Channel to the Med coming soon

LEJOG June 2018 is now live on the site with photos. It was a fab ride! That just leaves Channel to the Med from August to do.

10 day LEJOG and Channel to the Med

I was planning on a central European tour in June but I didn't have enough time so had to postpone it. In the end I decided on doing LEJOG again. I did it once previously in a group with Peak Tours in 2012 over 14 days, but this time decided to do it on my own on only 10 days! It was a success! Details to follow on the blog. Also, in less than a week I leave for France to cycle Channel to the Med - also with Peak Tours. This will be my 4th tour with them - LEJOG in 2012, Dover to Cape Wrath in 2013 and the Italian Job last year. I'm really looking forward to this one, it promises to be a great tour and takes in the mighty Ventoux!

Lon Las Cymru

I depart tomorrow to cycle Lon Las Cymru, the Welsh national cycle trail. This was postponed from last year when I got knocked off the bike! I'm pleased to say all recovered now both me and the bike. I've been spending the winter keeping fit and in March ran my second marathon. I've been doing more cycling recently but all on my carbon road bike. This is my first tour of the year and I always feel the extra weight at first! LLC is a tough but scenic route with lots of climbing. I'm really looking forward to this. Getting the train to Holyhead to the start. Then it's NCN 8 and 42 to Chepstow and then the plan is to cycle home from there. I went to the excellent Cycle Touring Festival at the beginning of May. There was a talk on this route by the author of the upcoming Cicerone book! Iechydd da!

Knocked off bike

On 24th July I had planned a tour of Wales - getting the train to Holyhead and then to cycle Lon Las Cymru to Chepstow and then home. Unfortunately this was to prove a fateful cycle to Milton Keynes station as I got knocked off my bike at a roundabout in Milton Keynes. I escaped with cuts and bruises but the bike was badly damaged so it was clear my journey would end here. The driver was an elderly woman who 'didn't see me' and actually was more shaken up than I was. They paid up for the repairs no problem - I needed a new back wheel and new racks. I got a new Tubus front rack which was far superior to the one I had. Once recuperated - both me and the bike my next plan was another tour of the Hebrides - my third year running. I have now archived this tour.

Pleased to report all good now. I had some road rash and bruising down my left leg. My dodgy knee (which wasn't the one that took the impact) started to play me up again after the accident. I must have twisted it when coming off as I was clipped in. It got worse in the run up to my Italian trip - but miraculously the bike trip cured my knee pain! I had a follow up with my surgeon who said all was well. He said that the persistent pain was due to the inactivity after the accident and muscles getting weaker. He said that I needed to work my leg muscles all the time to keep them strong to protect my meniscus deficient knee. So he prescribed lots of cycling!!! Great. I can also run but he said that cycling is better. Now some 3 months later all is well and I can walk, cycle and run with no problems, so very relieved!

Marathon on 1st May 2017

I am taking part in my first marathon on Monday 1st May in Milton Keynes. I've been training hard for months now so not done as much cycling though last weekend had a fantastic and tough weekend's cycling in the Peak District. 26.2 miles is nothing on a bike - have done that times 3 or 4 on a bike, sometimes fully loaded. But running is a different matter. The longest runs I have done so far have been 2 x 20.5 mile training runs and they were tough! Looking forward to it, but will be relieved once over after all this training. Then follows a weekend trip to Bruges to relax and then back to what I love best - cycle touring!

Update - everything went well on marathon day and I did it in 4h11m which I was very pleased with! It was tough but I really enjoyed it. Much tougher than cycling! I was going really well over the first half, and well under 4 hours. But miles 14 to 20 were hard and my average pace dropped. Then once past the 20 mile mark I got a second wind. A fantastic experience and hope to do another.

Back to cycle touring and I'm kicking things off this year with the Cycle Touring Festival in Clitheroe,  Lancs next weekend 26-29 May.