Saturday 2 August 2014

Tale of 2 charity rides...

Ok, it's been a hectic few months & I've not been keeping my blogs going as I should. So as I'm having a quiet few weeks atm I see its time I should update on the charity rides I've been doing.

So to start with Pedal for the J's in Chelmsford, it was near the end of the 30 days of biking & it was touch & go if I was going to get there due to rail engineering works. I had an early start to get to Chelmsford to start the ride by 9am as I was doing the 50 miles route this year & wasnt sure how long it would take. So started with a short bit of cycling to nearest station & managed to get a train without any issues.


Then another quick run through the park to the starting point & even had time to have a coffee before I started with my cycling buddys Pete & Dave who decided to come do the ride with me.


So off we went & the ride went pretty smoothly with a few stops around the route for a cuppa & refuelling.

 

And eventually we completed it & in under 4hrs tho we had lost Dave as he wanted to go ahead & faster than the nice gentle run I was doing with Pete, hey ho each to their own ways...


After that the 3 of us went to have a nice ride along the park to get a coffee at my fav Cycle coffee Shop Athlon Sport. Refuelled with some more food before heading back home & the ride from the station to home was the hardest part. lol

 
These 2 pictures are thanks to Pete & Dave who took them

The next day, I was saw but I did continue the 30 days of biking & after recovering from that ride I had just over a month to get ready for my next one & this one was going to push me even harder than Pedal for the J's, the Nightrider London.

The Nightrider London is slightly different than the Pedal for the J's I have done twice now. For starters as the name kinda gives it away, its at night & starts at 10pm & my starting slot was 12.30am. The other bit is that it is 100km (63miles) around London. All this is definitely putting me out of my comfort zone & to top it all I was riding my latest bike the Roadrunner which I have just had built with help for this sort of ride & is her maiden voyage out. I have ridden Roadrunner around town to get used to the handling, but this was totally different.


So off I went cycling as the sun was setting to catch the train to London with another cycling buddy Leon & what a nice start that was to see the Sun set as I rode along Hilly Fields.


So after a few hours of train time, we got to Alexandra Palace starting point just before midnight.


 

So off we went at 12.30am & took a nice gentle steady pace & right from the start we had hills & I hate hills. But Roadrunner was light & took them in its stride even if it was a bit slow. lol


We stopped when we felt like it to have a break, refuel or just snap some pics along the way as there were some nice views on the route.


 

 

 

 

 

 

And just around 9am we finally made it back to Alexandra Palace to receive a medal & as well earned breakfast.


I might not look it in the pic, but I was happy & overwhelmed that I had managed it & that Roadrunner had proved herself on the road. After we had eaten & rested for a bit, we then headed down the hill towards the station & stopped at a nearby cafe for more refuelling.


And after another few hours of travelling by train, another stop at a cafe in Colchester & then a very slow cycle ride home, I was & still am chuffed I was able to do this one despite my worries.

So after doing these 2 charity rides, how did I do? Well the stats shown below show how well I did.



I am pretty happy in the times I did in both rides & after a couple days I had recovered from the rides with no issues. So I am hoping to continue with these sort of rides in the near future. But due to reoccurring disability rearing its head up again atm, cycling is on hold so might not be until next year & if that is so, I'll be trying to do both again & with my trusty steed Roadrunner with hopefully with a new paint job & additions by then. :)


Oh if anyone want to come along on these rides with me, I be more than happy to cycle with a group as it's much more fun than alone. :)