Route confirmed - raring to go!

I spent some time last evening checking the route from start with Peter who is an now an honorary member of Velo club d'RHADS. Pete, you may recall has kindly agreed to come along to lend mechanical and logistical support during the ride and to motivate me along if required. Sensibly he will be travelling the route in his car.

A colleague at work, Simon has come up with a novel way of proving successful completion of the ride for any doubting thomas that might require verification before coughing up the cash. It involves me carrying a small tracking device which then plugs into a PC via the USB port and the route downloaded onto Google Earth where it can be uploaded to here. I tried it yesterday on a 30 mile training ride after work and as you can see the results are very good. I will be taking it on the ride, it's easy to use and i think you will agree, the results are great.

Only two weeks to go!

Even if you are not really interested in cycling, the recent performances of the British Cycling squad in all disciplines cannot have failed to stimulate your interest. Particular awe must be reserved for Chris Hoy winning every single race he entered is something just a bit special I hope you will agree. For me the real thrill was the emergence of Jason Kenny and Stevie Burke from nowhere to World Class in two weeks is just fantastic and I can't wait until London.

Full of inspiration from the boys and girls in Beijing I continue to put in the miles to ensure a smooth ride when the time comes. I'm planning another long ride this weekend regardless of the wintery weather which continues unabated. I was hoping to run out with erstwhile club member (Velo club d'RHADS) - the only other member as it happens - Pat White. I think it will be another solo venture however due to the vagaries of the shifts and planning being too much of a hassle. Our 'club runs' are infrequent and but the cafe stops are to die for.

I've a new RIDO saddle on order and may be getting the first of the production examples long before they hit the shops, it will be touch and go whether they are released in time for the ride but I have promised to post a review of its performance on the ride if they get it to me on time.

Indian summer anyone?

Been out for a quick blast (for me that is) around the Epworth, Wroot circuit, it's roughly 25 miles and a good afternoon/ evening ride.

It always seems to be raining this summer. Has it been certified the wettest since records began yet? No. Well if not it's only a matter of time, at some point every year for the last few years, some weatherman from the BBc makes the claim.

Anyway, I should just stop complaining and get on with it. Although, having said that, being stoic is all well and good but in the long term I think it may prove to be damaging to the soul. Summer is meant to bring dry roads and trails in exchange for the joy of speed all this negates the body firing off endorphins to dull the pain in those lower limbs and butt cheeks. But when it's cold and wet the joy element is lacking and in my case so is the speed!

Bring me the sunshine pleeese!

Training update

The training has been going well and i feel confident now about the ride itself. A week last Sunday in fairly significant heat I  rode 123.2 miles at a 17 mph average speed which I was fairly happy with. The bum was a bit sore but other than that I rode comfortably all day. The route which took me out to Lincoln and then Kirton on Lindsey before returning through Epworth was pretty flat but significantly longer than either of the days on the actual ride. I hoped that by exchanging the extra miles for the lack of climbing, a fairly accurate idea of a typical day could be achieved.

I'm also trying out some new kit, the radical Rido Saddle (www.rido-cyclesaddles.com) which is really inexpensive compared to 90% of the market but claim to offer the most comfortable ride. I will report here on whether the claims are true!

All the accommodation is booked, my neighbour Pete has the maps marked up, the route is clear apart from two bridle-paths that are missing on the OS maps, i'm happy to wing those bits though. 

I'm out on the bike again in the morning to get a few miles in, just looking forward to doing it now. Fingers crossed...