB Fund Raising page, http://www.justgiving.com/teams/CiscoRAB, I believe there will be a number of Paralympic Athletes taking part so hopefully we will get a chance to meet them and be able to share our experience with them to show our support for them in  2012.

I took a night off the training tonight to let the legs recover but I'll be back in the saddle again tomorrow night, weather is suppose to be improving again towards the end of the week so hopefully I can get a few more miles in the legs before I start to taper next week. I have posted a few videos on Youtube tonight from Monday nights training ride, apologies for the wind noise it was blowing a gale!! http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhsn

I am not sure how many of you are on Facebook and Twitter, but if you haven't already "Liked" the Deloitte Ride Across Britain-Cisco Riders community  on FB, I would encourage you to do so as we are trying to post all the activity from each of the participants up there so we can follow each others progress. We even have our own Mascot on Arthur @arthurthemascot Twitter who will be following us along the RAB route and on Twitter, so get signed up and start following him today. Well that's all for now, keep the legs turning if your out on your bike, keep safe and we will see you all at the start in a few days time.

30th May Monday Night Update

Well as thoughts turn to heading back to work tomorrow, I am satisfied I have done around 169 miles in the last 4 days, so I am feeling a bit more positive about taking on the Ride Across Britain. It's going to be tough, there is no doubt about it, there is going to be highs, there is going to be lows, but what ever happens it's going to be a great event to be part of, it's the biggest challenge I have ever taken on, so as I enter the unknown I just hope all my running and cycling training over the last few months will  carry me through. I hope I can take the time to record as much of the journey in Blogs, Tweets, FB posts, in photos and in this brave new world of video. A big thanks to James today was a really great day today as we rode over the hills from Peebles to Selkirk and back again, some amazing climbs, some fantastic descents reaching the heights of 40 mph at one point. Thanks also James for your encouraging words, as you said I looked strong today and I felt strong even at the end I knew I had plenty left in the can. I am nervously excited to be taking part in this years RAB and it will be great to share that experience with James and all the other Cisco cyclists along the way. Team Cisco's is going to be awesome and a sight to behold on the 9 stages as we ride across Britain. Here's the links to my Garmin downloads of the last couple of rides, shame it doesn't show wind speed as well, that sure made it interesting this weekend.

Peebles to Selkirk and Back 66 Miles by rmoir50 at Garmin Connect - Details
Saturday Morning 75K Training Run by rmoir50 at Garmin Connect - Details


Oh and some pics just for good measure :-)

58k training run for the Ride Across Britain by rmoir50 at Garmin Connect - Details

58k training run for the Ride Across Britain by rmoir50 at Garmin Connect - Details

Was out for 2 hours tonight on my bike, wasn't the best weather wise, it hosed it down for most of the time so it was mind over matter to keep going.

My route tonight took me from Livingston out towards Woolfords near the Cobbinshaw Reservoir, very remote and exposed that way there has been a new Wind Farm constructed near Tarbrax, good place for it, it always seems to be blowing a gale out that way. Eventually picked up the A70 and then with a tail wind flew along the A70 to Ballerno, the usual road I take to head back to Livingston was closed so I had to head further along the A70 to Currie before heading back along the Long Dalmahoy Road to Kirknewton. Headed back along the A71 to Livingston just over 2 hours and 58K in distance which was not too bad. Took ages for me to warm up when I got back, my feet were like blocks of ice could hardly walk upstairs till they thawed out. Will be heading back out again tomorrow evening fingers Xed the weather is a bit better, not that we will have much choice on the Ride Across Britain. Just hope we don't have the repeat of the winds we had earlier this week, that would be tough to cycle in, if not a little bit dangerous with all the bits flying off trees and a night under canvas in those winds would have been fun.

Update 26th of May

A big big thank you again to everyone that has sponsored me so far for this mammoth undertaking,  having downloaded the route profile it’s starting to dawn on me how challenging this event really is going to be, never mind the 950 miles of cycling it’s starting to sink in that I also have to spend 10 days sleeping in a tent!!. Training continues to be going well and I am up now to £450 in Sponsorship which is superb and I am well on my way to achieving my target. I know you all probably get regular requests for sponsorship these days, but if  you can still spare a few pounds or pennies to support my challenge that would be very much appreciated, as they say every little helps, but unfortunately I can’t promise any club card points in return.

http://www.justgiving.com/richardrideacrossbritain

STOP PRESS NEWS

You will be able to track our progress on a daily basis during the event using mapmytracks.com or via a map-my-tracks iPhone app, our bikes are individually  being fitted with GPS transmitters so you can track our progress throughout the 9 days, If I have enough energy left I also hope to take loads of video’s, pictures and Blog/Tweet along the way so will let you know the details once I have got that all set up.
ParalympicsGB is responsible for ensuring Britain's top disabled athletes are best prepared to compete at the Paralympic Games. With London 2012 approaching they have one opportunity to inspire more people with a disability to get in to sport and change public perception of people with a disability.

Hopefully with your help and support you can give me a  very good reason to keep toughing it out all the way to the finish at Lands End .... Everything you donate will go to the charity, not to funding spare inner tubes or medical attention for myself.  Remember if you are a UK taxpayer Paralympics GB will also get 28% more if you tick that box - so please give what you can.  
Feel free to forward this on to anyone you think would be interested in supporting this great cause and thank you again for you support
Richard