2014's cycling challenge to help the Royal British Legion and Cancer Research UK: 1000 miles solo & unsupported from Blackpool to Mont Ventoux in 8 days, and then up & down Ventoux six times in 24 hours...more climbing than the height of Mount Everest. La Bicinglette, I hope!
Yeah, yeah...title song doesn't have today's destination but if you have ever seen 'An American Werewolf In London' then it might click...either way, this is a belter! I can't recommend Zevon highly enough.
Wagons roll at 1100...a very early departure made possible by the kettle-phobic Tony Eason, who was kind enough to come in early to cover for me. Greatly appreciated, mate. Mind you, he probably left early too, ahem...
Usual nause of trying to work your way down through sunny Lancashire (no, really it was super weather) against dodgy surfaces, traffic lights and death-wish pedestrians. Mind you, if you lived in Wigan...
Sorry George, I'm sticking with the Pre-Fab Four
The perennial Curse Of Wigan struck again with a puncture just south of the place: hope that it's my last one for a while. Just before that my sunglasses pretty much fell in half. Mind you, we weren't talking Oakleys here, hah-hah!
It ain't really some poor sod's driveway. Honest.
All ok after that if a little slow but that's alright in Friday rush-hour traffic. Gotta love the ingenuity of this Heath Robinson toll:
Plus I didn't have to cough up. Result!
Stoke was another highlight as ever: although it did provide a worthwhile inspiration to get a wiggle on and get to tonight's acco!
Once traffic died down it was pretty nice on the run in to Rugeley...
To be fair, I was ready to climb off the bike when 'The Shoulder' was in sight...it really is a locals' number, hence a couple of double-takes when this lycra monstrosity strode in. Maybe it was that unique and indescribable aroma too, hah-hah!
Actually a very hospitable number with good grub and ale so no dramas.
To be fair, there aren't any moors around here to keep clear of!
Alright then, that's it for stage one...safely does it. Big, bad day tomorrow but all being well, I'll waste some band-width posting more nonsense. Bet on it...cheers!
I will give £10 for every £50 that you do. Aside from that, there is one other thing that would help, if you can do it...please share this blog and/or the JG links with your pals/acquaintances/enemies.
Last weekend saw a small bike race begin in Leeds- you probably won't have heard very much about it, if anything at all. To say that the crowd numbers and atmosphere exceeded pretty much everyone's expectations would be under-selling the event!
I was perched on top of Buttertubs Pass along with 10,000 other fans, and the parade of Tour promotional vehicles eventually signalled that things were happening. These fantastically gaudy contraptions will throw out freebies/tat occasionally and I was lucky enough(?) to have one of these fetching caps chucked in my direction.
Red polka dots are worn by the King Of The Mountain. Oh dear.
My day was made when the first rider hoved into view...it was only Mr Jens Voight whose mantra of 'Shut Up Legs' was nicked for the title of this blog, and is the oldest rider in the Tour de France this year. It is also his farewell TdF so he took great delight in making himself suffer alone in one of his trademark breakaways and he got a terrific reception and encouragement all along the route...at least until the bunch caught him. Le Tour will miss him, for sure.
Jens Voight. I assume that he has already instructed his legs to suffer in silence.
Not all that far behind came the main bunch which contained all the usual suspects (except one Sir Brad Wiggins...) including the Manx Missile, Mark Cavendish.
Cav looks like he enjoys hills almost as much as I do.
The day ended badly for Cav as we know. The following morning at York racecourse saw the riders saddle up again for a fairly horrible stage which would end in Sheffield. At the time, this fella looked fairly relaxed and content with his lot...
Tour favourite, Chris Froome in happier moments at York...
I was able to catch another view of the race up above Rochdale: it's a lot of hanging around for something that passes so quickly, but it's definitely worth the effort. These guys do not hang around!
No matter where you went, the support was incredible. Wow!
As we now know, Chris Froome's TdF has also ended badly. You have to feel for anyone who has put so much effort into preparation to defend his title only to have it ended so abruptly. Mark Cavendish could empathise...
Speaking of preparation, and on the basis that "it's never too late", I cycled over to Leeds for an overnight stop to see Pearl Jam play what turned-out to be a 3 1/2 hour show!
Monsoon season in Nelson.
Their front-man is a pretty big Who fan too so it wasn't a complete surprise when the band played a cover...but then ended-up playing three songs by The Bush's finest. Excellent! Plus Eddie Vedder went on his backside during the clip below, hah-hah!
My forays into social media continue: this week, The Pub Landlord aka Al Murray eventually caved in to my relentless pestering and re-tweeted my appeal on his Twitter account.
As you can just make out, almost 30,000 people read this RT. The bad news is that only 9 people read either the blog or had a look at my JustGiving site. And precisely zero donations were made as a result. Arse!
In other news, one of the alumnus from last year's 'The Italian Job' bike ride was minded to tackle three ascents of Mont Ventoux (not Venotux, ahem...) a fortnight back. John's super effort was captured by his (much) better half Sue...take a look at clip that was filmed near to the summit on one of his climbs:
Hmmm, a tad breezy might just about cover it! Fair to say that this is no cake-walk...
There have been a ton of very generous donations to both causes and I am very, very grateful to everyone who has taken the time and trouble to do so. There is one donation that I will highlight here: today I was given a cheque for £500 from the Heritage Centre at BAE Systems in Warton.
How good is that? Cheque's great too.
This came about following the sad passing-on of one the volunteers who ran the centre, Mr Keith Spong. This gent was a champion of two charities, the North West Air Ambulance and also the Royal British Legion and there was a considerable sum of money raised in honour of Keith's memory.
Word about my bike ride reached the Heritage staff and as a result I was presented with a lovely big cheque earlier today and this has been paid into the RBL appeal which means we now stand at around £1300 for both causes!
Anyway, I set-off tomorrow so if you would like to sponsor me please, please follow the links below. You know it makes sense!
I will give £10 for every £50 that you do. Aside from that, there is one other thing that would help, if you can do it...please share this blog and/or the JG links with your pals/acquaintances/enemies.
I know that Apple products won't play YouTube stuff right off the bat, which means all you see is a blank canvas below and miss out on a tune that you'll know pretty well anyway...you'll have the same effect if you can hum Mac's 'The Chain' to yourself while you speed-read this nonsense.
With 12 (that's twelve, repeat twelve) days to go and counting, it's about time to dot the i's and cross the t's admin-wise. That includes replacing any suspect parts on the bike (excepting me) so as a result it now has a new chainset, chain and brake blocks. It is also about a pound lighter since it was washed, hah-hah!
Speaking of weight, at last some has left me...4 kgs, which is good news but I still want the scales to tell me that another 3 kgs has departed, albeit on a short-term deal. (Note to the proprietors of The Ashiana and the Wesham Chippy: I know that you've had to issue a profits warning for Q2 and lay staff off but trust me...things are gonna pick-up big time in August!)
Hoping that this new chain & chainset are up to it. At least more so than me!
Another important part of the admin arrived from the organisers of the 'Club Des Cingles Du Mont-Ventoux': the bit of card that you carry with you during the challenge and get stamped at the bottom and top of the mountain so that you have some proof that you were actually stupid enough to attempt it! They even include a little plate that you attach to your bike just to mark you out as an imbecile, just in case it wasn't already obvious. Very thoughtful, those French...
Wanna end up with a fully stamped card!
In previous years there has usually been a team or event cycling jersey but since this challenge has a more 'select' demographic (read 'stupid'), I've gone down the budget route and had a couple of commemorative t-shirts knocked up, bit like wot that Stella McCartney sort would. This year's theme was 'basic & functional'. And 'cheap'.
'Ronseal' t-shirts. No muss, no fuss. And no style.
Rapha will be having sleepless nights once they see this fab gear.
Having said that, I did weaken and buy a cycling jersey from the Royal British Legion after seeing Suzanne Dando (one for the over 40s) model one: well, seemed a bit rude not to...
Possibly it'll look slightly more flattering on Ms D...
Further adventures with social media continue in the vain hope of maybe getting some more donations in: this week the splendidly funny Omid Djalili was good enough to 'RT' or re-post my challenge to his 200,000 followers on Twitter. He also wished me luck, which was nice...
He was merciless about Lytham, hah-hah! Great live turn.
As with last week's promotion by cycling legend Jens Voight, this RT netted absolutely sod-all in the way of sponsorship. However, thanks to my work's internet site there were a few more donations from complete strangers which was tremendous to see, as well as some very generous wallet-openings from those who have given before. Massive thanks to everyone...the total for CRUK is £800 with the RBL at £450. Wow! I know there is more to come...
Here are a few photos of the speed-bump as taken by Andy back in 2011 when he completed three ascents of Ventoux in one day. He reckoned that was a Big Day...so let's double it!
We're looking at 85 miles at anything between 7-10%.
That all?
The long & winding, yeah yeah...you get the idea.
Could be blowing a hooley on the way up.
But before any of that joy can be sampled, I have the small matter of getting there to deal with!
This'll be me all too soon enough. Oh dear.
So why all this nause? As if you didn't know, hah-hah-hah! Trying to raise funds for two brilliant causes, one of which is Cancer Research UK...
Same deal for ALL of the UK.
...and the other is the Royal British Legion. Coincidentally, today is Armed Forces Day 2014 which is a timely reminder of the debt that we owe to others who have given again and again.
Some famous types who have given their backing to Armed Forces Day 2014. Oh look, there's Vinny!
The links are just below and I will give £10 for every £50 that you do. Aside from that, there is one other thing that would help, if you can do it...please share this blog and/or the JG links with your pals/acquaintances/enemies.
Another week, another blog post with only the faintest whiff of contractural obligation around it, hah-hah! No really...it's all filler, no killer! Or something like that...
So it was Crockett & Tubbs? Whatever...none more 80s.
With only 3 (yes, three) weeks until wagons roll, training continues and I have been lucky with pretty decent weather which means that I have zero excuses not to get out there and do a bit. It's never too late, right?
Last Saturday there was a little venture into the hurt locker that is the Forest Of Bowland: I think I escaped with a score draw...
Deceptively benign looking. Do not be fooled.
Terrific views thrown-in, gratis.
And after a shoeing on the fell, you can descend and collapse in Waddington!
These two eejits had gotten themselves up there but weren't clear on how to get down.
With my lame efforts I had displeased the Cycling Gods. Retribution came in the shape of a great big staple!
Minor mechanical shenanigans occurred this week with the demise of another bottom bracket: I'd like to say that is a result of the Wiggins-like amount of power that I'm generating. Truth would be more like that FSA components are garbage, hah-hah! Anyway, better to get all this nonsense sorted now.
At the risk of stating the bleedin' obvious, it is in my best interests to carry as little weight up Ventoux as I can, and to this end I have cut-out curries, fish'n'chips and the like, as well as cutting right back on beer and wine. Worst half-hour of my life I tells ya', and just what you want to be doing when there is a fairly important, televised football tournament taking place, hah-hah! Anyway, I go to weigh myself after a week or so and there is no flippin' difference! Just to add insult, I got this guff through my letterbox:
Love you too, 'Slimming World'. Now clear off.
On the plus side, the very bloke whose mantra that I have nicked for the title of this challenge, was good enough to 'RT' my appeal on Twitter. All this means is that potentially the 160,000 people who follow Jens Voight have the opportunity to have a look at this blog and perhaps be minded to donate.
I'm on the right.
All well and good and duly the amount of people who did look at the blog sky-rocketed for a day or so. Not one of the cheap b*****ds sponsored me, hah-hah! Tells you all you need to know about the quality of the blog, I suppose. No matter, because the totals are rising and I cannot thank you enough on behalf of the RBL and CRUK.
In case you ever get to wondering about what good your money does, I can offer you this: I talked to someone the other day who had recently been given an 'all clear' after treatment for a particular strain of cancer. They had been told that they were fortunate not to have gotten the disease a decade ago as the treatment then was a great deal more unpleasant and debilitating. So your money does make a difference. Good on you!
The totals are coming along: on behalf of the RBL & CRUK: thank you!
Right, time to suffer Chiles, Tyldesley & Townsend and watch England ease Uruguay aside*...cheers!
Never mind bottom brackets, *this* is what I should be getting fitted. Nice idea Mark!
The links are just below and I will give £1 for every £5 that you do. Aside from that, there is one other thing that would help, if you can do it...please share this blog and/or the JG links with your pals/acquaintances/enemies. Cheers!
At long last I have now booked my high-end accommodation down route: the usual mix of chains like Formule 1 and privately owned hotels which I hope are all relatively cyclist-friendly. Mind you, my requirements aren't exactly demanding: at the sore end of 140 heavy miles all you want is a shower, beer, food, somewhere safe to store the bike and a bed. If they can throw in a pair of new legs'n'lungs and derriere then so much the better!
(*A complete lie, hah-hah!)
Stage 1: Fri July 11th, Warton to Rugeley. 105 miles and 3500'.
"千里之行，始於足下", as the great Chinese philosopher Laozi said. Of course you'll recognise his "...every thousand mile journey begins with a small step" quote instantly, right?
Daft coincidence time: there's almost exactly the same amount of climbing on the way out as there is in the six Ventoux ascents.
Stage 2: Sat 12th July, Rugeley to London. 145 miles and 4000'.
Would you believe it? The very night I'm in The Smoke, Mr Neil Young will be deafening 70,000 punters in Hyde Park (not to mention Eminem at Wembley Stadium or Robbie Williams at the O2 Arena). I'm staying about 100 yards from the Royal Albert Hall but the live turn on there is a bit high-brow for me. If I was able, I'd go and see Shakey tear-up the Royal Park...
Stage 3: Sun 13th July, London to Dover. 90 miles and 4000'.
Bit of a schoolboy error made when I booked my ferry from Dover to Calais...didn't remember that it is the World Cup final that evening. Will get to see the first half I hope, but I don't expect to be seeing England there either. More chance of them being on the ferry, to be fair. (Memo to P & O: please, please, please show BBC coverage! #noChiles #noTyldesley #noTownsend.)
Stage 4: Mon 14th July, Calais to Saint-Quentin. 125 miles and 4000'.
I hope to be able to stop-off at a WW1 monument around Arras. 100 years ago since all that horror began...
Stage 5: Tues 15th July, Saint-Quentin to Saint-Dizier. 130 miles and 3500'.
Stage 6: Weds 16th July, Saint-Dizier to Dijon. 120 miles and 3500'.
Don't ask me why I'm taking this particular routeing: I've placed all my faith in Google to get me pointing in the right direction. Worked alright last year. Apart from the time that I was stopped by the German motorway cops...
Stage 7: Thurs 17th July, Dijon to Vienne. 145 miles and 4000'.
To be honest, up to now I have fixated only on the ridiculous '24 hours of Ventoux' side of this challenge and have forgotten just how grim the long transit days will be, and I am out of my '120 miles max' comfort zone on most days. You'd have have to be a complete eejit to underestimate or be blase about undertaking this, ahem...
Stage 8: Fri 18th July, Vienne to Carpentras. 130 miles and 2500'.
As you can see there are two long stages to get into Carpentras on the Friday, one week after setting-off on this nonsense. I really hope that the weather is kind...any chance of a stonking tailwind? Oh well, just thought I'd ask. Might get a set of these bad-boys fitted:
Aero-bars can add 2 or 3 mph to your average speed...
A great, big thank you to you generous people who've donated already. It is a big gee-up to keep on getting out there to train!
The sorry after-effects of attempting intervals on Waddington Fell.
The links are just below and I will give £1 for every £5 that you do. Aside from that, there is one other thing that would help, if you can do it...please share this blog and/or the JG links with your pals/acquaintances/enemies. Cheers!
Quite rightly you can't help but be aware that today is the 70th anniversary of the Normandy Landings or D-Day as it is widely known. The reason for the larger-than-usual interest in this milestone is not just because the sacrifice of so many lives in the pursuit of stopping Hitler's insanity or because '70' is a nice, round number either necessarily, although both form part of the rationale.
What makes this year's commemoration so poignant is that there are fewer and fewer veterans from that invasion that are still able to make the trip to Normandy to pay their own respects. To put it bluntly, this weekend's events will be the last time that many of these soldiers will be able to participate in person.
This moving poem was left at the Commonwealth Cemetery in Bayeux.
Robert Capa's photos give an inkling into the blind terror of these assaults.
'The Fallen' is a project to mark the loss of 9000 lives during the landings.
He'll never forget and neither should we.
Those photographs can only give a tiny insight into the sheer scale of sacrifice that was made by so many. For once Hollywood seems to have been realistic in its depiction of the landings if the reactions to the harrowing opening scenes in 'Saving Private Ryan' are anything to go by. I won't post a link here: you know where you can find clips easily.
As much as we should never forget these landings or the people involved, the British Legion is also about looking forward and trying to help those who served in our Armed Services. Its aims are rehabilitation, transition and trying to give focus to lives that have been irreversibly changed in the line of serving Queen and Country.
For these people it's year-round, not just in November...
Prince Harry is a committed supporter of veterans' charities.
Of course to do that it relies on the generosity of the British public: the British Legion spends over £1.7M per week in the course of helping these veterans and their families. We owe them too. If you agree then please follow the link to my JustGiving page: I will give £1 for every £5 that you give. Thank you.
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