Day 3 - Bath to Bampton

Hi Guys,

Yesterday was pretty simple, today was a different story!

We went through 3 county's today, which is a massive achievement. The problem was that we had to do it battling the elements. After 2 pretty perfect days weather wise, we woke up this morning with the rain pouring down. Knowing that you have to start a day going up a steep hill, in the pouring rain, before 9am is not the best way to begin your day, let me tell you! The rain came in spurts, but when it did it was horrible, and there is nothing you can do when it does come, apart from get wet and uncomfortable.

The rain was one thing, but the wind was something else. I cannot begin to describe some of the headwinds today, all I can say is that we have some strained, tired and aching shoulders after battling through it.

We then come to the biggest story of the day, which was Carlos's bike. The short story is that the rear derailleur became mangled and twisted onto itself and we were forced into finding a bike shop who could repair it. I've included a picture of the state it was in below and trust me, it isn't supposed to look like that!

Tomorrow is our toughest day, and so we are off for an early night, but here are a few pictures from today.

Hopefully I'll be back online tomorrow night to let you all know that we made it, but Cornish phone reception might have other ideas!
Keep sponsoring us, we'll need the encouragement tomorrow www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit

A Few Pictures From Yesterday

www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit 

Day 2 - Newbury to Bath

Hi Guys,

Working well as a team, having no problems at all . . . . . . this isn't the blog post I expected to write today, but am really glad that I am!

We had the biggest hill of the whole journey to negotiate today, on the approach to Bath . . . . and we nailed it!

This is more fun than I can explain, and the continueed support is amazing. Keep up the sponsorship and I'll speak to you tomorrow.

www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit

Day 1 - London to Newbury

Wow!

It's the end of our first day. This feels a little bit like a dream at the moment, after all the planning and anticipation, but gradually it's sinking in that we are actually on our way to Cornwall.

I'm not going to write a long blog tonight as I need to get some decent sleep to be honest, but I thought I would quickly upload a few pictures from our first day.

Richard got 2 punctures today, Ade's seat clamp broke and we had to keep dragging the support car away from the pub to help, but all in all it was a success, with only a few minor teething problems. 

We cycle from Newbury to Bath tomorrow. which is our easiest day, but has our toughest hill at the end. Bring it on!

www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit

The Last Post Before The Ride - It's The One About My Nan

Hi Guys,

Welcome to the final post before we set off Tomorrow, I thought it would be fitting to conclude by telling you all about probably the most important person in the whole journey.

My Nan is a superstar. She has spent the whole of her life looking after everyone. She is one of the warmest and lovliest people you could ever wish to meet, and I have been so lucky to have her as my Nan.

6 years ago however, she started to suffer heart palpitations, and a shortness of breath for no reason at all. She was admitted to Hospital and we were told that she was suffering from a condition called Atrial Fibrillation. What this means is that your heart rate is irregular. I think of it as a drummer playing a normal beat, keeping the song in time, but then suddenly throwing in a crazy rhythm and then stopping for a minute or two, before playing another completely different rhythm. That isn't going to make the song sound any good, and certainly isn't going to help the rest of the band. I realise that is probably a stupid way of looking at it, but sometimes it helps me to think of things in a more trivial kind of way.

Anyway, she wasn't in a very good state, and none of the medication they were giving her was working for any length of time. Her heart just didn't want to play. It was decided that she should be fitted with a pacemaker, to keep her heart beating at a controlled rate (almost like a drum machine - OK I'll stop with that one now!). She was taken to Kings College Hospital and had the operation, only to be told that it had been unsuccessful. I don't really know how to describe what it feels like to know that your Nan is undergoing major heart surgery and then find out that she needs to have it again, all in the same small period of time. Thankfully though the second operation was a success. She then went through a long period of constant tests and tweaks to regulate her new heart at a comfortable rate and to make sure the medication she was now being given was right too. These tests have continued over the past 6 years, but less frequently once they had everything as they wanted it.

I am so grateful to everyone who helped keep my Nan alive. Irregular heartbeat can easily lead to heart attacks. My Nan's heart rate would skyrocket, and there is obviously only a certain amount of time that anyone will be able to cope with that before your heart says that enough is enough. I can't ever thank those people enough, but by raising money and helping raise awareness of what they do and how incredible an impact that has on both my life and millions of other people's lives is a good start.
Without charities like the British Heart Foundation, research into techniques and technology able to save my Nan's life wouldn't exist in the form that they do now.

My Nan is the start of this journey for me, it was her going into Hospital 6 years ago that sparked a fire inside me that has led me to this point. I set off tomorrow from her house, after giving her a massive hug, with 3 of the most incredible people in the world. I am both daunted and excited.

I hope to be able to keep you all up to date with our progress each night. Fingers crossed we have enough reception!

See you all in Cornwall, and remember to wave at us if you see us.

Lots of Love x

www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit

London to Brighton - Training Ends In Style

Hi Guys,

With 1 week to go to the start of our ride to Cornwall, the time had come to hit a proper landmark and finish our training in style. Sunday was the perfect opportunity for us to get together as a team (for the very first time) and tackle the famous London to Brighton cycle route.

As with many things over the past few months, things didn't go to plan. Carlos didn't manage to get hold of the bike he will be riding and so wasn't able to join us. Now is probably the time to mention that Carlos hasn't actually ridden a bike since he was a kid. He has done a load of spinning in his gym, and don't get me wrong, he has the fitness, it is just going to come as a shock to him when he is out of his air conditioned room and in the real world on a bike without the aid of a Saturday's video on MTV to stare at. It's going to be interesting to see how he deals with that!

Anyway, the remaining 3 of us headed off to Brighton, from Clapham Common on Sunday morning. Usually at this point in one of my previous blog posts I have a tale of struggle, jeopardy and puncture problems to tell. This time however it was a simple and straight forward ride, over easy terrain, and an easy route to follow.

Ade had done the route before, and had some unfinished business with the daunting hill Ditchling Beacon, a few miles outside of Brighton. On his previous attempt he was forced to walk the final third of hill, although he was on a single gear bike, and to be fair he must have done an incredible job to get to where he did that time. This time however, it was a totally different story. The three of us nailed the hill!

The only issue that we had in fact was that behind us on the hill were a collection of idiots in their cars. I really think that there should be a personality test to go alongside the practical and theory test parts of a driving test. That way, if you are a total moron, you wont get to drive. That would eliminate the kind of stupidity that was happening behind us as we cycled up Ditchling Beacon. 

I'm not going to dwell on this too much as I've had enough of a rant in the past about bad drivers, special mentions however should go out to the Subaru weaving and overtaking everything, including other cars at some crazy speed (we are talking about a narrow, winding and steep country lane) and also the fat balding middle aged man in the creamy-goldish coloured convertible who decided to shout abuse at us as he cut us up, this was after a good few minutes of incessant beeping on his horn. I wish he had stopped at the car park at the top, as I had some opinions of my own to pass on to him . . . . . what an idiot!

We cruised into Brighton at 1:40pm, satisfied with what we had done, how we had worked as a team and filled with excitement for the adventure that awaits us next week.

We are on our final push for sponsorship, so please visit www.justgiving.com/justgottarideit or text RIDE76 to 70070 to donate £5. We are so grateful to everyone who has sponsored us so far, we will do you all proud, and it's your support that will help to keep us going through the tough times that lay ahead for us.

I've got one last post to write before we go, so thanks for reading everything so far. I have loved this experience and hope that you have been kept entertained too. Speak to you soon.

Inspiration: My Grandfather

This journey ends at my Nan's house in St. Day, Cornwall for a very special reason. it holds great significance to the work of the charity we are raising money for.

My Nan was married to a brilliant man. William Randall was the life and soul of my family, and I wish I had been able to meet him. He died before I was born after suffering a heart attack. As I mentioned in my last post, The British Heart Foundation was set up to help fund research and schemes to keep more people alive who suffer major heart and circulation problems, keeping families together for longer.

My Nan used to live about 20 minutes away from my other Grandparents, but she moved down to Cornwall in 1997. Had she not have moved, this would be the easiest cycle ride in the world! Amongst other things, being in Cornwall holds many special memories for my Nan. Memories of family holidays with my Grandfather. It is also my favourite place in the world, and alot of the reason for that probably stems from the affection that both my Nan and my Dad have for those times they all spent in Cornwall. I love hearing all the old stories and looking through all the pictures of those holidays.

I may never have met my Grandfather, but he is still a big part of who I am, and who I am inspired to be.
I know he'll be watching over us on our journey, and i'll be thinking of him too.