The Mighty Hartside has been conquered!

Day 2 - Penrith to Allenheads

I speak to you from the top of a very windy Hartside (1903 ft above sea-level) courtesy of Vodafone 3G Mobile Broadband, and can tell you that the lads have been to the top of Hartside and are now on their way to Allenheads.

Day 2 started without the dreaded rain, and the lads were at Langwathby before 10am.


I'm not sure the local wildlife appreciated the good work the lads are putting in!


Anyway a brief stop before Hartside for the intake of fluids and fuel, and the boys were a little apprehensive about the notorious climb... over 4 miles of climb!


Despite the wind, and the fact that a classic car rally was also taking place on the same route, thhe guys found it hard-going, and were soon spaced out, with Doug, Pete and Rich showing the rest of the guys the way.

I got the distinct impression that Rich was really starting to enjoy it, despite the pain!


It wasn't too long before all of the lads had made it to the top (just before midday), and this was the sight at the top...

The other thing at the top was the Cafe, where the lads again took on fuel and fluids, before setting off for Allenheads.

Jim was first to the top, followed closely by Doug and Pete

Steve was next,
Carl next

with Rich completing the team, having done some video recording further down.I think everybody enjoyed the cafe, especially Steve!

On completion of his ascent of Hartside, Rich was keen to remind you all of why they are doing this, so, it's over to Mr. Perry:



And a final message from me before I finish off this entry. The sponsorship money seems to be static at about £915.00 at the moment. Thanks for your support in raising this amount of cash for a very worthwhile cause. Having said that, I'm sure you can do better! Lets see it go over the £1000 mark, and in the legendary words of Sir Bob Geldof in 1985, "Just give us your f*cking money!". Thanks!

Until the next installment...

A few media snippets from the ride

Dipping Wheels in the Irish Sea
Location : Workington





The traditional Dipping of the back wheels into the Irish Sea, was quite difficult, without getting wet! The wind and breakers were quite.... interesting, shall we say!

Making for the Start
Location : Workington



The official start point of the ride is the end of the jetty/pier at Workington.


The lads were itching to get away...



Maybe Steve was a little too eager! :-)

Today's the day

It's Started!

Today , the team started their epic 2008 C2C Ride. The start point was Workington (not Whitehaven, as previously reported). The weather was just about right - not sunny, not raining (much). The guys dipped their wheels in the Irish Sea, at approximately 10 am or so (about an hour behind schedule). Theye then made their way to the official start point, and had been going less than a minute before the first mishap!

Stevie Till, obviously thrilled to be starting the ride, decided he's pull a wheelie (or two) along the harbour wall.... unfortunately, wheelie number 2 wasn't particularly successful, with Steve clattering into the railings, and damaging himself and his bike (fortunately, not seriously). Luckily, all this was caught on video, which will be uploaded once a high speed/high bandwidth connection is available.

Watch this space for more updates soon!

Current position : Between Mungrisdale and Troutbeck (close to main A66 route).
Weather : Fine (for the moment).

The Day Before Tomorrow

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for clicking in. All of us are ready to go now. We're setting off in a few hours to go up to the start point near Whitehaven. We'll be starting the bike ride on Friday morning about 9am. We'll be posting pictures, videos and diaries a couple of times a day for the next few days so please have a look and enjoy. If you want to see a group of unfit men, struggling to battle against the rain and gravity then this is the site for you. See you later for more updates. Rich

The team are from left to right: Jonny, Carl, Pete, Steve, Doug, Jim and me (Rich)

ooo-er, not long to go!

By this time tomorrow we'll be reaching the B&B for our overnight stay in Whitehaven and the following morning we'll be starting off. It's a strange feeling, a weird mixture of excitement and apprehension...

The weather forecasts aren't helping, there have been about 57 different variations that we've seen so far, most of which contain some form of rain. Weather forecasters always get it wrong though, we will take comfort in that!

Not much more to say except, "good luck everybody"!

Time to pack my gear...
Jim

A week in Scotlands not good for training

Well I had to go to Greenock with work last week and when in Rome.......There were meetings,presentations,meals and drinks....yep definitely a few drinks.

So when I got back you can imagine the way I was looking forward to the last training ride of 40+ miles on Sunday.
I prepared by getting a good nights sleep Friday night followed by a 1st Birthday BBQ and (Adults) Party afterwards on the Saturday....Yep more drinks!!

Well Sunday morning came and fortunately the rain from the previous night had stopped so off I went ready to meet Rich,Jim and Sport. Dug was off climbing hills in Wales as is his wim and Mr Till was still going cold turkey off his Lemsip (although roomers abound that he may have fallen off the wagon).

The first 7 miles were fine I felt OK and my legs didn't feel too bad, then for some reason we had to climb a long slow hill............OH GOD!!! ..... why was I slowing ..... it felt like my brakes were on and I couldn't peddle through it ...... those nights in Greenock were coming back to bite me and the numerous bottles of Bud from the day before were having there revenge......I HAD NO ENERGY!!!!!!
What was I going to do it was less that a week away from a ride and my legs felt like lead, we got to the top and a short breather was needed, energy drink and sweats were taken in plentiful supply but I wasn't sure what was going on...... It was at that point that Sport pointed out that my rear tyre had been looking a little flat, so in a vain attempt to do anything that may help I pumped as hard as my little heart would allow.

5 mins later we were off again and to my amazement the lead in the legs was gone and I felt refreshed, partly because of the sugar I had just consumed but probably because now my tyres were going round rather than squashing all over the road.

Well we pushed on to a Ice cream place near Beaston were we had a lovely Ice and looked well out of place with the 100's of road racers that were there before pushing on to the Shady Oak where a beef buttie, Coke and chips hit the spot, after that we rode up past the wild boar and back round to Oulton Park before heading back to Sandyway (tour de France stylee moving along at 19-20 mph) and a refreshing pint in the Whitebarn.

Well I felt surprisingly good seeing I hadn't been out properly for over a week and this has helped to waylay any fears for the ride....don't get me wrong I don't think this is going to be anything other than a nightmare, and one of the hardest things I will have done in a very long time, but at least the rest of the lads who are doing it with me will be there to either follow up the hill or next to me slogging away.

So only 3 days to go, if I were to tell the truth I am a bit worried but also ..... I CAN'T WAIT!!!!

Drugs aren't just for Olympic athletes - a serious message

I thought I would share with you all about the dangers and temptations of taking drugs to improve performance, at any level of sport. Something that, shamefully, I have been tempted and partaken in in recent weeks.

I am not asking for forgiveness, just for a little understanding of the pressures everyone is under to be able to complete this ride and the lengths I have gone to to try and make this happen.

I would also like to remind everyone that I am clean now and have not taken any substances for over a week.

Can I also say, my co-riders have not been aware of what I have been up to and I would like to apologise to them all.

It all began over a month ago and I had been feeling very tired on what I considered to be short rides. I just couldn't get going or seem to develop any stamina for the rides.

I wondered what I could do to help me with my symptoms which had become almost cold / flu like and then before a ride it all got too much... and I took a Lemsip....

I know I shouldn't have done it, I know I am only cheating myself and do feel really bad about it now but at the time i was buzzing, it made the ride very slightly easier and I even had the energy to skip through a puddle. I was out of control..

The come down that night was bad, but all I could think about was the buzz.. I couldn't wait for the next ride which was only a few days away..

And so it happened again, I took another, new stronger Lemsip, this time it was Lemsip Max Menthol, I knew insde I was getting further out of control but I didn't really care.. The riding became slightly easier again.. It couldnt be the better fitness from previous, it had to be the drugs.. I could see the look on Rich, Jim, Sport and Carls faces as I rode, they could see how strong I was in the saddle.. I was unstoppable.. I was uncontrollable.... I wanted another and another Lemsip (no less than 4 hours apart and no more than 4 in one day)

Then we finished the ride and went for a pint....

thats when the guilt started nawing away. Here I was with my really good mates talking about how were a team helping and supporting each other and here I was lying to them.. Well thats when I realised I had to stop.. My cold had gone away..

remember.. dont do Drugs... Unless you have a cold and fancy a lemsip..

PS - it was reported in last weeks Liverpool Echo that fish were found dead on the banks of the Mersey with syringes sticking out of them..

They were Drug Haddocks!!!