Challenge Over - What to Do next?

Well here we are three days after Ride 100, still pleased with my performance, and OK with the funds raised for The EIKON Charity - would have been nice to done better on that front, but we raised ~£5,000 altogether.

Sunday morning me passing through West Byfleet

I've been to the gym, briefly, for a gentle workout and I generally feel good. Yes I've been back on the bike too, OK only a short two mile ride to the shops and back but it felt good the legs weren't protesting. 

I think this weekend I will take another ride out with my local Pure Motion team. 

I've already had suggestions from some about what to do next - polite and otherwise - like foreign cycle tours, other local events, etc. but as yet I'm undecided. 

However, certain I'm going to do something. I think its the challenge we need to drive us along, that mountain to climb, river to cross, call it what you will we all need a challenge.

As I said at the start, I'm still happy with my time for the 100, but I'm sure if it were not for the early season fall and injuries I could have put in a rather better time. Which is what I intend to do next year... Yes, I really think I'm going to do it again, cos' I thoroughly enjoyed it.

But for now back to the general cycling and maintaining fitness, which is where it all started.

Ride London-Surrey 100 - Complete

Well I completed the ride in Six hours twenty-nine minutes, without any mishaps or technical issues, so quite happy with that - though at the end my body was telling me otherwise!

Happy to collect the medal at the end.

About 16,400 people started the ride and the London Olympic Park, I'm not sure I've ever seen so much Carbon fibre and Lycra in one place....

Queueing to join 'Wave K' for my start

My 07:02 AM start time meant an early 04:30 start from home but we got there courtesy of Andy our 'Logistic Manager' for the day.

Have to say the event was very well organised and supported throughout he day - Big thanks to the team of people providing help, and doubtless cleaning up at the drinks stations after we'd all gone through.

In the start gate - Wave K [Blue] 07:02 off

The route as recorded on MapMyRide. Doesn't include the ~5 mile ride from the drop-off to the start point. It also doesn't show the great support we received all around the route from locals and charity support teams - big thank you to them for turning out.

Look forward to doing it again next year.... perhaps.

We raised several thousand pounds for EIKON, which I hope will enable them to continue doing such great work with our local youth. 

A final plug, it's not too late, if you've not sponsored me so far please go to my Virgin giving link on this blog site and donate now - thank you in advance.

London FreeCycle 2013 - Fun Day Out

Before my Ride London-Surrey 100 event on Sunday we thought it would be fun to take part in the FreeCycle event. 

So we, Tracie, Destiny & Verritty along with our friend Sally headed into London on the train with our bikes to join the thousands of other cyclists taking part. 

We had a really fun day out; cycling around London streets with no cars, taxi's buses, or lorries is just a delight - So much to see and, from a different perspective.

With a whole range of activities at Green Park, St Paul's and Tower Hill it was fun to ride stop, have lunch and continue.

 

Putting pedal power to good use - Fruit Smoothie, yes please!

Among the more serious cyclists there were some more unusual sights to see as well....

A Change of Scenery - Final Countdown

Last weekend we had the chance to head down to Dorset for a few days. So being keen to get in at least some amount of miles I duly strapped the bike to the back of the car - after filling it with all the other paraphernalia - and we headed off.

Of course its always difficult to fit everything in to a short weekend break, so I didn't get chance to do many miles ~26 in fact, but at least that along with several swimming sessions provided a fair degree of exercise.

I'd hoped to get in a couple of rides but the weather was less than predictable [and I'd not packed everything suitable for a long wet ride] so eventually I only did the one loop, below:

So now we are just three days from the event itself, the last few weeks seem to have gone quickly. I can only hope now that I've done sufficient over the past few months to make the ride itself as enjoyable as possible.

The sponsorship is still a rather less than I'd hoped for, but I do understand times are tough and there are so many charity events out there to support, but if your reading this and haven't already supported me and EIKON and feel so inclined, please do: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/NickCritchell

Right, the registration process opens today and I'm heading off to do that tonight, then check the bike over tomorrow before joining the RideLondon FreeCycle event on Saturday. Then the ride on Sunday - sounds like a busy few days ahead.

Hills on Sunday

One of the benefits of living in Surrey is that we have the hills made famous by the Olympic cyclists on our door step, the down-side just now is that everyone is trying to ride them in preparation for the Prudential Ride London-Surrey 100 and Classic events in two weeks time.

Still we gathered on Sunday morning at Pure Motion Cycles, and set off to tackle a few hills, with the aim of a half-way break at Peaslake.

Having figured that the Vachery Triathlon was taking place we had to make some minor last minute adjustments due to restricted roads  but our ride leader knew the area well enough that we soon had a route in mind and set off.

The weather was a little strange with the humidity rising and even a few drops of rain on some of the higher parts of the ride, but we made our stop in Peaslake, as planned. Despite the poor road conditions only suffered one puncture en-route and generally had an excellent ride out and back.

Father's Day Ride

A fine morning for a ride with a group (David, Justin, Simon, Vicky & Bijan) from Pure Motion Cycles heading out of West Byfleet to Box Hill and back. 

I'd not joined the group before, but was welcomed and appreciated their looking out for me as we rode - turned out to be a pretty fair test for me, having only recently got back to some distance, and I found the pace just a little quicker than my norm. But was thoroughly enjoyable.

According to MapMyRide+ http://mapmyride.com/workout/303809815 

• Total Distance: 44.33mi, 
• Time: 03:10:32, 
• Pace: 4:18min/mi, 
• Speed: 13.96mi/h.

All great practice and much needed training for the upcoming event [PruRideLondon-Surrey100/EIKON] and I look forward to getting out again soon.

EIKON - The Worthy Cause?

At Eikon the aim is not just short-term success, but sustained positive outcomes over a long-term period.  Martin is now 22 years old, but was supported by Eikon some 10 years ago; he still stays in touch: 

• “In 1998 when I was 10yrs old my mother passed away due to breast cancer, and subsequently my father became an alcoholic. Consistent with a typical alcoholic, there was depression, drunk-driving, lying, irrational behaviour and increasingly having to go into hospital, so that my sister and I were often left on our own. As a result of this I found it difficult to concentrate in school, and my education and general wellbeing suffered. I first encountered Eikon on a residential trip to an outdoor activity centre in Devon. This was a great opportunity to meet people that had similar problems. 

• Eikon helped me get much needed counselling, and arranged socials that children like me didn’t get in their own families.  As of last year I have just graduated from University with an honours degree in Business Studies. I have since found a job, proposed to my fiancé, and we aim to buy a house together soon.  Having support through Eikon was a great help to my self-esteem and confidence. I think what is really important is that a child’s upbringing shapes the path of their future. If that path strays too far off course, it can affect the rest of their life with sometimes irreversible effects. I feel that Eikon can help change that”.

Thank-you so much for enabling us to support young people like Martin.  Every single penny we raise is important to us, and will help us reach out to even more young people who urgently need our help.

Our children are the future, so lets try to ensure they have as bright a future as possible by helping them through the tough times, when the world around them throws that 'curve ball' some one needs to be there to help. 

Rolling countryside of Surrey and Berkshire

Bank Holiday weekend, so the weather was not fantastic, but I think we had the best of it this morning.

Myself, fellow RideLondon100 pedaller Nigel and friend Andy headed off on a blustery thirty odd mile ride through the rolling countryside of Surrey and Berkshire this morning.

While not sprinting along, and despite my severe lack of miles in recent months we kept a respectable pace throughout the morning. 

But as we were drawing toward the end the breeze increased to the extent that I actually had to pedal downhill a couple of times! 

One of the more notable things about the ride was the state of the roads; quite clearly Berkshire spend more on them than Surrey...

RideLondon-Surrey 100 My Next Challenge

The Prudential RideLondon-Surrey 100 is my next personal challenge. 

Following on from my successful fund raising last year [Sixty-five Miles, Funny Trousers] in support of Eikon. This year I wanted to extend myself and so decided I would up the stakes and duly signed up for the London-Surrey Ride 100 event taking place in August.

I will be riding it for the personal challenge and also with the aim of raising as much money as I can for a good cause. 

Once again I'm supporting The Eikon Charity  

The Route

Starting at the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, then following a 100-mile route on closed roads through the capital and out into Surrey’s stunning countryside. 

The route encompasses some leg-testing climbs through the Surrey hills along large parts of the route made famous by the world’s best cyclists last year.

But I'm already looking forward to the finish along The Mall in central London, shortly before the professional cyclists race in the inaugural Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic on a similar but even more demanding route.

Nightrider 2012 - Out of the grey, into the clear night

Somewhere in 2012 the time continuum had a blip because '78 days to go' suddenly became THREE, which turned into 'The Night' and off we headed.

With bike serviced, lights checked, kit packed and everything double/triple checked... it was here, and ready or not look out London here we come!

The weather for June was foul in the week leading up to the event but by some divine intervention [Thank you, again - prayers answered!] the clouds cleared and it turned out to be perfect; clear skies and little to no wind as we arrived at Crystal Palace, and remained that way throughout the night.

Our group of riders, supporting Eikon, set off at 23.10 to the enthusiastic starting orders of Chris Hickford, founder of EIKON, and a person whose infectious laughter and huge smile put everyone in good spirit and ready to go.

The group set off and a pace just a little too quick, immediately proven by us missing the first turn by some few hundred metres and having to double back - an exercise that would be repeated more than once before the night was over.

So off we went riding through London's dark streets, down toward Greenwich and then heading into the city and around Canary Wharf's deserted streets before doubling back into the City and around St Paul's, past the Emirates stadium and up through Hackney toward Alexandra Palace.

Probably my favourite moments were crossing Tower Bridge, just because it's so iconic, looking back over London from Alexandra Palace where the dark night sky and lights created such a fantastic scene.

Even with a few minor deviations from the route [signs were not always easy to spot..] meaning we completed more than the obligatory distance, the climb to Alexandra Palace at the midway point and the climb back up to Crystal Palace at the end, we finished a little before 5am, which given the traffic in town was respectable.

Navigating our way back though Camden and Regent Street among the revellers who were queueing to go into clubs at 3.30 AM on Sunday morning for something undoubtedly alcoholic while we were swigging energy drinks, was certainly a interesting experience...

Around 4:15 the dawn was starting to break and the bird began singing as we made our way back past the Oval and onward to Crystal Palace, where a well deserved mug of tea and bacon roll, provided by our supporting EIKON team was perfect finish.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and the training rides certainly proved worthwhile.

In the end I got very close to my target and overall the group raised around £17,500 [100 percent of which will go to EIKON] so we're very pleased with that.

Your contributions helped to raise a fantastic sum that will go to a very good cause, thank you all.

Now what shall we do next...