Norman

Hi Guys,

Thanks again for the love towards the blog. It's great to know that people are reading and enjoying it.

I wanted to say a few words about a man who has been a huge part of my life, and although he probably never realised it, has always been someone I've looked up to.

Norman Pitcher has been part of my life ever since I was born. He is my Dad's best mate and the man who taught me how to dribble with a football . . . . but I'll let him tell you that story. I am now lucky enough to consider him one of my mates too, although that means I have had to stop calling him "Uncle Norm", but I'm sure he prefers it this way.

Every year Norman organises a 100 mile cycle ride from Reading to Poole to raise money for the RNLI.
He has always asked me to take part and join his team, but I have always had to refuse due to other commitments. 2012 looks good for me though, so fingers crossed nobody else decides to get married and invite me. (this is a joke - of course I would love to come!)
Having to turn him down this year was the catalyst in organising my own ride, without which I wouldn't be writing this blog - so I guess it was a good thing after all.
Norman has been a massive help to me over the past few months. His experience and advice has been invaluable. I know that reaching the end point of this challenge is all the more achieveable because of him. I really can't say a big enough thankyou.

Norman has started his own blog which can be found at the following address

http://normanfuncycling.blogspot.com

Have a read, he is a great man, and a huge inspiration to me.

And don't forget to sponsor me and the team, we need your support to hopefully raise loads of money for the British Heart Foundation.

http://www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit

The Yellow Jacket Story . . . .

Hi Everyone,

I thought I would tell you all a story.

One evening in December I was out on my bike. Like everyone else I was on my way home from work. I pulled up at some traffic lights along the cycle super highway in Balham.
I was joined by some other cyclists, probably about 6 or 7 and a little smile appeared across my face. Being a dark winter evening everyone was wearing their bright yellow cycling jackets for visibility and I just couldn't help myself.
"This is a bit embarrassing" I said boldly, "All of us out in the same clothes"
Silence . . . . nothing . . . . .  not a word, not even a smile. Everyone was just stoney faced waiting for the lights to change.
I pulled away in complete shame.

Please visit www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit and donate to the British Heart Foundation.

Sunshine Happiness - Training update

Hi Guys,

What beautiful weather we've been having over the last few days, it really makes a difference to my training.
I have been out in pretty much every type of weather over the last few months - I hated the combination of sleet and snow the most , but this makes it all worth it.

Last weekend, Ade and I faced our biggest training challenge so far, by taking on the North Downs over towards Woking as part of an Evans Cycles Sportive. There are lots of these rides orgainsed each year, and they each contain 3 different routes based on distance. We chose to take on the 60 mile route, which was further than either of us had ever cycled in one day before. The reality was however that with riding to the station, and then from the station to the event centre, and back again, we both hit the 75 mile mark.
We both loved it! It was the first time we had ever been out on our bikes together, the first real test for our road bikes, and the first time we would know how hard our challenge in cycling to Cornwall was going to be.
Because this was an organised ride, we didn't have to worry about where we were supposed to go. The little pink signs with the black arrows at every junction did all that for us. I wonder if we could make our own ones, and get our support car to put them out for us at the start of each day? (what do you reckon Dad?!) We were also treated with bananas, fresh water and some of the best cake you've ever eaten, at the 2 checkpoints along the route.
The ride itself was great, we made a fast start and flew past anyone who fell into our sights over the first 25 miles. Immediately after we left the first checkpoint I got a puncture in my rear wheel. It was good practice, as I'm sure we'll have loads to deal with on the challenge, but it wasn't the "lucky puncture" Ade had before he left his house in the morning.
The middle section of the ride was tougher, a few more hills and some long roads that dragged on without much to look at. We were both very glad to see the sign for the 2nd checkpoint, which meant more cake and a chance to get our early form back.
The final stage was quite a long one, there were a couple of steep hills to climb, but for the most part we were heading downhill. A quick stop to have the Tropical Engery Gel we had been given at the start, and then we kicked for home. I tried to ride the last 12 miles like I was Lance Armstrong, and I think I did as best I could. There weren't so many people to overtake as there had been in the early stages, but we were definately back in our groove.
We finished in a time of 4 hours 42 minutes and 29 seconds, but that had included our 3 stops for refreshments and my puncture. Our riding time was closer to 4 hours 10 minutes.
We had a well needed burger from the BBQ, another piece of cake and a nice chat with Norman Pitcher (I'll tell you all about him another time) before we headed off home.
On the train home, shattered and wondering how on earth we were going to ride back from the station, it dawned on us how much fun we had just had, how much we had learned and how hard our bodies had worked - but you know what? That was the moment I was happiest, that was when I knew how tough this challenge was going to be, but how incredible it was going to feel going over that final hill and into the descent to Watergate Bay.
We are going to have to work so hard between now and then, but through all that pain will come the most amazing reward, but not just for the 4 of us.

www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit

The A-Team

Hi Guys,

Thanks for all the support for the blog yesterday, it's really lovely to get a nice text or a 'like' on facebook.
I really appreciate it.

As I promised yesterday, I want to introduce you to the amazing people who are giving up a huge amount of time, energy and money to come with me on my journey.

Chris Barker is Esther's older Brother.
Chris is a brilliant guy, and he's always looked out for me. He got married last year and is now expecting his first child with his incredible wife Lynda.
Chris has always been into cycling, although he prefers the muddy trails of the hills and mountains to the roads that we will be riding on down to Cornwall.
A few years ago Chris cycled from London to Paris, so we will all be looking towards him as the guy with the experience, but that's what Big Brother's are for . . . . right!

Ade Osoba is one of my wingmen at the wedding.
I met Ade when we were both working at the WORX studios in Parsons Green.
Ade has fallen in love with cycling big time over the last few years. He owns the coolest bike I have ever seen, and can often be found flying around the velodrome track at some crazy pace!
Ade is a great guy, and probably the best person to have around in a crisis. He gives out an illusion of calm, even though inside he might be all over the place. My problem is that I know him too well, so I'm not fooled anymore!

Carl Martin (or Carlos as I will always call him) is another of my wingmen.
I met Carlos a long time ago when we were both stacking shelves at Sainsburys in Warlingham.
Over the years, Carlos and I have developed a friendly sporting rivalry. We regularly play each other at tennis and snooker and also play the occasional round of golf. Our rivalry started on the Sainsburys pool table, when we really should have been working.
Carlos now works as a personal trainer, and although he calls it "a different kind of fitness" he will no doubt be full of energy by the time we roll across the final hills and into Watergate Bay.
Let's just hope that our rivalry is enough to keep me on his tail, and hopefully overtake him on the final stretch!

We are also being joined by my Dad and Esther's Dad who are going to be our support drivers.
As much as I know that they will spend most of the time going from pub to pub and enjoying themselves, the thought that they will be there as our backup, with spare wheels and things is a huge boost.
I really don't know how to say how grateful I am to the both of them, they will be the unsung heroes of our challenge, and are as much a part of the team as us riders. I love the fact that they will both be there.

So there you have it, the A-Team.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi Guys!

Welcome to my blog.

This is kind of a diary and will tell the story of a challenge that I'm taking on in August.

First things first, let me introduce myself to you.

My name is Paul, I'm 31 years old and I'm a professional photographer. I am engaged to a beautiful lady called Esther and we have a little cat called Nancy. I love food, sports and music, all of which I'll make bigger references to as this blog progresses I'm sure.

I am getting married in September, and I wanted to do something crazy beforehand. I do alot of photographic work for both Comic Relief and Sport Relief, and have been involved in shooting various famous people training for challenges to raise money for both charities. Most notably I was Christine Bleakley's photographer for the whole of her Waterski Challenge for Sport Relief in 2010. For anyone who doesn't know, Christine is a TV presenter who having never been waterskiing before, trained for 5 months and went across the English Channel in choppy seas in the freezing cold weather of that March.
I watched her all the way through, from her first ever session,  and was inspired at her dedication, focus and drive to overcome the danger and the adversity of the challenge and complete it with real class.
Being involved in things like that really move you and I saw my Wedding as a great excuse to put myself on the line, get some people together, raise some money and maybe even inspire someone else.

What I have decided to do is to cycle down to Cornwall from London, to travel from my Nan's house in South London, to go and see my other Nan who lives down near Redruth. It's about 350 miles and is going to be tough, especially as the terrain in Cornwall is pretty up and down.

I have asembled a little team of people to cycle with me - i'll tell you more about them next time.

I have chosen to raise money for the British Heart Foundation, as both sides of my Family has been affected by heart problems. My Cornwall Nan lost her husband to heart disease before I was born. I have heard so much about William Randall, and would have loved to have met him. I am told I am the spitting image of him. I love seeing pictures of him, and hearing all the stories about him. It might sound strange, but I feel really close to him, even though we never met.
My London Nan suffered major heart problems a few years ago and is now powered by a pacemaker, I am so grateful that she was able to be given the opportunity to live a relatively normal life again. She is amazing, and shouldn't do as much as she does. She can't help it though, she is just so generous.
I want other families to have the chance to stay together for longer.
I am also ha massive boyzone fan, and was devastated when Stephen Gately died in October 2009 from a rare heart condition. I was lucky enough to meet Stephen, he was a ball of joy, a fantastic man. I treasure having met him.

I am going to use this blog to keep everyone up to date with everything to do with our challenge, how my training has been and how we are doing during the challenge itself.

I have started a justgiving page for people to sponsor us, if you can, it will make a massive difference.

http://www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit

Thanks for reading my first ever blog post! I'm sure I'll get better at it!

Paul