Ride London 2016

I have entered the ballot for Ride London every year and never been successful, I have however been lucky enough to ride the event 3 times through winning a place!

The first year it was run I won a place through a competition run by Skoda, the 2nd year I marshalled at the start, the 3rd year I won a place again with Skoda and then this year I won 2 places through Evans Cycles! More than just lucky I guess.

Having won 2 places this year I needed to find someone to ride with me and Dave Hughes duly volunteered to take the extra space. Dave had also ridden the first year of the event and we had a few issues with logistics of getting to and from the event. This year however I had a plan, perfected last year, I would drive to The O2 and park then we would ride through the Blackwall Tunnel, which is closed specifically for the event, to get to the start. Then having finished on The Mall we would go back to my office which has a secure garage for the bikes, have a shower, take in some of the events in Green Park before getting the tube back to The O2, collect the car and drive home. I would then bring the bikes home Monday and Tuesday.

I duly collected Dave about 4am and headed off, I had volunteered to take some photos for the BBC Get Inspired team throughout the day so this meant stopping regularly throughout the ride which was a great incentive for me to really enjoy the ride rather than going all out to get to the finish as quickly as possible which I had done on the previous 2 rides.

We arrived at the Olympic Park, dropped the bags off and made our way to the start pens, just about perfect timing getting into the pen about 5 mins before it closed. We met a guy called Carl who had ridden the event every year, he had also won his place this year in a competition. Before long we were moving round to the start, I am always impressed that they seem to get the waves away almost exactly on time, no mean feat for so many riders!

Soon after the start there were a mass of riders stood by the side of the road, no doubt waiting for friends who were in a different wave.

The first few miles go past really quickly through London and Richmond Park then out to Hampton Court and the first of the Hubs, we stopped in the park and at the hub to take some photos and enjoy the fig rolls and other food and drink that was on offer. After we were suitably refreshed we set off again and before too much longer were near to Newlands Corner. 

On our way to Newlands we were temporarily stopped due to an accident but were allowed past once the ambulance had arrived. Once at the top of Newlands Corner we again stopped at the Hub to take on food and water, on leaving the hub it was clear that something had happened back round the course as there were very few riders coming up the hill and we were 2 of about a handful of riders going down the hill.

As we hit the bottom of Leith Hill my legs felt quite strong and I knew it was going to be difficult to try and ride up with Dave alongside all the other riders so I decided to go up at my own pace and meet Dave at the top. When he arrived at the summit I discovered that his chain had come off on the approach to the hill.

From Leith Hill we progressed on to the iconic Box Hill and once again we agreed to meet at the top of the hill for some food and water provided by the amazing volunteers.

Returning to London there is a final rise at Wimbledon and then a final run in to swing under Admiralty Arch and onto The Mall to the finish line and a quite amazing medal.

Ride London is a fantastic event giving a unique opportunity to ride around London and Surrey on closed roads, a massive thanks to all involved with putting it on. An equally massive thanks to all the volunteers around the course who were always smiling and cheerful providing not only the food and water but  heaps of encouragement.

Obviously the event suffered a sad event and my condolences go to the family affected.

The Lakesman!

A few years ago I agreed to take part in an iron distance triathlon and stated after that I would never do another one, that was 2012 and I have entered one each year since!

The most recent was The Lakesman which took place in Cumbria on 19th June, I had sworn off doing anymore after the Bastion last year and only just making the cutoff time for the finish.

I jokingly tweeted that if I hadn't promised my wife that I wouldn't do anymore that I would be there, this tweet made it's way back to Amanda and she conspired with my parents to get me an entry for my birthday, so actually it is Jennie, Amanda and my parents fault not mine!

Anyway having entered I tried to train for it but suffered several issues with running, so wasn't as fit as I hoped.

I drove up to Cumbria on Friday and found the studio that I had booked for the weekend and let Andy King know that I had arrived. Shortly after Nicky came to pick me up and we went to register to avoid having to do that on the Saturday.  Having registered we met up with Dave and Jennie who had left Sussex about half an hour after me but had a much longer journey, I think I just missed the worst of the traffic.

Saturday was quite a relaxed day spent watching the rugby in the morning and having lunch before travelling back to Keswick to rack the bikes and for Jennie to get her instructions for her marshalling duties for Sunday.

When all was set we returned to Andy and Nicky's where Andy had prepared a wonderful pasta meal before heading off for an early night.

Now things started to go a bit wrong, as soon as I got into bed I must have moved awkwardly and something went in my neck, I spent the whole night trying to get comfortable to get some sleep, eventually getting a couple of hours propped on the sofa. I was convinced that I would not be able to start with my neck feeling the way it did.

Dave and Jennie picked me up about 4.15 to head to Keswick in order to get the last minute checks done in time for a start at 6.00am. I took a couple of paracetamol, spotted by the ITU referee who commented on me taking drugs!

My neck was not feeling too bad so I decided to give it a go, the swim started well but there just seemed to be buoy after buoy that were never ending! after what seemed like an eternity the finish pontoon came into site and Andy King was there to pull us out of the water.  The finish of the swim was a little awkward with it being quite shallow leading to the pontoon but having been dragged out I then ran (well walked quickly) up to transition.

Having changed into my bike gear and taking a quick comfort break I was out on the road, the first few miles were quite difficult to get going, I always struggle after the swim to get my legs going on the bike. After about 30 miles I started to get into a rhythm and my average speed was higher than I had hoped. Getting onto the circuit at the top of the course with the wind behind us the speed was good, I was suffering with my neck though and it meant that I found riding on my tribars painful so they were just extra weight on the bike this time around!

As we turned at the top of the circuit we hit the headwind and some hills so the speed dropped dramatically until we turned back onto lap 2 when we again had the helpful wind. Getting back to the end of the circuit having again battled against the wind we had about 30 miles to go, it was quite obvious that the last 30 miles were not going to be easy, into wind and several hills!

Arriving back into Keswick proved a bit dicy getting back to transition having to make your way through all the cars that were trying to get through the town too with a few roads closed. When I arrived back in transition I struggled to find my bike space as I was looking on the wrong side of the pole, fortunately a friendly volunteer (actually there were nothing but friendly volunteers!) pointed out my space and I was back into the tent to swap to run gear.

On entering the tent more friendly volunteers (see told you they all were) arranged to sort out getting your bag of the hooks and emptied on the floor in front of you to get changed, as soon as I had discarded clothing it was picked up and bagged ready to be hung back up for me.

Leaving the tent to start the run I found that I had left my legs out on the bike course and also as soon as I started to run a stitch kicked in! Fortunately I had remembered the hair bands that Nicky had sorted out for us the night before to keep track of our laps, I just had to remember how to use them!

Jennie was the first marshal post leading onto the run and it was great to see a familiar face cheering me out on to the run course.

At the end of the first lap I think I must have looked a bit rough as Andy King was there asking me if I was alright and then double checking again and again! I had managed to get off the bike and onto the run before the rain started which I was very glad about as I don't mind running in the rain but not too keen on cycling.

On my last lap of the run I caught up with Dave who was accompanied by Jennie who had finished her marshaling duties, I stayed with them for a while before trying to run again, I say run it was more like a shuffle.

At the end of that lap I could turn and run down the red carpet to the finish line, at this point I had no idea of the time and what sort of finish time I was on for, so I was amazed when I came down the carpet to see the clock at 14hrs 20 this meant that I had completed the course in a 30 minute PB for the distance!

Once again Andy was there to cheer us in and guide me to a chair which was much needed! Nicky gave me a cup of tea and then another arrived from somewhere, another friendly volunteer!

Despite Nicky having completed the event too she took me up to the athlete tent and went to get me some food, still she had had about 3 hours to recover before I finished. Having polished off the food I went to find my clothes and get changed to avoid getting too cold, then returned to the tent where yet another friendly volunteer produced sticky toffee pudding with cream!

I had managed to recover enough to make it back to the finish line to welcome Dave across the line.

The Lakesman was a new event this year, it was extremely well organised and a fantastic event to take part in, the Lake was great to swim in, the bike was hilly in parts but nowhere near as hilly as it could be in Cumbria! the run was ok but suffered from having to be changed from the original route due to the aftermath of the flooding that the area has seen recently I believe, mind you by the time I get to the run I don't really notice that much anyway!

If anyone is contemplating doing an iron distance triathlon I can fully recommend the lakesman, entries for next year are being taken at  The Lakesman just don't expect to see me on the start line again. To borrow a phrase from a famous knight "If anyone sees me suggest entering another iron distance triathlon please shoot me!" oh wait didn't he go on to do another event, oh well I definitely am retired from iron distance triathlon!

I must thank so many people for all that they have done for me before during and after this event:
Amanda for agreeing to me doing the event in the first place and arranging the entry
Jennie for having grassed me up to Amanda which prompted her to arrange the entry
Mum and Dad for the entry
All the encouragement from people on twitter and facebook
Andy and Nicky for looking after me all weekend
Dave and Jennie for transporting me around
All the organisers and people behind the scenes who made the event happen
All the spectators who cheered us on throughout the day, especially to two ladies on the out and back section of the run who made so much noise, they can't have any voices left today!

My last thanks are reserved for the amazing volunteers and marshals around the course who not only fed an watered us on the course but were so amazingly friendly and cheerful despite being out in horrible weather, giving so much encouragement as well as the nutrition.

Thank you one and all!

Brighton Marathon

Yesterday saw the 7th running of the Brighton Marathon and I have taken part in all of them. I really enjoy Brighton, being close to home the logistics are easier than mos for me but other than that it is a really nice event.

I collected my race pack on the Friday, leaving home a bit later than I planned to meant that I was not there at my customary time and the queues were longer than I had experienced before, not sure if this was due to the time or the fact that the organisers had changed the process so that numbers and start corals were assigned on the day.

However after passing through registration and being given the smallest kit bag ever I wandered round the expo, signed up for next year and headed home. Having run every year I feel that not entering each year is a problem. I have decided though that in 2019 that if the event is still going it will be the 10th running and I will be 50 at the time of the race so that seems like a reasonable time to stop.

My morning prep for Brighton has been quite similar each year, drive to Burgess Hill listening to Heart with Jenni Falconer, train to Preston Park and walk to the start. British Transport Police in their wisdom decided that Preston Park station should be closed during the period that people would be travelling to the start, so all the way to Brighton it was and then walk back to the start.

The start corals were different this year, rather than around the path in Preston Park they were side by side in the actual park, this seemed to be a better option with people able to move through easier, however the torrential rain on Saturday did mean that our trainers were about twice the weight with all the mud they had collected. Moving onto the path gave us opportunity to scrape the mud off our trainers before crossing the start lane.

Zoe Ball was the official starter and giving high 5's as we started the race, hope her hands are not too sore today.

I have been suffering with my calf muscle during training with my left leg giving me grief after about 2 miles, I have had some physio, rest and exercises which convinced me that I could actually complete Brighton. The first few miles passed without incident and I was going well and certainly on target for my sub 4 aim. Then at mile 5 my right calf gave way with a shooting pain, I tried to carry on and after a while the pain was manageable so I pressed on to try and finish.

I was surprised to get through half way in under 2 hours and thought that although I would not get sub 4 I may actually be able to get a PB.

The last 3 miles seemed to go on for an eternity and when I went into the last mile my left calf gave way too, so I was in quite severe pain getting to the finish and as soon as I crossed the line my legs gave way and I slumped to the floor. A first aider was with me immediately to try and get me moving to keep the finish area clear,

I managed to get to my feet with her help and headed off down to the road past Jenni Falconer who said Well Done as I limped by.

After getting my medal and kit bag back I headed off to the beach for a brief rest before getting back to the station for my return home. It felt like it took longer to get from the finish to the station than the first half of the run.

This morning I am in more pain than ever before after a marathon and hope that I can recover quickly so I can get back on with preparations for The Lakesman in June.

Brighton is a great event although marred a bit this year by the kit bag issue, there were so many different stories coming out about why the bags were so small, but in the end common sense seemed to prevail and as long as the right number was stuck to the bag they were accepted onto the lorry.

Thanks to all involved in the organisation and volunteers that made it such a great event, thanks also to all the supporters out on the course especially those in the last 3-4 miles without whom I wouldn't have got round, I'm sure I heard Zoe Ball again in her now customary cheering position.

Lakesman Progress

I completed my first Iron Distance triathlon in 2012 at The Outlaw in Nottingham and after I finished I vowed Never Again!! I have said those words after Ironman UK in Bolton in 2014 and The Bastion this year. I probably would have said them after Challenge Henley in 2013 if I had finished it!

After the Bastion I really meant it and promised my wife that I would not do another Iron distance triathlon, The Bastion was really tough and has a name for being one of the toughest! so it seemed only fitting that I should see this as my last one.

Then The Lakesman was announced as a new Iron Distance triathlon for 2016 based in such a lovely part of the country and my mate Andy was involved with the event. I saw so many comments on Twitter and Facebook and replied to one tongue in cheek that if I hadn't promised my wife that I wouldn't do another I would be there.  This comment found its way back to Amanda and she plotted with my parents and I had an entry to the event as a birthday present!

I am cycling to work as many days as I can which is 16 miles each way and is keeping a base level of fitness, I need to get some longer riders in but for now I am struggling to find the time.

I woke early one Sunday and couldn't get back to sleep so decided to go out for a run, I managed about 6 miles and all before 8am. It was great to get a well done comment from Nicky who was the inspiration for me starting the madness of doing iron distance triathlon, she was apparently still in bed at the time. Despite the fact that she was still in bed while I was out running I know that she will be doing more training than I and will finish the event a good few hours before me!

This early morning Sunday running seemed like a good plan so has become part of my week, I just need to find time to get those long cycles in along with some swimming and I will be good to go in June!!

Cyclist Safety

On my way home last night I read an article that was quoting some comments made by Lord Sugar around cycle safety. (I had to get the train yesterday rather than ride to work!)

He is quoted as saying that he thinks 99% of accidents would have been avoided if cyclists had "situation awareness"

Now firstly I would like to say that I believe situation awareness is an important part of road safety but not limited to cyclists but should equally be applied by ALL road users!

I was on my daily ride to work the other day and a van squeezed past me on a section of road in Coulsdon where there was a bollard in the middle of the road, so had the driver slowed slightly they would have been able to give me more room by passing me after the bollard. I was slightly surprised when I noticed that the van was actually covered in high vis sections and the word POLICE plastered over it! They saved so much time by squeezing through when they did that I caught and passed them again 10 miles later in Brixton!

I would love to see the research that Lord Sugar bases his 99% assertion on, or is it as I suspect a sensationalist headline grabbing comment? How would any of his staff or apprentices be treated if they threw percentages around to justify their comments or actions if they could not back it up with fact?

The article also suggests that Lord Sugar is criticising the work being done around London to improve cycle safety. Having a pop at Boris Johnson, due to the fact that it is affecting his drive in to London, maybe he should cycle it would be quicker!

I have said before and I will say again cyclist safety is not going to improve all the time there are headlines about "Who is to blame?" all too often this gets into a "Them  and Us" slanging match with cyclists defending cyclists and drivers defending drivers no matter who has done what wrong!

I have read in the past articles where a cyclist have defended riders who have jumped red lights or weaved in and out of traffic without due care. Cyclists are not above the law and as it stands at the moment they are required to stop at Red lights as are all road users.

I know that in some instances it is considered that it would be safer to allow cyclists to cross red lights but any change to the law to allow this needs to be carefully thought out and implemented correctly so that all road users are aware of what will happen.

Cyclist safety is about a series of different measures, situation awareness is one so is segregated cycle lanes. Others include Junction redesign, traffic light re-phasing and dare I say it cyclist wearing helmets.  Chris Boardman is regularly photographed without a helmet and I believe part of his reasoning is that cyclist safety is about more than just getting riders to wear helmets. I absolutely agree with this standpoint, no one aspect of safety is more important than others. I have no doubt that I have not listed all of the issues above, there will be many more.

Cyclist safety is certainly not about high profile personalities throwing around sensationalist comments to score points against other people, I am not sure what Lord Sugar's agenda is but it certainly does not seem to be totally around his concern for the cyclists of London.

Brixton Cycles

A little while ago I saw a tweet saying that Brixton Cycles were crowdfunding to raise money to fund a new home and stay in Brixton.

I felt compelled to make a donation to, in part say thanks for getting me out of a tight spot on a ride to work.

I had only just started riding to the office and my route took me up the A23 through Brixton and on in to the centre of London.  The tyres on my bike had seen better days, they were not that old just that they were cheap ones that came with the bike when I bought it.

One day as I was riding in I punctured, so I duly stopped changed the tube and carried on, shortly after I picked up another puncture, so I duly stopped again and changed the tube again. Then a few miles further another puncture, that was it I had used both my spare tubes and did not have a repair kit with me! I emailed my boss to tell him that I would be late as I had a long walk ahead of me, having realised that I had also left my wallet at home so had no way to pay for any other transport!

As I reached Brixton it was about the time that the shop was opening, so I thought I would try my luck! I went in and explained my predicament and that I really could do with a new tyre and a couple of new tubes. I asked if they would be able to help me out if I could get my wife to give them credit card details over the phone.

The guy in the shop said it was a very unusual situation but agreed to help out, so I managed to get my wife on the phone and a few minutes later she had bought me a new tyre and 2 tubes. I was back on the road and a lot less later to work than I would have been!

So thanks to Brixton cycles being located where they are and being a very friendly and helpful team of people I was back on the bike rather than a longer walk!

If anyone feels willing an able to help out they are still on Crowdfunder for a few more days.

Long Distance Triathlon and The Lakesman

When I first tried triathlon many moons ago I never imagined that I would "Go Long", I'm not even sure that I knew about Ironman Triathlon back then!

I did a few pool triathlons at home and quite short distances, although at the time finishing a 10k run after swimming and cycling seemed an extremely long way!

I took part in my first open water triathlon whilst working on a Camp Thunderbird in Minnesota, I borrowed a camp bike and traveled to Grand Rapids with a couple of the other staff, worried that the heat might be a problem. I needn't have worried, the start was actually delayed due to a thunderstorm, my lasting memory is getting to the end of the bike and Hammer shouting "go on Flipper, nice easy 10k". (We all had nicknames at Camp)

Coming more up to date and some friends started to take part in Ironman triathlons and other long distance triathlons (don't want to fall foul of brandnames!) I still couldn't see myself doing one!

Anyway Nicky completed a couple of IM events and qualified for Kona, at which point I foolishly told Andy that it must be his turn next and that if he did it I would, I seemed to be inspired. Andy suggested that The Outlaw would be a good event to try rather than IMUK, as I had just found a job after being out of work for a few months I thought I would treat myself to an entry. Dave also entered and it looked like there would be 3 of us taking part. (the results of this are part of an earlier post!)

I started to train for the event, twisting my old bosses arm for access to the Virgin Active club at Crawley to improve my swimming and then headed north to Nottingham for the event.

I had set myself a target of getting under 16 hours for the event, which at the time I thought was reasonable, I actually finished in 14.51 so beat my aim by quite a distance. This led me in part to say that I would not do another one, I would not be able to achieve as much as I had already.

The following year Dave said he was entering Challenge Henley and did I feel like joining him, how could I refuse! Henley didn't go to plan though and about 20 miles into the bike I climbed off and became a DNF, as imortalised in Laura's book Tricurious, thanks Cuz!

So when Andy suggested IMUK the following year I thought why not I have unfinished business after my DNF at Henley. I was about an hour slower at Bolton than I was at Nottingham but was pleased to have finished and having put that to bed I could say never again!

So back to Laura's book, she invited me to the book launch and was selling raffle tickets for charity, so I duly bought some not really expecting to win anything. Wrong my numbers were pulled out and I had won an entry to the Castle Triathlon Series "The Bastion" another long distance triathlon.

I was the 3rd from last person to finish at The Bastion but it was an enjoyable event although the hardest of the 3 long distance triathlons that I have done, reflected by the fact that it was the slowest!

Now I had done a long distance triathlon, I had done an Ironman event and I had done the hardest long distance triathlon, I really could call it a day now!

Oooh there was a new long distance triathlon in the offing The Lakesman, Andy was involved again somehow, Nicky and Dave had entered. It looked tempting but no I had said I would not do another one and was sticking to my guns!

Time passed and Twitter was full of The Lakesman, Facebook was full of The Lakesman it was certainly tempting, I made some comment about not entering because I had promised my wife I would not do another one, this made its way back to Amanda and she hatched a plan with my parents to get me an entry for my Birthday. So another long distance triathlon journey has started which will end in June next year and then I can say I am definitely not doing another one (until the next time!)

I have trained for each of the triathlons but probably not as much as I should have done, so I really mean to put a real effort into training for The Lakesman to  reverse the trend of my times getting slower with each event I do!  To this end I will try to keep this blog updated with my progress to try and give me the inspiration and encouragement to get as fit as possible to try and beat 14.51!!