Day 3- 54 miles. It wasn't as kneasy as I thought.

So the final day of cycling. I woke up at 6.30am decided it would only be fair to make Jonathan a drink as he had sorted me out the day before. I also made myself a blackcurrant diarolyte, now when I buy the sachets at the chemists I always feel the urge to explain what they are for as I do not want them to think I have diarrhea. I finished off the blackcurrant drink to rehydrate myself from the night before, even before the alcohol I had been quite dehydrated. The simple thing you can do at home to see if you are perfectly hydrated is the Sprite-Lilt-Fanta test next time you are powdering your nose. Lets just say I came in at Fanta and I was hoping for more of the Lilt look. Again we got ready, had a full english and vacated the room, although we left a bit of a smell as the number of protein bars, energy drinks and meat consumed in the last couple of days had taken its toll on our stomachs. We also had a conversation on how much money it would take to go back to Bristol and to start the challenge all over again. I was feeling quite confident and cockily said £250.

Again we got a briefing from the organisers, a few hills some undulations blah, blah, blah by this stage everyone just wanted to leave. So off set the Four Musketeers, now the mechanics had sorted me out a treat; they had added some new brake pads and greased my chain again, it was definitely worth the cup of tea and Pepsi I had got them in the bar last night. We left and on the first hill I felt a twinge in my knee, an old football injury so I took a couple of Ibuprofen tablets to try and mask the pain. It had hurt slightly in the last two hours of the day before's cycling but an Ibuprofen tablet and the alcohol had kept it at bay.

Jonathan looks as if he is struggling

The morning, before the waterstop (as the distance was only 54 miles there was only one stop before Land's End) was quite hilly and after one hill I was actually in front of Jonathan for the first time so I took a picture. Considering he is in his 50s, he was a lot fitter than I will ever be and this advantage didn't last long. As the morning progressed my knee started hurting more and more, like a right Diva I was letting the other musketeers know and getting loads of sympathy. We then came across another two cyclists Mark and Dave (who had previously cycled with Andy on Saturday) so we started cycling as a bigger group and a guy I will refer to as Cornish Pirate (he was wearing a Cornish cycle top and knew the route very well), I think his name was Andrew. We cycled as the Magnificent Seven.

We got to the waterstop which was at the top of yet another hill, we had a few bananas, energy bars, drinks and a pit stop. I was now in need of another Ibuprofen and asking everyone like a crazed druggie, finally someone gave me 'my hit' and the pain reduced. We cycled as a group until we got to Penzance and St Michael's mount where we split up slightly so me and Richard stopped and waited for Mark, Dave and Tariq taking in the scenery, Andy and CP were infront nowhere to be seen. It was here where my knee seized up and from here on (around 16 miles) I really struggled to cycle, the only thing I could do was put the pressure on my left pedal and let my right pedal follow. Mark, Dave, Richard and Tariq were very supportive stopping every so often to ensure I was okay.

St Michael's Mount

With a mile and half to go, along pops Andy who had finished already with CP but came back to cycle the last mile as the Four Musketeers. So we finished at 1.30pm 54 miles over as the Super Six. Yes I had completed 254 challenge, it was a lot harder than I could have ever anticipated and I quickly told Jonathan to make it £250,000 to do the cycle again not £250! I will not lie it was hard especially the last leg and the cause and sponsorship got me through it as I put the pain in my knee into comparison.

Super Six minus Tariq

Lunch was a carvery, we had a few group photos and pics near the signpost. I then met Roy who has a far more technical blogged view of the ride on http://fishneedsabicycle.blogspot.com/

At 3pm back in the coach to Bristol,  the driver was a nutter and at that stage I was thinking if the cycle hadn't finished us off then 'drive' was likely to.

We did make it back and I am in recovery, I might try and get back on the bike tomorrow after three annoying days of rip-off First Bus.

Thanks for everyone who has sponsored me I have still collecting monies and will let know how much all the participants have collected when I find out.

Day 2- 95 miles. Three become Four

Okay so after a good night's sleep I was ready for auxillerating day of cycling.

I was made a coffee in bed by my new roomie, we got ready doing a sniff test of what was wearable from yesterday and met the others for breakfast. It was at breakfast(full english) I let a couple of people know of my interesting/worrying dream, I had dreamt that Saturday afternoon myself and Tariq had got into St Austell first. However further in the dream I found out that I had fallen asleep on my bike and Tariq's bike had fallen apart so it was actual the support vehicle that had taken us to the end. I was therefore hoping this premonition would not come true.

After the briefing for the day the Three Musketeers (Myself, Tariq and Richard) set off from Barnstaple. Saturday was taking in the views of Dartmoor and Bodmin moor. Hence the Three Moors Tour, we had done Exmoor yesterday. The weather was a little cooler than Friday and the morning started on some more hills, joy, my memories of Saturday are a little sketchy as I was thoroughly concentrating on getting through the day.

So I will summarise the highlights
After undulating roads, which I had realised by this stage that it was the organisers code for hilly we got to the first waterstop. When we arrived I was still half asleep so I consumed a few energy flapjacks and jelly babies and I was then buzzing.
The next section we came across was the Granite Way, it is a Sustrans cycle path next to a railway and took us past Dartmoor. It was here I tried taking a photo of the other Musketeers. I cycled in front and whilst riding I turned to take a photo when my chain fell off, I turned back to apply my brakes and nearly fell off the path, I was 3 inches from falling into a big pond named Kingfisher's pond.

We then got to a path which was quite rocky where all the people with road bikes had to pick them up and carry them across, it was this point where I had a grin like a Cheshire Cat, the only time I had an advantage having a hybrid bike with 28mm wide tyres.

About 10 more minutes of cycling we got to start of Cornwall and had picked up another cyclist from the group it happened to be the person I had been next to a dinner the night before so I introduced myself (although I had spoken to him at dinner for a bit I hadn't asked his name) So Andy became the Fourth Musketeer and we spent lunch in Lynford Gorge National Trust who were writing a blog so they took a few photos whilst we were tucking into our Jacket Potatoes.

The afternoon saw some monster hills that the organisers must have forgotten in our briefing, we had now started discussing the best and slowest way of killing them when we got into St Austell. It was also where the catchphrase of the weekend was coined 'Its all down here from here' Whenever we asked any of them on a water stop of how the elevation was from then on we always got the same response. We also decided to walk one hill for about 100 metres because of the saving your legs for the next day. I coined another phrase that 'real men walk' on the basis if someone had told me they walked 254 miles in 2.5 days I would have been a lot more impressed than cycling the same difference, however that was the last only time we walked Saturday. We eventually 'climbed' to Bodmin Moor and had good and bad news, a couple of elderly ladies asked what we were doing so I explained the ride, the cause and managed to gain £5 sponsorship. The bad news I cycled less than a mile, went over a cattle grid and my horn fell off, gutted.

The Four Musketeers got into St Austell at 6.10pm 95miles done Saturday. Again staying in the Premier Inn, which was scary because the room was identical to the one stayed in Barnstaple.  Dinner was served and because 200 miles had been accomplished I could afford to have 3 pints of Tribute and a glass of Red Wine (for medicinal purposes).

After a little football banter with one of the organisers, I went off to bed.

Day 1- 100 miles down as the Three Musketeers

I am back if not a little jaded, bad mistake not taking today off as holiday. Nearly fell asleep whilst undertaking a presentation! Everyone was asking how I was and I could hardly keep my eyes open let alone muster up enthusiasm to describe the weekend. After a couple of black coffees I discussed my adventurous weekend with some and told others I would write a blog.

Now I will let you into a little secret. I called the blog a charity cycle challenge not a charity ride because if I hyped it up a little I would get more sponsorship. I thought it would be relatively easy to get the mileage done as I had cycled similar distances previously, little did I know what I was letting myself in for. That was the actual reason for not booking holiday, I had even planned to cycle into work today.

Most organised people would have looked at the route. I even pasted the elevation on to one of my posts which another participant had kindly worked out. To put into comparison of how hilly the route was and to give you a fact that will come in handy in pub quizzes of the future, Everest is 8848 metres high and over the weekend we climbed 7000 metres.

So I will start the adventure from the beginning. I woke up Friday morning a little nervous, the choice of fuel was four eggs (scrambled), a bowl of porridge and a black coffee. After consuming my petit dejeuner I picked up my pannier set, filled my hydration pack (placing it in my rucksack) and cycled up to the downs. Despite probably living closest to the downs I still managed to be 15 minutes late.

Trust Steed

Now if you read my previous blog I said a suggestion would be for the organisers to hand out stickers to give to people to make it easier to remember participant's names. They went close, they handed out labels for your bike with a emergency contact number and it had your name on. However, the organiser looked for mine and when flicking through I saw the label Louis James. This reminded me of when I was younger and knew a cheat on Super Mario Bros 3 on the NES, I wrote into Total magazine, told all my friends and when it got published I was devastated the letter was from Louise Day aged 9. Anyway I could be Louis James for a weekend.

It was 7:15am, a little tired I mingled and talked to a few people as I thought would be more enjoyable to cycle with others rather than on my own. I worryingly noticed the number of carbon road bikes and how many people had cleat shoes and spd pedals. Then suddenly I found someone with trainers like me and mentioned that fact, only for them to say they hadn't put their cycling cleats on yet because they didn't want to get them muddy, oh well. I then introduced myself to a guy called Tariq we agreed to cycle the morning together. 10 minutes before everyone was due to set off the Evening Post photographer arrived to take a group photo which I will check this week for any coverage. He wanted an action shot of all 34 of us setting off on the grass in a line, which was a recipe for disaster especially as I nearly took someone out with my bar-ends.

We set off at 8.15 after a briefing from the organisers explaining the route, where we were going to stop for drinks breaks, dinner and a few safety suggestions. Me and Tariq left together, the traffic in Bristol was busy but eventually we got to the countryside and on our first real hill when we came across a man complaining of slight cramp we asked if he wanted to cycle with us and thus created the 3 Musketeers. We continued onto the waterbreak in Glastonbury where there were endless supplies of Bananas, Energy Bars/Gels and Jelly Babies. It was a welcomed stop to fill drinks bottles, to use the facilities and also a chance to ask one of the mechanics to have a look at my drinks bottle cage. It was rattling and stopping me from utilising the top chainset of gears meaning I was having to cycle more revolutions than necessary.

The Three Musketeers

We were getting in a formation enjoying cycling as a group and made it into lunch together it was then when I realised what his name was, as we had stopped I took the opportunity to introduce myself and Tariq to Richard the third Musketeer.

The morning's session was relatively flat apart from the one hill, after lunch was a different proposition altogether. From Dulverton onwards to Exmoor, there were so many hills it was untrue, it really took it out on me and I struggled with some of them when me and Richard decided to segment the hills using points in the hedgerow. One of the biggest hills got too much and when we got into Barnstaple at 5.45pm we confessed at what we had done the organisers said it was sensible to walk to save the legs for Saturday. One other highlight of the day was when we stumbled across a load of bikers who offered to toe us, unfortunately we had to decline as it wouldn't have been fair to all that sponsored us.

When we got in (to the sound of my clown horn), had a recovery Lemon n Lime drink we checked into the Premier Inn, at this stage I had used so much energy up I couldn't even remember my name and one of the organisers had to write my room number 63 on the back of my hand. At this point I met my room mate Jonathan he asked me whether I wanted the double bed or single I didn't mind, he said as I was taller I could take the double, I didn't complain. I watched the local news whilst he had a power nap, at this point I was to find out he snored!  We later went down to have dinner as a group, I had two pints of Guiness to help wash down my Prawn Cocktail starter and Chicken Fajitas by this time I was exhausted and retired to bed to get a good nights sleep to prepare for Saturday.

Packing and Panicking

There is only two nights sleep till I need to be at the Watertower Cafe on the Downs in Bristol 7am.

Now normally I leave all my packing to the very last minute, the number of holidays I have been on where I have had to get up in the middle of the night to take washing out of the machine and straight on the radiator is silly. As I am writing a blog I thought I would make one last blog till the cycle ride and this could coincide with being more organised with the packing.

Kit

So the kit prepared out my lounge floor.

• I have my EuroHike rucksack, well I say mine someone I worked with left it at work about seven years ago on the day they left. I contacted them about five times in a two week spell and on a couple of occasions they didn't meet me. I took that as they no longer wanted it, they are actually one of my 'friends' on Facebook. So if you would like it back then let me know (although I gave the shoes inside to charity). It is quite handy because it will be able to take items I may need in the daytime.
• I have a water hydration bladder, this was only £7 from Kathmandu, however it doesn't come with a casing, but it fits nicely in the rucksack. It holds about three litres, enough to see me through the days although when full it is quite heavy, so I need to work out how much I will need especially as there is a water stop everyday we are cycling.
• I have my phone and its charger and my camera. These will be useful in enjoying the ride, taking snaps and my phone has built in GPS which is linked to my blog so you will be able to check how I am getting on throughout Friday to Sunday. I will be able to upload a few pictures from the camera when I get back and post my experiences. I also have a pad so I can write any thoughts down. I just need to find my Bumbag to carry all this on the ride
• I also have my sports watch which cost me £1 from Primark, although the time is a little out it is lucky it is fast.
•  I bought three innertubes on Sunday, I thought it would be best as I have been without a spare after selling it to a fellow cyclist for £4.50. I have also got a tyre lever which is handy when adjusting the tyre.
• I went to Boots last week and I got four packets of Dextro Energy tablets. These are amazing, I do not know if they actually have any real benefits but they give me a mental boost ever since I cycled in Cambodia three years ago and was struggling with the heat I have sworn by these.
• The other medical miracle I am taking is some blackcurrant dioralyte sachets. They are brilliant for the next morning, especially if you have had a few celebratory Beers the night before.
• I have some plasters and germolene for any scraps and bumps. I am hoping the charity may have a bigger first aid kit in case of emergencies
• To keep myself smelling nice I have packed some toiletries. Shoe spray, as I may get a little sweaty and they will need to stay in the room. Also deodorant rollerball as I am not 14 years old anymore I do not need Lynx Africa and also it says it works for 48hours so it must be hardcore.
• I have waterproof trousers and a camouflage pack-a-mac so I also have a fluorescent jacket to make it easier for me to see if it is dismal and rainy.
• Other clothes wise I have one unitard, a pair of tight running trousers, gloves, a number of ankle socks(changeable if it rains because my trainers aren't waterproof) and number of jerseys and t-shirts.

The other half of the blog is panicking, the question I have asked am I ready for this?


I made a big Pasta tonight to eat and consumed a meal for four this should hopefully mean I can give myself a helping start and not lose too much weight over the weekend. I weighed myself at a healthy 11.5 Stone and will do the same Sunday evening, I will make sure I have a hearty breakfast Friday morning to fuel the day

My only worry is around a group discussion on the charity's Facebook page about what the best cycling shorts are for around £120 and talks of expensive Carbon bikes. For efficiency of cycling most people on the ride I assume will have cleat pedals whereas I have one full pedal and one that snapped in half two years ago. So it will be a struggle with the equipment I have but I am confident in my abilities to be able get through the weekend and enjoyed it at the same time.

The ride will also mean I will meet 35 other cyclists so as well as concentrating on cycling for 250 miles I will have to remember everyones names. I am currently running a training module at work where as well as introducing myself I have a sticker with my name on, I am thinking of taking 35 stickers and handing them out for people to fill out but that may make me look like weird. So possibly I will just have to remember a few names and do a lot of apologising!

The next time I blog will be from the comfort of my sofa on Sunday night and the ride will have finished. However, over Friday, Saturday and Sunday you will be able to check my location on the blog and hopefully I may have time to Tweet @spewymonkfish and post on my Facebook wall. Hopefully there may be a report on BBC Points West I am trying to sort out so watch this space.

Thanks

Louis
ps I have raised £912 for the AboveandBeyond CaRE appeal only £88 to go

Mr Berridge Video and Packing

Not long to go now, I really should be packing, ensuring I have all my kit ready for the cycle ride. However I am really enjoying this blogging malarkey. I was scourng the Internet for other blogs when I remembered Hintsch from the Mr Berridge challenge had a blog he was talking about.
I found this video montage on it made by one of the cyclists from Saturday,
Rob from http://www.reallyusefulbikes.co.uk/


I have done a little to my bike recently though, I have had the derailleur fixed which is handy, it now means I will be able to utilise all 24 gears rather than just using the middle set making it a lot easier to climb hills. I have also had my Horn re-attached which means people will hear me coming and I will have fun on the ride.

Claud Butler Levante 2006

The only problem with cycling lots is I am now looking at new bikes. However I don't know whether to go for a road bike or a fixed wheel bike for Polo. I have had my current bike 3.5 years which cost me £300 second hand and has therefore saved me loads on Bus fares and has increased my fitness levels

Louis

Rebel with a cause

Well woke up this morning a little worse for wear.

Why the title?  it has nothing to do with yesterday but I thought it was a catchy title, I better explain what relevance it has with the last couple of days. If you are new to my blog that is a clue, basically up until two days ago around 120 different people had stumbled across my blog (thanks regulars), so to boost readership I thought I would do a bit of promoting on social networking websites.

I used Facebook along with Twitter. I have 261 friends (yes check me out) or 261 people that have lost to me in a drunken breakdancing competition, so Thursday I started posting a link to the blog going through my friends list. After a little while a message came up that I was adding too many posts too quickly; it could be perceived as spamming and I had to type in two words to prove I wasn't an automatic computer program. I then left it a little while and did another batch of names again the message came up, the same happened Friday after work and to my horror yesterday morning I had been suspended on Facebook for what could last between a few hours and a few days.

So that is the Rebel part of the equation, now I will explain to the 100 new readers (as a result of the post rampage) of the blog what my cause is. In five days time I will be embarking on a 250 mile sponsored cycle ride from Bristol to Lands End in just two and a half days. This is to raise money for the much needed renovation of the Bristol Oncology Centre in the Bristol Royal Infirmary, so far they have raised £1.5 million and have only the last £100 thousand to go. Personally I have set a target and thanks to some generous donations I am at £830 which help towards improving the experience Cancer patients have when the are receiving treatment. For anyone that hasn't yet sponsored me you can click on the Justgiving link at the top and bottom of this page or the widget thingy on the right hand side. Just like a big supermarket says Every Little Helps.

I hope the blog has been vaguely interesting I have done a lot of different things when writing the posts like Critical Mass, Bike Polo and to follow nicely on what I got up to yesterday. Last post I mentioned briefly about the Mr Berridge challenge. For those of you that do not know we are in the middle of a two day Bike Festival, in the programme on page 15 I noticed a challenge which included cycling and beer, who could resist. I rang the organiser Hintsch who I then met yesterday morning at the Full Moon pub in Stokes Croft to help set up. I had to lift 12 cider barrels into the back of a van and 3 large beer barrels, it felt like I was on World's Strongest Man on Channel Five. We then got in the van which betrayed what my mother had told me as a young lad not to get in cars with adults you do not know (sorry Mum).

We transported the barrels 13 Miles to Bath and waited for the entrants to arrive.  We had a talk about how we thought the day would go over an Apricot Jam sandwich. The discussion include any problems we may encounter and at this point I had been promoted to co-organiser when Hintsch introduce us to our band of helpers. The bikes were amazing, it was like being in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, some of the work that had gone in to making the bikes was unbelievable. We then assembled Hintsch's bike which was two bicycles side by side with a trailer attached between them. This carried our barrel, I was the co-rider.

We set off at 2.30pm on the Bristol to Bath cycle path (a disused railway line that has been converted to a traffic free route by Sustrans cycle charity) after a group photo. We had a great laugh on the way, especially trying to lift some of the contraptions over locked gates as the were too big to manoeuvre through the sides. After just under two hours we got back to the pub to a fanfare welcome. Well I say fanfare but we arrived five minutes at the end of the set of the first band so we waited for that to finished to received our certificates from the compare to rapturous applause and complementary Cider from the bar. This also gave me an opportunity to test my new phone with built in GPS and use the updating map on the right hand side of my blog, which you will able to view next weekend to see how I am getting on. 

Now you are probably wondering the relevance of Mr Berridge. In Victorian times he cycled 16 miles from the Brewery to the Star and Garter pub in Richmond. To prove you can still transport stuff without cars Hintsch recreated a similar scenario. It took good old Mr Berridge only one and half hours to do 16 miles but I bet he didn't have as much fun as we did!

Then followed another two pints of strong Ciders and two pint of Lager. That is probably why I am not feeling too well or last night when I had a lovely prepared Butternut Squash Lasagne which I couldn't finish and had too go to bed even before desert. So a lesson to add to don't go into cars with strangers (unless you get to ride on a custom two person bike) is do not drink five pints after cycling 13 miles with stomach only filled with an Apricot Jam sandwich.

Thanks
ps Sponsor me below

Lion Vets, Bike Polo and Mr Berridge Challenge

Well, in 9 days time I will have said hello to 36 people and on my way on the 1st day of the cycle.

To update everyone from the Saturday's post. I got up on Sunday with lots of enthusiasm, a bowl of slow releasing Muesli inside me and cup of Coffee to fuel my energy for the football match against Bristol Lion Vets. That is short for Veterans, although there is a Zoo in Bristol and Longleat (both with Lions), I do not think there is  a big demand for Lion Vets to make a whole football team. I started the game really well 1st half, but I tried to do a few things like a Cruyff turn in the middle of the pitch when we were getting back into the game. We were 4-2 down with chances to score coming and I tried a bit of skill, lost it, they scored and our heads went down. We lost 8-2 in the end.

After the game I went to a Bike Polo tournament to watch, the only reason I didn't enter was because I was playing football. Perhaps with hindsight I should have sacked off football. The tournament was really good fun and the skills of the players were immense. Predictably two London teams got to the final, but it was a good turnout with 2 London teams, 2 Sheffield, 2 Oxford, 3 Cardiff and 3 from Bristol. There was a Bike mechanic on site which I went to, I asked him to have a quick look at my gears as I have been having a few issues recently. He said I was missing a vital screw in my front derailleur, I probably should get that sorted. He also mentioned I was missing half a pedal and I explained that it happened 2 years ago, I have never been bothered to fix it, too lazy. 

In other news,

• I picked up a new smartphone Monday night so hopefully I will be able to update on my location when cycling.
• The cycling Tour of Britain is going on and the stage 4(South West) winner finished yesterday 110 miles in 4 hours 30. I will see how I get on next weekend!
• This Saturday I will be cycling a custom bike with a barrel of Cider from Bath to the Full Moon pub in Stokes Croft as part of the BristolCycleFestival.

Louis

It was acceptable in the 80s- Overtraining and The FA Cup

I received a training pack through the post, from the charity in the week. This raised loads of questions in my mind especially the paragraph about overtraining.

Signs of over training

• A raised resting heart rate
• Disturbed sleep
• General Tiredness
• A lack of enthusiasm for riding

So let me recap this last couple of weeks, I have had a couple of disturbed sleeps. This is because I had been watching Big Brother, going to bed late and having to get up early for work. I have also been constantly tired and have only been on one big ride since 28th August, a 60 mile ride. So I can conclude maybe I have been overtraining? Or more to the point I have been busy with work and my friend's wedding and I like getting up early even on weekends, so have been short on sleep. This will only get better as BB has finished so I can get an early night or two.

Also it talks of training tips "work your weakness not your strengths. If you hate hill climbing, go and climb. If you hate riding on long flats, ride long flats." What about if you hate cycling? Their tip is surely to cycle lots. I had three options today:

• To go to Bristol Open Days when many of Bristol’s significant contemporary and historic buildings open their doors to the general public 
• Go to a Bristol Cycling Festival event, as there is almost 100 cycling inspired events around Bristol between 11th and 26th September.
• 3rd option came up after listening to Talksport radio, realising it was FA Cup 1st Round

So going back to a previous blog I thought I would use football as treat and combine the other two options, create my own cycling event and visit a significant site, (well I had never visited Bitton AFC's stadium, the Recreation Ground) I would therefore force myself into getting on the bike and train.
I am however not going to extend that training tip to start putting vinegar on my chips, filthy.
The handy part to getting to the Bitton ground is it is really close to a cycling route which is all off road and the whole journey only has 200 metres of road cycling. It uses the Bristol to Bath disused railway.

At this stage you are probably thinking where is the link to the 80s? Well my girlfriend has gone to Langley nr Slough and taken our digital camera with her. I thought that is okay I have a phone with a camera but I remembered my phone is broken and my temporary phone is the Nokia 1800. This is an amazing phone it even has a flash light function in the top, but no camera.

Smart Phone? No camera

Thirty years ago people wouldn't have even dreamt you would be able to be contactable anywhere by phone and take pictures on the same device. It will be funny to tell the next generation "when I was a lad... you had to remember all your friends telephone numbers off by heart!" Anyway digressing I will have to say there were some good views I couldn't capture today and if you live near Bristol or Bath it is an easy weekend ride to go with the kids. After 9 miles of the cycle path you get to Bitton Steam Railway station and the ground is 200 metres from there.

It was refreshing to go to a local match reminded me of going to see Tonbridge Angels in my 80s youth. It was £5 well spent and this thought must have been shared by about 44 other people. The game was Bitton versus Old Woodstock FA Cup 1st Qualifying Round the result was 3-2 to the away side. I was surprised the high level of standard of their passing games, it was a well fought battle. For a more comprehensive review I am sure my friend who blogs about non-league football will put a post on his blog AdventuresInTinpot when he has time and he has an IPhone so there should be pictures. 

So I will now get an early night, then tomorrow embark on another cycle ride to football and try and incorporate the passing game into Sunday morning football.

Louis

Last Couple of weeks. Last £100K to raise

So I thought I should write another post. I spent most of the last couple of months harassing people writing blog and email after another. Then nothing, it has even got to the stage where people are asking how did my cycle go?

Spot the Ball

So a little catch up. The Bank Holiday Saturday, I cycled to Nailsworth near Stroud to watch Bath City play away against Forest Green Rovers. I wrote down some directions from mapmycycle website and went on a cycle through the country lanes. Using B roads I went past where Josie Gibson from BB lives, Iron Acton where a massive illegal Vodka factory has been found and Wickwar where an amazing Brewery is based. I cycled for 30 miles to watch the game, however I got a little lost and ended up getting there 10 minutes late. I am sure I didn't miss anything as the final score was 0-0 and paid £15 for the privilege. It was good for a Blue Square Premier Game. 60 miles workout and back in time to watch an interesting play called Beanfeild.

The following week I was writing a Best Man speech, which was recorded, I think they hoped it would go terribly wrong and they could redeem £250 from You've Been Framed. However I went down a storm and it is now going on sale to the highest bidder. So if you know anyone called Yannick and Ruth that are getting married then I have the speech for you. The day went well, the sunshine was blazing it was really good.

Best Men Speech

Then Sunday, my football team had its first game of the season. We were playing a team new to the league so there was no idea of what standard they were. I cycled to the game it was pouring with rain. It was at this stage the amount of time on the saddle in my challenge coming up sunk in. I am hoping that we do have an Indian Summer and the fact I am unprepared for the challenge ahead, so I will need to get some waterproofs. We lost 3-1, for a review of the game Google 'Shadwell Rovers' however I felt Cameron Currie should have got a 7 for the effort he put in during the game.

Cycle and Funraising

Now, with regards to the cycle and the fundraising I am with 36 other riders. I know names and a few are on the AboveandBeyond facebook page. One even posted the elevation data inputted into mapmyride.com the other day. Hopefully if you follow the link and then click in the box that says 'elevation data' it will show you the hills.....nice.

Here is Bristol to Barnstaple:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/bristol/355128025528636883

Barnstaple to St Austell:
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/barnstaple/167128026368739732

St Austell to Lands End:

http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-kingdom/-/904128026663243377

There is only £100,000 left to raise of the £1.6M for the CaRE appeal so dig deep and sponsor you can make a difference