Happy New Year to one and all… we hope you’ve had a fabulous Christmas and that 2007 is a fantastic year for you..

It was an exciting day on Saturday. We finally managed to get our bikes sorted which we picked up from Kontour Cycles in Polegate. They (Adam) have been incredibly helpful in getting the right bikes and the right kit.

The delay in getting the bikes has obviously meant a delay on our road training however today we put it our first decent ride (before the pain in our behinds got the better of us!!). Although warned I never believed that cycling could cause so much discomfort to your rear… some serious padded shorts are going to be needed!

Setting of for our first ride - 30 miles in 2.5 hours, average speed just under 13mph (15mph is the target for the average speed during the challenge… a good start!?)

After all the bad weather during the week we were pleased that the skies cleared today for our weekend training run… that’s two weekends in a row now that our luck has been in with some great sunshine!! However… we hadn’t bargained on the wind factor… and WOW can it do some damage!! Wind behind is obviously a joy… but a strong headwind as we had today and you feel like you’ve cycled twice as far as you have… it makes for incredibly hard work. A big thanks must go to the guys at Finisterre whos apparel has been exceptional.

I also made a big mistake this morning. When we first met with Nick (Urbanfit) he gave wise words about making sure you always have something available to eat and continuously eat to keep away the hunger. “Once hungry, in great trouble you are…” were his words… well… guess what… clever old Millsy here forgot to take food!! OH my did i pay and man was Nick right. As soon as the hunger hit.. just over an hour into the ride.. i thought it was all over!! Suddenly it’s all you can think about.. it consumes you and drains you of all you energy.. it’s quite horrible especially when trying to do hill climbs. Helen was leaving me in her wake! I have learnt my lesson well!

On a huge plus side we seem to have made a large number of new friends whilst out on the bikes… nearly every cyclist or group of that we passed (and there are many of them out there) we were greeted with a wave or a nod or even a “GOOD MORNING” from those who had the puff to speak I think we have been allowed into the ‘Cyclists Circle of Trust’. It’s great that people do it. Next week i’m going to through a few different phrases out there.. things like ‘You go man’, ‘keep spinning’, ‘beat the pain’ and ‘ride on’… see how they take to those.. spice up the cycling world a little..

The Ride: 2hrs 40mins. 33.5 Miles. Average Speed 12.9mph

Today East Sussex tomorrow Tour de France!! I luv it!

Hello everyone!

We received another wonderful donation care of Nigel MacKenzie and the Eastbourne Enterprise Centre. Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone there. THANK YOU!!

As Mills has said, our second ride went well yesterday. The wind made for a fierce opponent but I think we put up a good fight. Mental focus is needed to ensure we make our rides long enough for them to be really useful as training - despite it being a great way to see the countryside, it can be tough to force yourself to stay out and cycle further and further when you’re cycling for cycling’s sake, when your destination is your home and a nice hot bath!! Must keep focused!

We’ll be organising a dinner, in Sussex in March, to promote the event. Details will be posted on our homepage nearer the time. Should be a good night!

Helen

A change in planning today made a big difference to what we were able to achieve… Firstly we set a destination (Tunbridge Wells) and secondly we took some food with us!!

Aiming for Tunbridge Wells meant that there was nothing drawing us home and thus we were able to focus on cycling and getting there rather than in previous weeks where we struggled to maintain concentration as we aimlessly tried to cover the miles. Food meant that we weren’t hit by the hunger factor… which i was knocked for six by last week.

We managed to cover 55 miles this week in 4 hours 15 mins which was very pleasing.. and although we both fell off our bikes (pretty much at the same time) it was only on the grass verge and not the road.. i think it would have been quite a vision for anybody driving past seeing two cyclists horizontal on the grass verge!!!

Royal Tunbridge Wells (the halfway point) - 55.2 miles, 4 hours 15 mins, average speed 12.80mph

Millsy