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!!!

What food is best?

As everyone else has written largely about the actual training I thought we needed a section on the best tried and tested food for a ride. So far I have found beans on toast a perfect meal before any lengthy cycle. However other good tried and tested meals are porridge, pizza (the night before) and pasta.

For last nights ride I decided to go for a lardy scampi and chips followed by waffles and ice cream. For anyone thinking it doesnt matter what you eat before a cycle trust me when I say that scampi and chips before a knackering 30 ish miles is not a good idea.

This sundays biggie cycle I will be trying a few pints of lager, pizza and garlic bread the night before so lets see how that one works. Personally I dont think it will go down well though my mate (Glenn Swalez) swears by a Chow Mein and 3 cans of lager before every ten K run.

Will let you know how it goes,

Pete (aka sportbilly) (the short, skinny balding one)

c2c training ride one week to go

Hello everyone,

Here's a little taster of what we are getting up to on our training rides. The rides we are doing are about 30/35 miles and we've one more big one to do on Sunday when we'll get up to 40 odd miles. No sign of Doug yet, apparentely he was last seen worrying sheep in the Welsh mountains.

One week to go now, can't wait.

Rich

I hope he's wearing sunscreen

Well, here we have a picture of Steve and Carl in the sunshine, as we join the Trans Pennine Trail near Lymm on one of our training rides.
It was a hot one that day, and a bit of Ribena, a Snickers and no hat wasn't quite the best of preparation.... the salt and vinegar crisps at the pub saved me!
Not to fear, though. Now I'm all equipped with gel seat cover, speedometer, fancy isotonic drink powder, some useful tools, puncture repair kit, a cap, some biking shades, and the all-important compass which should do the trick nicely. I just hope all that stuff doesn't weigh me down too much!! The trial run is tomorrow.

Fundraising goes well, rounding up donations from people at work has proved to be incredibly easy so far and the generosity of everyone is touching. One cheeky bugger even said he'd give me £10 per mile if I kept going and never came back! Unfortunately for him, we had to settle on a fiver. Total. So anyway, I digress, now I have 35 names on my sponsor sheet. Not bad at all. And if I get round to asking the other 6,965 people on the site, we should raise a few quid!!

A special thank you goes to Helen who gave £20 to the cause - you should be saving that dosh for nappies and baby clothes! But your kindness is very much appreciated, and a big thanks goes to all of you who have donated so far.

Ok, time to polish my speedometer...

Cheers,
Jim (or James if I know you at work, or you are one of my parents!)

Mountain Training and Weight Gain

Bonjour Les Bloggeurs,

This photo was taken during one of my many Mountain training rides last week in France. I say 'many' when I mean just the one, but it's the thought that counts.

This was taken in the Black Mountains north of Caunes Minervois and it was much more fun coming back down the mountain road than it was going up it.

I've also increased my dietry training and taken quite a liking to the official cheese of the Beijing Olympics which as you all know is Brie.

Giscard D'Estang, Rich